Contributed

By Mel Rothenburger

ARMCHAIR MAYOR

ROTHENBURGER: Let’s get the facts on kicking incident before passing judgment

Mar 24, 2021 | 4:39 AM

KAMLOOPS — WE’RE ALWAYS WILLING to jump to conclusions well before the facts have been properly collected and assessed.

As revealed in a citizen video published yesterday by CFJC, there was a kicking incident outside the City’s homeless storage building on Victoria Street West across from City Hall.

The facility has become a popular hangout for street folks, who stand, sit or lay around outside the building.

It’s a bad situation, and needs to be rectified, either with a better location or with the “day lodge” concept proposed by some councillors. Until that happens, it will continue to be a trouble spot.

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The video appears to show a security guard asking a man in a red jacket to move. The man shouts “F—- you!” at the guard, who throws the man to the ground and kicks him three times. As bystanders begin to converge, the guard tells them to back off.

Based on the video alone, this could be either a case of an unprovoked attack by the guard, or the tail end of an altercation started by the man in the red jacket.

It’s not OK to kick people but we don’t know what preceded the confrontation, which typically doesn’t stop us from passing judgment. “I’ll bet the street guy was being belligerent and maybe even physically assaulted the guard before it happened.”

Or, “That guard should be fired and charged with assault.”

The court of public opinion too often doesn’t bother with facts and details, only with our own ingrained suspicions.

We decide in our own minds what must have happened based on our own biases, which have been developed over time according to our life experiences and fears.

We believe only we know what’s wrong with the world, who’s right and who’s wrong, and we readily convict.

But just this once, could we reserve our indignation and self-righteous declarations until the facts are in?

I hope so.

I’m Mel Rothenburger, the Armchair Mayor.

Mel Rothenburger is a former mayor of Kamloops and a retired newspaper editor. He is a regular contributor to CFJC, publishes the ArmchairMayor.ca opinion website, and is a director on the Thompson-Nicola Regional District board. He can be reached at mrothenburger@armchairmayor.ca.

Editor’s Note: This opinion piece reflects the views of its author, and does not necessarily represent the views of CFJC Today or the Jim Pattison Broadcast Group.