Red Deer Reality Rant #43 - Live and Let Die, Safety in Red Deer
Hello there Red Deer! I’m back to interrupt your Monday for another Red Deer Reality Rant. In today’s post I would like to talk about an issue that affects Red Deerians, and society in general. It’s common knowledge in Red Deer that some areas of town are not safe. I think that this is true for all towns and cities, but for some reason Red Deer has a bad reputation. I am here to dispute this in today’s rant, and to argue for a better world.
Case in point, I live in downtown Red Deer. It seems to be notoriously thought of as dangerous. Yes, there are many homeless people and addicts roaming at any given time. But they are not limited to downtown, and if you look on them with compassion and/or respect they likely will not bother you. I am speaking from personal experience, I am sure that others have encountered violence in downtown Red Deer. However violence is not a new phenomenon.
There’s a lot of stuff that happens in Red Deer that doesn’t make it to news sources. Sometimes you will see 5 cop cars speeding down Gaetz avenue, or hear gunfire. However the media can not report every single incident that the police are investigating. If you watch Edmonton’s news, there’s a lot of crime reported, yet it’s still just the tip of the iceberg. Even so, crime is a thing that has been around as long as human beings.
Growing up I didn’t really notice crime, but then again I was a kid and didn’t watch the news or have too many adult conversations. The difference between now and then is also that we did not have social media to share the world’s problems or spread misinformation and blow things out of proportion. The media then did tend to sensationalize stories but not everything was reported. I truly think that there is just as much crime now as there was before and our media today has created fear-mongering that is unhealthy for everyone.
Life is dangerous. A person can die from the most benign objects if they are lodged in your throat or you trip over them or are otherwise assaulted with them. You might be injured just leaving your house or even before leaving your house, and you can be injured or killed by family, friends and acquaintances just as easily as by strangers. No one knows exactly when their time will come, but it happens to all of us so there’s no need to be afraid.
Life is also about experience, and if you live in fear you won’t take chances and will miss out on the good experiences as well as the bad. I’m not saying that you should go downtown right now and jovially start up a conversation with a crackhead, but as a longtime resident of Red Deer and the downtown area I think it has much to offer in the way of entertainment and experiences. Live life, don’t be afraid, and of course, stay brutal as we say here at the Digest. See you next week for more ranting!
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