"Cowardice asks the question...is it safe? Expediency asks the question...is it politic? Vanity asks the question...is it popular? But conscience asks the question...is it right? And there comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe, nor politic, nor popular but one must take it because it is right." ~Dr. Martin Luther King

Saturday 15 November 2014

Limits of Imagination

I called the police department last night. Asked for the Desk Sergeant for District One. That!s Aurora.

I  asked what it would take for charges to be dropped against the person who took the poppy box at Canadian Tire.

It occurred to me if the funds in the box were restored and no harm done a lot of time and public resources might be better used elsewhere.

 It might be as little as $5 or as much as $9.  It seemed hardly likely a significant sum would be sitting unprotected in a little cardboard box on a counter.

I was half listening  to  the play by play account of the theft as caught in security camera.

 A battered old car held together by string and duct tape pulled up at the door of the Canadian Tire and a male in a hoodie  got out ,went into  the store picked up the box, stuffed inside his jacket ,left the store and was driven away.

A spokesperson for Aurora Legion was interviewed and said  he couldn't imagine how anyone  could do such a thing. He hoped the thief would be caught and sent to,prison for two or three years.

The poppy fund is a charitable endeavor.  Reports indicate it's expected to raise $30 million this year.
More than ever before.  Incredibly, because two lives  were senselessly lost .

When  I heard  about the theft .I thought ... Poor b.....he must have been pretty GD desperate to steal a poppy box. It will
 likely buy him and the driver of the getaway car,  a coffee and maybe a doughnut between them

On the other hand, cost of processing  a charge through the courts will be thousands of dollars.
In the unlikely event of incarceration many more times multiplied.

Nobody knows  better than the police department the misery and degradation of the streets and the social costs of economic hardship.

Yet there is no area for judgement to be exercised .

Once the charge is laid ,there is no turning back.

The juggernaut takes a life of its own.




15 comments:

Anonymous said...

The charge is for theft under $5000. This should mean a quick ending to what must be a sad saga for a family. The press will hopefully lose interest. Yet there are people demanding a " higher " level of responsibility be assigned to the case.

Anonymous said...

There are some very weird ideas about " justice " floating around. One politician who shall remain nameless suggested that the penalty for cutting down some trees without proper permits should be to start with the offender being marched away in hand-cuffs.

Anonymous said...

You make a lot of sense Evelyn. There are thousands of charges that are being handed down every day for all sorts of offenses. It’s a money making industry. I really don’t believe it’s about justice anymore.
This poppy guy chose to commit theft, small as it may be, of something that has hit people’s emotions across the country. Not a very smart thing to do. It sold newspapers, tv and radio make money. It keeps lawyers, judges, police and everyone involved in our judicial system employed. How many people would be out of work in this system of ours if they decriminalized marijuana? Family law is another one. What would happen to the industry if they would have passed the Equal shared parenting bill? What would happen if they manufactured cars that couldn't go past a certain speed? A lot of people would be out of many lucrative jobs. Sad…but true.

Anonymous said...

Crime and punishment shouldn't be an exercise in simple economics.

Anonymous said...

There was a similar theft in the Barrie area by a couple. I guess we will have to adjust to expecting it to happen.

Anonymous said...

I cannot understand that man posing as a military officer at the Remembrance service & being interviewed by CBC. It could not have been for financial gain .

Anonymous said...

14:42
It shouldn't be, but it has. I had a friend who got a phone call from the police telling them their daughter got into a car accident and she got brought to a hospital for minor injuries. It was 1 am in the morning. When they arrived, they where approached outside of the emergency dept. by an injury lawyer.

Anonymous said...

One of our kids was asked to sign off with an insurance company after being a passenger in an accident when a friend was driving. We figured it was just to prevent later claims of whip-lash.

Anonymous said...

16:14
He has been charged with impersonating an officer. I think he is just a nut-bar but the possibility of real trouble has to be considered.

Anonymous said...

Totally Off Topic
Starlight Books is seriously down-sizing so anyone who has relied upon them for years to provide and dispose of books needs to check the new situation in the next few weeks. It is a lot like when Ron Wallace had to stop being a great source. Very sad.

Anonymous said...

@20:10

One word: Library

Anonymous said...



20:57

You can't buy books in a library

Anonymous said...

20:57
Since when does the Library accept and sell used books ? As well as offering the latest books for those able and willing to purchase them. ?

Anonymous said...

@20:57

Three words - totally different concept

Anonymous said...


Who came up with Aurora's Santa Under the Stars ? After being caught in Newmarket's traffic jam, I realized what a good idea it was.