I came across this Facebook page a few weeks ago. It was focused on my end of town, so I decided to join. I was curious. Curious about what might be going on in my end of town, what the posts were all about. Over the years I had met many unwelcoming people in this area so to be honest, I just wanted to see what they were up to.
It’s always good to know the people you’re surrounded by. As best you can anyway; in person. Watching your neighbours isn’t a good way to get to know them. Peeking through blinds like an amateur spy or gripping a pair of binoculars. Maybe you just openly stand there and watch them in which case, you might want to talk to someone about that.
Now, I know there are a lot of people in my part of town that might be a tad too anxious. Perhaps they watch a lot of criminal dramas? And they’ve developed opinions based on stereotypes often shown in the media. They hide in their cars, or in their homes. Afraid of the world they’ve created in their minds.
I remember one day, parking beside a van in the parking lot of my local Staples. And in the van was a couple, talking. We sat for a moment before my mom went in. From the back, my daughter held her phone up near my mom to show her a picture. The back of the phone facing the window. Facing the people in the van.
Within seconds this woman jumps out and taps on our window. I roll it down and before I could say anything she says, “did you just take my picture?” It took me a second to respond to such a ridiculous question. Obviously, we hadn’t, but she seemed to think we did, and she was not happy about it.
I have a skill with agitated people. I’m a calm person, so I know how to bring them down to my level. I had to do that with this woman. Despite us continually saying no, we hadn’t taken her picture, she remained suspicious and accusatory. I remained calm and assured her it wasn’t what she thought it was, until she finally stepped away, hesitantly and we all breathed a sigh of relief.
To be honest, it was a scary situation to be in, especially for my daughter. The one who was being accused. I was ready to pull out quickly if I had to. Positioned myself in a rescue position. Ready to go at a moment’s notice. The shock of the unwarranted situation left us all speechless and shaken. I started to wonder if this was going to become popular behaviour.
So, getting back to this Facebook page. Remember the Facebook page I mentioned? Well, it turns out there were a lot of those kinds, those ‘anxious’ people on there too. People with scanners, people who monitor the police and spy on their neighbours. Bored, unhappy people with access to a laptop and a forum to share their paranoid thoughts with other ‘anxious’ people.
But there was something far worse on that page. Something very unsettling. These bored, unhappy and ‘anxious’ people? They started passing dangerous judgements that you could see spreading throughout the page and its followers, faster than Covid could ever be and possibly even more deadly.
There was this guy who posted often. Seemingly authoritative with a massive deficiency in compassion as well as intelligence. You see, he had appointed himself guardian of the neighbourhood and took this role very seriously. Even though anyone with a brain could recognize this guy was only doing it for the back pats.
He had a lot to say about the less fortunate. He had a lot to say about the sickness that plagues every city and town’s streets. He had a lot of ‘limited’ opinions he felt he needed to share with others of the same mind. He was using this platform for an ego boost, and he was being fed well. Very well in fact.
He seemed to believe it was his responsibility to film and post his ventures into the world of the less fortunate, into the world of the sick. To show the ‘plight’ unseen by most of us and to stir up the ‘anxious’ ones. To put on display, the sick and addicted for all to shame. I knew how bad some of these people could be, but until then, I never knew just how bad.
What I saw in these videos was nothing short of pure exploitation. A twisted reality show, pandering to the paranoid while feeding his own ego. I couldn’t help but notice the hypocrisy. And then I wondered how many of them were enjoying a glass of wine while they watched? Maybe smoked a little reefer or popped a couple of benzos. You know, just to take the edge off. I mean it’s okay if you do it in the comfort of your own home. It’s legal to buy booze, it’s legal to buy weed, and the meds are prescribed by a doctor. Addicts that don’t even realize they’re addicts because they haven’t lost anything.
And that’s really the only difference. Some of us manage and some of us don’t. And the ones who can’t, do not deserve to be filmed and put on display to be called shit rats and scum by anxious people who think their shit doesn’t stink. To be followed and intruded upon by an ignorant, provoking narcissist with a phone camera.
There was one video I found particularly disturbing. A homeless man, sleeping in hammock in the woods, not bothering anyone. This jackass, as he’s filming, picks up a rake and starts poking at the guy in the hammock. Was he checking to see if the man had overdosed while he was filming? He kept poking while spewing ignorant remarks. As if this guy was shit and he was the janitor.
And the comments were even worse. They kept getting darker as I scrolled down the page. Suggestions like setting bear traps, one man even suggested the man in the hammock be tied up in it as if to insinuate suffocation. They called these people shit rats and scum. Junkies that should be removed from society because they’re all criminals and they’re all out to take our children and steal our things. Our precious things that we work so hard for, and they just want handouts.
I literally laughed out loud when I read one woman’s post typed in all caps. It read like this, “I HAVE CHILDREN THAT GO TO SCHOOL ABOUT A HALF A MILE FROM THESE HOMELESS CAMPS. I DON’T WANT THEM SCARRED FOR LIFE HAVING TO WALK PAST THESE PEOPLE. THEY ARE ALL ARMED AND DANGEROUS CRIMINALS THAT CAN TAKE OUR CHILDREN AND STEAL OUR HOMES. YOU’RE DOING A GREAT SERVICE SO THANK YOU FOR TRYING TO GET THIS SCUM OUT OF OUR NEIGHBOURHOOD’.
Classy. Hilarious too she thinks our woods are filled with armed and dangerous criminals. If that were true, I think we’d be outmanned, it would at the very least be chaotic. How could anyone walk safely anywhere? These are the kind of people you really need to worry about. The ones who are watching these videos, cheering him on. They’re not just anxious, they’re downright paranoid and quite possibly, far more dangerous than anyone living in the woods.
In his twisted reality show, contradicting a newspaper interview where he advised people to treat the sick and less fortunate with compassion, he treats them more like vermin. Humiliating those who are already living humiliating lives. Feeding off the comments that follow every sick video he posts. They should be monitored for organization. Wine moms, weed dads and amateur vigilantes. This is the shit that gets people hurt.
A couple of months ago a car purposely ran down a homeless man who was minding his own business. He was just walking down the street with a cart full of everything he owned. The man is still recovering, his tough life now made even tougher. And the people responsible still haven’t been found. Perhaps it’s not a priority. It certainly seems that way on this page.
As someone who has compassion for most, especially the sick and discarded. It looked as though it was up to me to defend those who were being humiliated. Certainly no one else was. If they weren’t joining in, then they were too afraid to speak up. So, I gave them a voice.
I wrote a very long comment, educating the ignorant and defending the sick and less fortunate. I educated them on the many reasons people end up on the streets or living in the woods. Educated them on various mental health conditions that if not properly managed can lead a person to become lost to society. That they may seem like they’re on drugs.
I explained how our health care system, as good as it is, is failing these people. Most of them living on the streets, addicted to drugs and alcohol have unmanaged mental health issues or trauma. These people have an illness, they’re sick. They are not scum or shit rats. They steal to survive because there is no help for them. They are human beings. They could be any one of your kids, a husband, a wife, anyone.
And then I brought about another concern I had. What if the families of these people saw the videos and the horrifying comments? What if it was your neighbour’s child but they were quiet about it to avoid judgement? And what about the children we’ve lost recently to drug overdoses? Were they scum shit rats who deserved to be in jail or cast out of society too? Where is the compassion? I asked.
There wasn’t any. I had one like before I was removed from the page. Ousted by a group who’s pinned rules spoke of no bullying, no hate speech, compassion for others and a whole lot more. The hypocrisy was staggering as well as the sense of entitlement. How dare you judge those you know nothing about!
You have a drink to wind down after a hard day at work. Maybe a glass of wine or two with dinner. Maybe the ladies want to come over for a wine party? Or maybe you drink when no one is looking? Hide the empty bottles from the neighbours.
You have a prescription for those meds. The painkillers that sit in your drawer. The benzos in your medicine cabinet. It’s all legal so it’s okay. I work hard, my kids work hard, and we have a lot of stuff, so there’s no problem. Until it becomes a problem.
Do you know how many addicts hide in their houses, staging their lives with positive Facebook posts and inspirational sayings? You’d never know it because they’re good at hiding it. They’re not like those in the woods, they’re not sick. They are, they just don’t think they are and most of them are only one bottle away from losing it all. It happens fast, and it can happen to almost anyone.
I probably won’t be let back on that page again. At least I had the chance to know the people I live among. Dangerous, anxious, paranoid people who think they’re better than anyone else. The ones who follow all the hashtag trends, post pictures of their wonderful lives and they’re happy families. No cracks exposed, no fractures of any kind. Everything is perfect and they’re going to make sure it stays that way.
Beware of these people because if they organize, shit is going to hit the fan. It’ll be like the PTA on steroids. You’ll have to get a pass just to get in and out. There’ll be surveillance. A police state inside a suburban neighbourhood run by soccer moms and neatly groomed men with clipboards. Distributing their agenda for all to follow. Anyone who rebels will be cast out. There will be no room for dissidence in their blessed world.
SUBURBAN CABIN FEVER 