Sometimes I think maybe I'm just crazy. A story on CTV today, presented in a matter of fact manner by Caroline Barghout, makes absolutely no sense to me.
In the story, residents of an apartment block are complaining about barking bogs. The lady says she can't get any sleep. What makes this special is that the dogs are police dogs in a police compound, so apparently it's news worthy, because unlike dogs owned by individuals, police dogs aren't supposed to bark in public.
What makes this especially stupid is that the police dogs have been there for years, whereas the apartment building is so new that it's still under construction. So somebody moves into an apartment on the edge of an industrial park of the outskirts of the city one week ago, and they complain about barking dogs that were there long before they moved in? Somehow this makes sense to other people. I can't imagine the outcry when some industry tries to expand in the industrial park and makes some noise or smell or something.
What makes this especially especially stupid is that a new indoor compound is planned for the dogs and it is scheduled to begin construction this summer, therefore these residents of this apartment block built on cheap land on the edge of an industrial park will only have to endure this hardship with the barking dogs for maybe half a year. Yet that's not good enough. Something needs to be done now! After all, the problem is so acute that the people in the brand new apartments built on cheap land on the edge of an industrial park have to close their windows in the evening!!
City Councillor Russ Wyatt agrees, saying "those apartments will go to the dogs if they don't find a new location for the K9 unit." Wow, Russ. That pun was so fucking brilliant. I have no idea how your mind is able to produce such a spectacularly clever play on words. Clearly your intellect is so far superior to mine that your veiwpoint on this issue must be the correct one.
The police meanwhile are working on an interim solution until
the new facility is ready. If they spend even a cent on this interim
measure, it's a grievous waste of taxpayer money in my mind. I'm
beginning to not trust my mind, however.
 |
| Is this lady crazy or am I? |
Yet this became a feature story on CTV news because a producer thought it was of such importance that it required an on-location report, and now I'm writing about it because I'm in a personal crisis situation. I've realized that my perspective on issues is completely distorted, and that my mind is therefore not functioning properly. I am frantically googling my symptoms to see if there are medications that can help. If anybody else out there has experienced symptoms like mine, please let me know! I'm looking for a support group -- anything -- that will help me cope with this mental disability I have suddenly discovered. Thank you.
11 comments:
Something similar happened in downtown Halifax back in the late 1990s. An apartment building was built across the street from a very popular late night bar that was well known for having a roof that opened up to allow fresh air in. They were also well known for having excellent live loud music. This area of downtown was known for extremely late night partiers and routinely had people hanging outside this bar and other bars and restaurants on adjoining streets. Downtown Halifax is known for pubs and late night pedestrians, it is a port city and acts like one. Anyone who bought an apartment in that new building could have easily observed this and would have been well aware of the situation prior to buying an apartment there. The new apartment tenants petitioned and managed to get the bar shut down. I still miss that bar. Had some awesome memories there. Sigh.
Thanks for the comment, Anon.
People move to an area for a reason and then complain about the area they moved to. that's quite a sense of entitlement they have. What's odd is that they often get their way.
There used to be a thing called "negative externalities" whereby one party is negatively affected by something another party does. It used to be a fact of life, but now it's something that needs to addressed ASAP.
At least in your example you gained some urban density in the process.
Well, it's CTV ANYTHING involving police is a lead story.
When I worked for elected officials I was absolutely baffled at the number of people who live near the airport that called or visited on a regular basis to complain the noise from airplanes and wondering why nothing has been done about it since their last visit.
In some cases they were renters, in all cases the airport was there first.
Whyte Ridge residents complained about a mushroom farm that was there long before they were. A backroom deal was cut to make the "smell" go away
Mount a large bucket of Prozac by the lady's front door. She can grab a handful and gulp it down every time she goes by. And If that isn't enough, she can throw an extra handful to the dogs. Now wait til all the PETA folks complain.
The best place for a dog compound, airport and football stadium is in Saskatchewan it seems. Right beside the mushroom farm.
Ugh.
Gotta love the f'd up NIMBYism in this city that extends to previously existing operations. I expect we'll see more of this in the future:
Residents of Waverley West houses built at the perimeter complaining about the smell of the dump
People buying property on Kenaston over the next 5 years complaining that the city is planning on widening it.
This story reinforces the axiom that people are stupid.
Fuck that lady, we need police dogs!
"As an unpaid blogger who writes about fruit..."
Man, you're really clutching onto that one (admittedly fab) posts about oranges aren't you? ;) Don't worry, I'm sure you'll write something on par to it again. Sometime.
Ya, I think I've squeezed as much as I can out of that orange post. The parrot post might have some mileage left in it. :-)
I can't understand suburban living.
My childhood home was in Burrows-Central and yet I have never been as freaked out there as I have walking the quiet, empty, streets of Charleswood on a late Sunday next to grandiose houses.
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