I find it somewhat ironic that in last weekend’s Gazette there were two letters contesting the (re)opening of Blitz 420, while on the reverse side of those pages was an article asking if we are “really a city of snobs.” Judging by the comments from several people quoted in the article on page 3 of that issue, I would say that the answer is ‘yes.’
The comment that a shop of this type “attracts a certain clientele” is a very blatant stereotype. I, for one, had hoped that in a well-educated community such as our own, this type of prejudice would be a thing of the past. When I was in school, I sat through anti-racism lectures multiple times every year. Yet, as I’ve grown older, I’ve come to realize that racism is far from our biggest problem when it comes to unjustified prejudice. Rather, it’s that teenagers are blindly labelled disrespectful, normal people with spiky mohawks and facial piercings are called freaks, and an average man or women is liable to be verbally or even physically assaulted because of their sexual orientation.
Our mayor has commented that he wants “to work on things that are youth development.” Is negatively profiling everyone who has visited or would visit a smoke shop the kind of example you wish to set for our city’s youth? That’s not positive youth development; that’s a step backwards.
I challenge every person reading this to visit a smoke shop with open eyes, ears, and mind, and leave the upturned nose at the door; you may just realize that the ‘clientele’ is not so different from you or me.
Devon G. Redekopp, St. Albert
