Canada: Bystanders ignore plight of burning homeless man

The Times Colonist ^ | December 14, 2005 | Maurice Bridge

[detsaoT]

So much for the "New Canadian" being the epitome of caring, huh? ;)

[Doohickey]

What reason is that? Because they provided the lady with water and let her use the phone?

[HamiltonJay]

What? A starbucks employee that was callous and uncaring about the homeless??? How can that be, all their PC nonsense corporate policies... how can someone working for such a caring and outspoken business be so cold?

Man, and folks say things in the US are bad.

[HappyMary]

If you want to feel better about Canadians, go to Newfoundland. As a general rule, they're some of the finest, kindest people in existence, even though they're the poorest province in Canada. Just look at how kind they were to all of the stranded travellers during 9-11.

[DieHard the Hunter]

> If you want to feel better about Canadians, go to Newfoundland

I love Newfoundland -- it's a great place with warm and friendly people, exactly like you say.

To all the "Newfies" in Canada: a Merry Christmas from DownUnder, and may God's Blessing be with you in the New Year

[Malacoda]

Wow. That's got to be one of the most inhumane things I've EVER read on FR.

Merry Christmas to you.

*boggle*

[CommandoFrank]

Light a man a fire and he'll be warm for a day. Light a man on fire and he'll be warm the rest of his life.

LOL

[steve-b]

When one gets sufficiently used to the notion that the guvmint ought to take care of things for you, that's how one reacts.

[RGSpincich]

What do you have against nurses? This is just one case of attention grabbing. I'm sure most nurses aren't like this.

[beaver fever]

"That's why I think Mr. F is behaving in a "trollish" manner."

Fair ball/ I thought you were telling F I was a troll.

I F is for real he has some wacky ideas.

[beaver fever]

Try Miko on Robson.

The chef catered to the emperor of Japan.

Go for the red Toro Sashimi if they have it. It's like tenderloin.

[jpl]

From now on, I'm going to bring up this story any time some Canadian lefty starts bloviating about how much more caring and compassionate they are than us awful Americans.

[Stoat]

From now on, I'm going to bring up this story any time some Canadian lefty starts bloviating about how much more caring and compassionate they are than us awful Americans.

Juvenile arrogance of the sort that you describe needs to be instantly bitch-slapped into a quivering submissiveness, and I am honored if this article might help you in that regard.  Full steam ahead and please remind any self-important America Haters that if Canada had had it's way, Saddam Hussein and his evil spawn Uday and Qusay would still be feeding live Iraqis through plastic shredder machines while their relatives were forced to watch and Saddam would still be providing substantial financial support for all terrorists and their families..  America has nothing to apologize for and nothing to feel guilty over.  Please give this thread a prominent bookmark in your computer and redistribute it liberally.

Merry Christmas to you and yours   :-)

[DieHard the Hunter]

> Wow. That's got to be one of the most inhumane things I've EVER read on FR.

Amen. My guess is that this particular Scrooge probably isn't really from Vancouver originally. He/she is probably from someplace else, but God alone knows where.

Merry Christmas indeed: he/she will need it, as I suspect the Ghost of Marley and his three Ghost Mates will be visited upon this Scrooge forthwith. A well-deserved visitation, hopefully an attitude adjustment will result.

Merry Christmas to you and yours, and God's Blessing in the New Year

[Levante]

"Juvenile arrogance of the sort that you describe needs to be instantly bitch-slapped into a quivering submissiveness..."

Stoat:

You have an awesome way with words!

Regards,
Levante

[Stoat]

You have an awesome way with words!

Thank you very much (((blushing)))

I live in a state that borders Canada, and so I am frequently subjected to the inarticulate, holier-than-thou proclamations from scruffy Leftist Canuck potheads.  I have absolutely zero patience for them and so sometimes my verbiage becomes animated   :-)

Thank you for you kind words and best wishes to you and yours for a Merry Christmas   :-)

[Levante]

Thank you, Stoat. May you and your loved ones have a very Merry Christmas and a great New Year!

Regards,
Levante (formerly in Spain, now Florida!)

[Paridel]

Actually I'm not skeptical at all. Check out this other recent thread:

Teen Accused Of Paying Homeless Man $5 To Drink Cleaning Solution http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1541773/posts

It's also linked on the front page of drudge right now.

Here in Austin we have been having a problem recently with something called bum fights. People were paying the homeless to beat each other up and filming it (so they could sell the videos on the Internet). The police eventually got called in as it escalated to paying them to do really dangerous activities; if I remember right one homeless man was paid to walk across the outside rail of a major highway overpass.

Just because some homeless advocate groups go a little overboard in their descriptions of the plight of the homeless doesn't mean that that plight doesn't exist.

This is also a little off topic, but I'm starting to hear more "conservatives" recently talk as if we have no societal responsibility to reach out to individuals like this. I believe we do... I just believe it should be by private individuals, organizations, or the local government.

That is why this whole incident, and responses such as post #5, scare me so much.

Those "people" are a nusience. (sic) They're scum. I can fully understand why no one would care.

How are we to argue against the federal government stepping in if private citizens don't step up?

-paridel

[Stoat]

How are we to argue against the federal government stepping in if private citizens don't step up?

I agree with your post 100%.....first of all, anyone who is skeptical of a story like this being true has simply not met a very wide range of people.  People can be breathtakingly heartless when given a chance, in large measure because many have come to expect "the government " to do EVERYTHING for them.

This is also a little off topic, but I'm starting to hear more "conservatives" recently talk as if we have no societal responsibility to reach out to individuals like this. I believe we do... I just believe it should be by private individuals, organizations, or the local government.

Please don't be concerned...I'm not a "stay on topic" Fascist.  It's one thing to be a supporter of the concept of a lean, waste-free government and it's quite another to turn your back on a human being WHO IS ON FIRE, right in front of you....

Let's not forget also that before the Welfare State, Churches did a fine job of helping those in need.  We can thank the ACLU and groups like them not only for creating the homeless problem in large measure because they made it incredibly difficult to give these people the medical care that they need, but also for preventing us from having the very best solutions for dealing with it properly, what with all of the 'separation of Church and State' stuff.  I would be delighted to give churches and other religious organizations mammoth tax incentives and direct aid while getting the Government out of direct care for the homeless....I'll bet we would see a precipitous reduction in homelessness as well as a dramatic overall improvement in the quality of life in numerous other areas of society.