Toronto the good? Hog town? World class city? Old sobriquets for the city which now need to be changed: Nut town, squirrelly city, NY2, Detroit+. Not to cast aspersions on the USA but remember when “Gun city” applied to American cities, not Canadian.
Toronto is becoming ‘Gun city’ now.
Often I agree with what Rosie Dimanno writes for the Toronto Star. I even agree with many other Star journalists, regular contributors and less frequent ones too, Heather Mallick, Susan Delacourt, Martin Regg Cohen and Michael Coren. My only gripe with their commentaries is that more often than not, they add to the clamour and sensationalism of the news happening in the city.
What is the role of a journalist? To report the news? To examine and describe what has happened? Then, end their commentary? As residents of the city themselves and having a pedestal from which they can speak, do they not have a responsibility to suggest constructive ideas for improving the city?
Certainly, the question of what is their responsibility is a challenging one. However, in these increasingly tough times, it seems that it is incumbent that these journalists dig deeper, think harder, examine more incisively and suggest ideas to their readers, ideas which may reduce violence in the streets, ideas which politicians may need to examine or ones which they have overlooked.
These journalists are citizens of the city. They live here. They write about the city. They examine it in greater detail than the average resident. If they are not doing that, they should be. With that deeper, closer examination, they may be inspired to finding new directions the city’s residents can consider, new policies the political leaders may study, not that Police Chief Saunders or Mayor John Tory or even Premier Doug Ford are less capable of creative strategizing. However, perhaps a bit of distance from the events can create a different perspective. Perhaps those who write about the news may have different ideas about it.
Rosie, quit sensationalizing the violence. Quit giving these squirrels behind the violence the exposure which they enjoy and want. Quit giving these nuts the publicity they desire, need and/or crave. Instead, report the news succinctly, specifically and curtly when it comes to violence. A brief incident report and a short summary of the results, no more. Stop giving these nutbars the public exposure which gives more ideas and models to replicate and duplicate.
Instead, give us your thoughts about the events. Analyze our successful policies, our successful directions and review them for the public so that they can re-examine them themselves. Remind them about the good. Reminisce about the good old days as reminders that we are not the purveyors of evil as are the current city terrorists. Times have changed. Can you give us ideas how we might better deal with this new direction?
As for the perps responsible for the growing violence in our city, I have a suggestion for all of you writers…
Diss ’em publically.
