The Desperate Countdown To Christmas

As the calendar date gets ever closer to Christmas, desperate people begin to take desperate measures...

December 20th, 2019 was quite a busy day in Central Alberta. A father absconded with his son resulting in an Amber Alert. A bank robbery in Alix with an armed bandit escaping on a skidoo. A school lockdown in Stettler, basically simultaneously, and later, in the evening, a fatal shooting in a Red Deer Walmart.

These are only the incidents of note, there were likely many more that didn't grab the attention of the media for whatever reason.

Although we don't currently know the details of each of the incidents entirely at this time, it speaks to a greater issue.

In recent years, Alberta has been slowly circling the drain as the financial lifeblood typically provided by the province's energy sector, is agonizingly choked off by federal government red tape, and outside pressure, resulting in an orchestrated campaign to demonize the world's most ethically sourced oil and gas sector.

The writing was on the wall even before Albertans voted in Rachel Notley's NDP but the party's tendency to solve even the most simply remedied issues by throwing gobs of taxpayer funds at them, left the province in a much worse position than was necessary.

It hasn't gotten any better with a change in government in Jason Kenney's UCP, as they work feverishly to reign in a runaway deficit.

Of course this is a lot like scratching an itch with sandpaper, regardless how it may seem necessary.

After all, with a large number of Albertans looking for work, austerity measures seem much worse than they might in even slightly better times.

Bankruptcy and suicide rates continue to climb with little end in sight and foreclosures are commonplace.

The beginning of December was marked by the suicide of Ken Chan on the steps of the Alberta Legislature. The provincial government adjourned political debate shortly after, for the day, but activity as normal resumed the next day with some waxing on about “even though we may not know his name, we know of the common struggles he faced. The feeling of isolation, unloved, unwanted, struggling with the perceived failures…"

Maybe they should have had a debate on the rising suicide rate or about why municipalities are gouging citizens in an already trying time, to pay for arenas, while crying about being broke.

What would politicians ever truly know about the common struggles that Albertans face?

It's easy to be flippant from a six figure view.

Meanwhile, the growing desperation of every day Albertans continues well beyond the horizon visible from the windows of the provincial building.

The economic downturn has resulted in countless people getting a lesson that is not easily acquired in the legislative assembly, many of whom also received six figure paycheques not so very long ago.

Their view has changed dramatically as of late.

They are now forced to compete for considerably lower paying jobs, far below their experience level, against a long line of people in the same, if not similar, position.

Some of them are fortunate enough to obtain a job flipping hamburgers at a local fast food restaurant but for countless others there will be little to no assistance.

It's comical when statisticians announce that the number of people receiving Employment Insurance Benefits is down from last year when there is a limit to the amount of time those benefits are paid out. Many recipients have not successfully reentered the workforce prior to the conclusion of their claims.

Did they somehow all miraculously get gifted a new job with their final cheque?

For some people this leads to greater despair as they are forced to find other ways to sustain themselves and their families. This can easily lead to the overuse of drugs and alcohol as they scramble to achieve some sense of comfort and happiness amidst chaos.

This balancing act between self-medication and recreation can lead to greater addiction issues, resulting in a greater propensity towards crime. To both help feed their family while also feeding their addiction.

It's a vicious cycle with very few winners.

While not unscathed by the "opium crisis", the bigger problem in Alberta is methamphetamine and a judicial system that cannot differentiate between treatment and rehabilitation.

Methamphetamine keeps users awake for days on end, which is not the best state to be in when making important life choices - such as "should I steal this car?". All the while, they crave getting high, enough that they not only steal the car, but see no reason why they shouldn't.

When prisons are giving out needles to the inmate population and advocating for safe consumption sites for convicts, it speaks to the facts.

The two issues, although delicately intertwined, are different.

Locking someone up for a crime they committed while actively trying to service an addiction and then allowing them to do that same, or similar, drugs while incarcerated does little to nothing to stop crime.

If it's an addiction that needs to be treated - treat it.

If it's a case of criminal activity - deal with it.

Isn't it supposed to be really hard to get good things in jail?

Jason Kenney's plan to put more Mounties in rural locations at the expense of municipalities does nothing to address the underlying issues; the cops catch the bad guys just fine already, but incarceration, such as it is, serves no deterrent.

As more and more Albertans are forced out of their homes, their jobs, that sense of desperation gets more difficult to deal with.

That isn't to applaud those who would see fit to go out and steal from others to satiate their addictions but it's difficult not to have compassion for someone trying to feed their family.

After all, is there any lengths to which you would not go to provide for your child as well?

Which is the reason for the need to actually treat addiction in the first place. What that treatment is actually comprised of is a matter of debate however, and one best reserved for another time.

Christmas presents a whole other sense of pressure and one that is not limited to those suffering from addiction.

For some, they may have lost family, others jobs. Some are trying to find their way through being alone during the holidays. Others with not seeing children. First Christmas without a dearly beloved one. Some are struggling with the financial means to even participate in the first place.

The list goes on and on... There simply is no way of knowing of all the individual and personal issues each of us may be facing.

The outward masks that we project only allow for people to see what we want them to.

This is a large contributor to the general sense that things seem to be "crazy" this time of year and also why so many people seem to engage in unusual or risky behaviour.

It's not all extreme cases either; even you can probably admit to being a bit short or frustrated as Christmas begins to creep closer.

Now imagine magnifying what your problems are right now by 1,000%.

That's how it is for some of the people you see and speak to daily. It's that mask you are familiar with though, not the problems at home, not the letter from the bank.

If there is one thing that can be said about true Albertans fortunately, it's that when there's something that needs doing, we work together to get it done.

That's what we need to do now, more than ever.

While the answers might be yet to be agreed upon there is one thing we can all get behind; we need to look out for one another.

Check in on your neighbours, pick up the phone and listen to your friend who hasn't worked in a while, stop in at someone's house that you haven't seen around lately...

Don't hear what they tell you, hear what they don't say. Help, if you can.

Sometimes it's simply a smile, an encouraging word or a nod of the head, that can dramatically change the way someone might view the world that day and it costs you nothing.

Long before we worried about what politicians thought, we cared about ourselves and helping each other.

Let's just do that again for a while.

At the very least until the new year.

The ice is a little thin right now, but if we all shoulder a bit of the weight, we can make it safely across...

#abstrong #albertastrong #centralalberta #lookoutforeachother #roughchristmas #holidaymadness #makeadifference #seasonsintheabyss

If you, or somebody you know, is having difficulty with stress, depression, or suicidal thoughts, this holiday season (or at any time), do not hesitate to contact visit Crisis Services Canada at https://www.crisisservicescanada.ca/en/ or by calling 1-833-456-4566.

Crisis Services Canada (CSC) is a national network of existing distress, crisis and suicide prevention line services. We are committed to supporting any person living in Canada who is affected by suicide, in the most caring and least intrusive manner possible.