When I was younger I drove with my family from New York to Montreal many times and thought it was amazing. I really liked it a lot. A year ago, a friend of mine was murdered in Montreal and it made me think. People have told it that canada has changed a lot, but when I visited Vancouver a few weeks ago I saw it for myself and was stunned. There was crackheads wondering the streets aimlessly. Trash and used newspapers blowing in the wind. I saw condoms and needles laying on the ground several different times and I had to look where I walked. Graffiti all over the place, strip clubs and stores selling bongs were everywhere. I had been told that Vancouver was the gem of Canada. When did it become so infested with crackheads, strip clubs, needles, and aids clinics? I talked to someone that moved from Canada to the US about this and they just laughed and said if I thought Vancouver was bad, I should check out toronto. Everyone in Canada seemed so apathetic and not to care anymore. Why?
Sounds like you might have been in the lower east end of Vancity... where drug use and seedy activity is well known. That area has been like that for decades though- I know this because one of my great uncles died in Vancouver's lower east end - of alcohol poisoning - about 40-50 years ago. He had been living on the streets for a couple of years by that point. Vancouver has traditionally been where a lot of transients go during the winter due to the warmer temperatures. I agree that it's getting worse in general though (ie, across Canada). I think a lot of it has to do with gang activity and lack of direction in the youth population. I live in a lower income area in Edmonton now (which is being revitalized with the influx of artists, musicians and young families that can't get into the housing market in the rest of Edmonton due to the crazy house prices). Even with this revitalization, I see a lot of youth left to their own devices - there is no direction or activities for them to keep busy. MANY gangs have moved into the city, particularly in this area. Unfortunately I think that a lot of their parents are a) busy working to make ends meet, or b) uninterested in their children which is a perfect recipe for them to join a group of people where they get to be recognized - a gang. I am definitely not saying that this is all kids - not even close, but it only takes a small percentage to make a difference. And, I know this isn't just happening in my area, but also in suburbia. I remember going to high school in the 90s and knowing people in my upper middle class school that were involved with gangs. Their parents would give them money to keep them occupied (most often because the parents were either working a lot or wanting to do their own things, without the kids). Anyway, these guys (some girls) shot at 2 houses in the area, because they were part of the rival gang! If their parents DID stuff with them, I wonder if they would have been swayed to join a gang where they were noticed.
So, getting to your question about apathy in Canada - I agree with you. I think that many adults are too busy making money to keep up with the Jones' next door, or doing their own thing, that the kids are left to the way-side. I think often kids are brought into this world because it's expected and it's a status symbol. I think as time goes on, often parents have a lot of pressure to make lots of money - to give their children everything, plus have enough so they can have fun too. In the process of working like a dog, the parents choose not to see that their kids are in crisis and all hell is breaking loose. I don't mean to generalize - and this certainly isn't a generalization because many kids have great parents who really are interested in them, but it only takes a few misguided young adults to cause a great deal of harm and violence. It's sad and I wish more parents would notice their kids and guide their children. It doesn't mean that one parent needs to stay home - not at all, but that there are family days/nights where the kids are NOTICED by their parents and encouraged and directed by their parents!
This is only my theory on my own observations. It certainly doesn't explain even a quarter of the crime occuring these days but I think it does impact society as a whole, in a negative way.
I need to submit something 'creative' along with other things to see if I can get into ShadValley. What I had in mind, was I going to draw and color a profile or 3/4 view of a girl's face, but I'd have her hair be bright colors, with clips and bows and such in her hair, she'd have bright colored eyes, maybe some bright gems or sparkles on her face. The background would be full of bright colors, and full of random graffiti-like things. I really want to make this piece bright and stick out. I want it to be kind of like this http://thegirlinthebigbox.deviantart.com/art/What-38016510 . I mentioned this to my boyfriend, and he said that it's uncreative and that I need to grow up. What do you think?
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