I just watched a video about crime and safety in Richmond, BC, where people were calling for longer sentences for “habitual offenders.” It hit a nerve. Because while I understand the desire to feel safe, I’m exhausted by the privileged finger-pointing—especially from people who’ve contributed to the problem and now refuse to be part of the solution.
Richmond is a city that pushed back against social housing. Now it’s demanding that struggling people—addicted, homeless, mentally ill—be locked up longer. Many of these complaints are coming from people who arrived here with wealth, often from places like Hong Kong or mainland China, buying up property as investment, driving up housing prices, and using BC’s real estate and casino systems to launder money. That’s not speculation—that’s been documented in public reports that were swept under the rug.
Then these same voices look down and say: “tsk tsk, look at those dirty addicts, lock them up.”
The hypocrisy is staggering.
Some of these people step over bodies in the street—real people, overdosing, suffering, homeless—on their way into a glittering casino to throw away thousands of dollars at the blackjack table. Where’s the compassion? Where’s the humanity? You have money for gambling, but not a moment to consider volunteering at a food bank, donating to a shelter, or helping someone build a life with dignity?
Addiction isn’t a crime—it’s a crisis. A public health crisis, fueled by Big Pharma, deepened by poverty, trauma, and systemic neglect. Jail isn’t treatment. You can’t handcuff someone into healing.
Meanwhile, sex offenders in halfway houses go unmonitored and walk away, and no one raises hell about that—but let someone addicted to fentanyl steal a sandwich or a bike, and suddenly it’s time to throw away the key?
If people truly cared about safety, they would demand:
- Affordable housing
- Proper mental health care
- Treatment centers, not jail cells
- Real community spaces—gardens, arts, education, support networks
But that would mean redistributing some of the obscene wealth concentrated in luxury towers and locked bank accounts overseas. That would mean facing the uncomfortable truth: the system is broken for some, while working perfectly for others.
So before you sit at the slot machine shaking your head at someone in a tent, ask yourself: What are you really doing to make things better?
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