According to Zoe, those who’d prefer not to be assailed by thunderous basslines at 4am, or to have their evenings enlivened by small, terrified animals falling from the sky, are merely being cruel, “dehumanising,” and needlessly judgemental. For Zoe, the problem with ‘problem families’ is simply that they’re poor, and nothing whatsoever to do with how they choose to abuse their equally poor neighbours.
In the world of our Guardian columnist, we – by which she means you – should be “unstigmatising,” which is to say, non-judgemental. Passive and accepting, on an indefinite basis. A process via which empathy, or feigned empathy, is shifted from the working-class victim of crime and antisocial behaviour to the working-class perpetrator of crime and antisocial behaviour, on grounds that the thug or criminal is in some way being oppressed and, unlike their neighbours, being made to misbehave.
After my late sister’s estate is wound up, I will be moving to Upper Canada, Ottawa specifically as my daughter and nephew (executrix and back-up) live there. I call it moving to “the belly of the beast”, however having been an executrix now, it is important to have you live near your executors – it is a very busy year.
Currently, I live near Regina Housing. Somehow, the occupants in income assisted housing can afford very expensive SUV’s and F150 pick-up trucks, but they cannot afford shovels and their yards are full of weeds. Their children also run amok. When I move, I do not want to live near poor people. They make poor decisions – do not get a good education and do not maintain their living spaces. These statements are based on my personal observations over the last 43 years.