This blog is not about politics or anything controversial, like I tend to do. Instead, I want to talk about the above challenge and an experience this week, and hope that you guys take something away from it.
Well this is a nice way to wake up in the morning. Hope whoever took off with my @calstampeders winter jacket enjoys it. #Bankview #yyc pic.twitter.com/pDEj69TeV8
— Joe McFarland (@JoeMcFarland) January 16, 2017
My new Chevy Equinox was broken into on Sunday night/Monday morning. The back passenger door window was smashed out, which I wasn't obviously impressed about. Upon further inspection, I realized that my big Calgary Stampeders jacket and toque were the items taken from the backseat (which I had left back there as part of an emergency kit, in case I broke down or was involved in a wreck in a not-so-populated area).
It's an inconvenience to be sure. It makes you feel kind of violated, having something of yours vandalized. I'll admit I went through a bit of an emotional roller-coaster, not knowing exactly how I should feel.
You see, I was mad for about a minute. Honestly, I was more mad at myself for avoiding the message that I've heard and even reported on before, about leaving valuables in plain sight. You hear that message around Christmas time especially. I had a momentarily lapse of judgment and it cost me a jacket, toque and $200. It sucks to be sure. But lesson learned.
I'm NOT mad at the person responsible for this. Well, maybe a little. But I also understand the situation. Because there were sunglasses in the front, some change in the console, even some parking passes. None of that was taken. Which tells me that while this was a "crime of opportunity", it also seems to have been a "crime of survival."
You see, it's Calgary and it's January. It's cold outside. People are looking to stay warm. Maybe that person needed the clothing, or knows someone who needed the clothing. In which case, I hope they're able to utilize it. Maybe those responsible were hoping to sell the jacket to make a little cash to put food in their stomachs, or maybe to buy drugs. I honestly have no idea.
But what I do know is that this speaks to the desperation we're seeing on the streets in Calgary. People are needing to invade the private property of others to get their hands on whatever they need to SURVIVE. Yes, it's a choice, but it's also not a choice, if you know what I mean.
Could I want revenge? Could I demand police investigate and bring the offender before the court of law? Sure. But what point does it really prove? It was a petty crime done out of necessity (at least in the mind of the offender). You could throw them in jail for a bit, then when their sentence is done, they're back out, in the exact same situation they were in before. It's no-win for everyone.
My biggest take-away from this is that we should be aiming to care more about each other, as human beings, especially in the midst of this economic recession. Yes, I know this is difficult to think, given that everyone's in self-preservation mode right now. Not to sound too much like a contestant for Miss America, but we're stronger together than we are apart. If we start looking out for one another, trying to give each other a hand UP rather than a hand OUT, the cycle will eventually come to a halt because these people won't need to break into cars or homes or anywhere else to get what they need, whatever it is, to survive.
It doesn't have to be anything big. A moment of your time can go a long way. Maybe it's volunteering at a soup kitchen. Maybe it's giving your old clothes to a charity (we just went through Christmas and I know a lot of people, including myself, who are doing a purge of their closet). The more time the less-fortunate have to spend in getting the essentials for life means the more time they can spend focusing on building themselves back up from the foundation.
I'm not saying what happened is "okay." All I'm saying is "I understand."
#LiveToLove #LoveToLive
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