Justice: Steadily Catching Up
Justice sometimes holds her balance and her light of reason high, but has feet of lead. We would like to think, as law-abiding, reasonable citizens of Canada, that everyone is equal under the law, and everyone is equally responsible to obey the law. And that those who will not and do not because they feel themselves and their 'cause' to be above the law, will be brought back to reality by the application of the law, justly and evenly.
The Caledonia, Ontario 'incident' is still raw, has still not been settled. Native demonstrators claiming the land upon which new housing was being built, was theirs and the builders not entitled to the land they paid legal title for saw a victory when the Government of Ontario purchased the land, and handed it to the demonstrators. And there they squat, still making life miserable for people living in the area.
All the violence that ensued in September of 2007 onward, with the seizure of the housing development, a standoff with police, road blockades and torching of police cars, threats and violence and intimidation against non-natives has never been adequately addressed. No one held to account. All those years later, though, one young man, Richard Smoke, 22, has been found guilty and awaits sentencing.
Richard Smoke, along with some other youthful native companions launched an attack on Sam Gualtieri, 56, who had been building a house for his daughter, and who discovered Richard Smoke and his companions in the house, ordering him to leave. Instead, Richard Smoke violently attacked Mr. Gualtieri, in the process injuring him "just a notch below culpable homicide", as described by Judge Alan Whiten.
For which crime of aggravated assault and break-and-enter, Richard Smoke was ordered into custody to await a sentencing hearing. The young native man, Richard Smoke, was seen standing over Mr. Gualtieri, repeatedly hitting him with a piece of lumber, before he was finally restrained, and Mr. Gualtieri rescued from certain death. He suffered broken bones in his left and right cheeks, his nose and shoulder.
These years of recovery see Mr. Gualtieri with speech and vision impairment, ears ringing, hearing impaired, an inability to balance himself on his legs, unreliable memory, and unable to return to his profession as a building framer. His external wounds have healed nicely enough. But the brain damage he sustained under the vicious beating given him remain an invisible injury that has diminished the quality of his life substantially.
This is one portion of justice being meted out. Far more needs to be seen to. The Government of Ontario and the Ontario Provincial Police have much to answer for in the manner in which they comported themselves during this illegal and violent (and ongoing) assault against a community. That young toughs with a perceived grievance could feel confident that their violent actions would not be apprehended is an insult to law and order.
The craven, political surrender to the arrogant entitlement to break the law and make life a misery for other people on the part of native protesters without the gears of government and assurances of safety and security swinging into action, is unforgivable.
The Caledonia, Ontario 'incident' is still raw, has still not been settled. Native demonstrators claiming the land upon which new housing was being built, was theirs and the builders not entitled to the land they paid legal title for saw a victory when the Government of Ontario purchased the land, and handed it to the demonstrators. And there they squat, still making life miserable for people living in the area.
All the violence that ensued in September of 2007 onward, with the seizure of the housing development, a standoff with police, road blockades and torching of police cars, threats and violence and intimidation against non-natives has never been adequately addressed. No one held to account. All those years later, though, one young man, Richard Smoke, 22, has been found guilty and awaits sentencing.
Richard Smoke, along with some other youthful native companions launched an attack on Sam Gualtieri, 56, who had been building a house for his daughter, and who discovered Richard Smoke and his companions in the house, ordering him to leave. Instead, Richard Smoke violently attacked Mr. Gualtieri, in the process injuring him "just a notch below culpable homicide", as described by Judge Alan Whiten.
For which crime of aggravated assault and break-and-enter, Richard Smoke was ordered into custody to await a sentencing hearing. The young native man, Richard Smoke, was seen standing over Mr. Gualtieri, repeatedly hitting him with a piece of lumber, before he was finally restrained, and Mr. Gualtieri rescued from certain death. He suffered broken bones in his left and right cheeks, his nose and shoulder.
These years of recovery see Mr. Gualtieri with speech and vision impairment, ears ringing, hearing impaired, an inability to balance himself on his legs, unreliable memory, and unable to return to his profession as a building framer. His external wounds have healed nicely enough. But the brain damage he sustained under the vicious beating given him remain an invisible injury that has diminished the quality of his life substantially.
This is one portion of justice being meted out. Far more needs to be seen to. The Government of Ontario and the Ontario Provincial Police have much to answer for in the manner in which they comported themselves during this illegal and violent (and ongoing) assault against a community. That young toughs with a perceived grievance could feel confident that their violent actions would not be apprehended is an insult to law and order.
The craven, political surrender to the arrogant entitlement to break the law and make life a misery for other people on the part of native protesters without the gears of government and assurances of safety and security swinging into action, is unforgivable.
Labels: Justice, Ontario, Social-Cultural Deviations
posted by Pieface @ 8:23 PM
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