Quiet Saturday

Plan A was to hike the Westwood Ridges this morning. When I woke up to pouring rain at about 6.30 a.m. I decided that maybe a shorter walk was in order. Now, of course, the sun is coming out and I feel guilty for denying Abby (and myself) a vigorous hike.

Deep breath - I deserve a day of sloth - right? Right?

Trying to take my mind off politics for one day. This isn't easy for me because political upheaval seems to be all around me. It isn't "out there" any more - it's here. OWS is active in my community and I continue to support it.

And then there are the municipal elections. I kept up the Concerned Citizens of Nanaimo open house with Tweets last night and read a very good summation on Facebook this morning. Thanks To Don Bonner who noted that if these vocal few in this one neighbourhood were really concerned about Low Barrier Housing they would have protested the other houses in Nanaimo as well - not just the one going up in their neighbourhood. It's just a matter of not wanting it in their back yard. As I said before, a few decades ago it was fear of Blacks moving into the neighbourhood and before that it was Jews and I can recall having rocks thrown at me when I was five years old and newly arrived from Europe. There were some who didn't want me in their neighbourhood.

People fear what they don't know. The solution is to educate themselves - education is the answer. But some people choose to be angry instead.

In fairness, I think this particular mayor and council have done a very poor job of transparency and communication. In Camera meetings - are they ever justified? I doubt it. What is there to hide? Communicate every step of the way. And don't forget that listening is half of communication.

Honest communication engenders trust.

And speaking of honest and open communication - what about the Jerry Berry issue? It's shameful that mayor and council still refuse to talk about what happened.

Enough - I think it's time to go for a short walk - short, in my case, being about 90 minutes.