The neighborhood in which I reside is only a block from Jasper Avenue, the main drag through Edmonton's downtown, so it's to be expected that miscreants and na'er do wells are never too far away; you never know what sort of trouble may await right around the corner. Somehow though, with it's nineteenth century Catholic Church, elementary school, and numerous apartments catering exclusively to senior citizens, the community of Grandin somehow eschews troublemakers and sees nary a shade of the violence and crime so rampant only a few blocks to the north.
Having lived in Grandin for about four years now, I'm beginning to feel a sense of attachment and feel fortunate to be able to call such a pleasant and well situated community my home. I'm no more than three blocks away from groceries, entertainment, parliament, and the underground train station is a one minute walk from my door.
The other day, I escorted a lady friend of mine to the Grandin train station. As is often the case, there was a lone drunken hangabout in the stairwell, who seemed fairly sedate. I waited with her on one of the landings of the final flight of steps to the train concourse until her train arrived, and bid her farewell.
In leaving the station, I decided to take the elevator to avoid the loiterer my lady friend and I had passed moments ago. As the elevator doors opened, I was about to stride in as I was not expecting the lift to be occupied. Upon seeing an occupant about to disembark, I gregariously stepped backward to provide him some room, and gestured approvingly for him to exit with a wave of my arms in a respectful manner - as is customary for a gentleman to do. Most decent folks would say something like, "good evening", "thank you, or nod and smile.
Now, If I'm in a good mood, I almost always make the effort to extend courtesies to strangers I happen to meet while out and about amongst the public; I'll offer a smile and a nod, and love to greet people and their dogs when they're out for a walk. Old ladies often warmly smile at me as I pass. That's the kind of guy I am.
Well this piece of horseshit getting off of the elevator, in spite of my courteous gesture to allow him to exit the lift before I entered said, "Get the fuck out of my face" along with a few other less than kind words. He was very menacing and threatened me with violence. He was still shouting as the elevator doors shut, and he really got my adrenaline going. What if I were an old lady, just returning home from a game of crib or something? He might have given someone with a lesser constitution a heart attack! As the lift brought me back to ground level, I couldn't help but feel angry about the whole thing.
The aggressor was a head shorter than me, and a few dozen pounds lighter. I keep thinking how I should have pulled him back into the elevator, out of the way of surveillance, and worked him up and down the cubicle until his eyes crossed. That's what he deserves for ruining my good mood. Perhaps the next time he's at Grandin Station the miserable cretin will reconsider before he decides to be a fuckbag piece of shit in my hood.
Maybe it's time that like minded young people make the safety and security of public spaces our business. We don't need ill-willed drunken, drug addled douchebags littering Grandin's streets, needlessly intimidating the students and the elderly. If the city is incapable of funneling enough resources into security for our public transit, then perhaps it's time for a little vigilante justice to send a message through their rat-eaten grapevine that these scumbag pieces of shit aren't welcome here. Of course we'd use every measure of diplomacy imaginable to first persuede them to leave of their own volition, but be on the ready to make them wish they'd chosen a different locale to putrify if they demonstrate anything less than a reasonable disposition.
No comments:
Post a Comment