Given that the people who are important to me live in a couple of different countries and not all in my present timezone I had some explaining to do on the incidents of last Weds night. I’ve been enjoying their responses and bald confusion over what took place. Wha? Then again I’ve also especially enjoyed responses when trying to give them a broader picture and described some of the nonsense rhetoric that has crept in here in the last few years, which includes bigging up the brand with daft invocations such as “World-Class City.” and how unfortunately some residents seems to have swallowed it and are currently participating (tho’ p’haps not consciously) in brand repair via compulsive apologizing.

One respondent wondered poignantly what the criteria was for being a World Class City? (Curiously now I type it, it’s awfully redolent of those tacky mugs with World’s Best Mum or World’s Best Dad on them).

Other cities just get up and get on with it in the mornings. We are active in our World-Class getting on with it. Indeed we are perhaps World-Class at getting up in the morning. The culture of pronouncement indicates a void. It also indicates a level of arrogance that refuses to pay attention to the thunderstorm rolling in or look skyward and consider the conditions that are presenting and what might form as a result.

In my mind I keep searching for the scenarios that took place on Weds night in other manifestations of my experience of daily life here. The one that does come back is that image of people standing alone and people not stepping forward to support them. A hesitancy to involve oneself. A kind of quiet reticence rather than cold indifference. And if you do involve yourself either a discomfort at the offer (resulting sometimes in a refusal to accept help) or an overwhelming response of gratitude and surprise at the expection you would.

The place I’ve observed a complete contrast to the above is in the DTES to be honest.