Reply With QuoteSo one cop writes a letter and We are the Laughing stock of Canada? Meh that cuts so bad....
Walt Wawra Feels Unsafe in Canada Without Gun, Writes Letter To The Editor
Walt Wawra, a U.S. police officer, is encountering ridicule online after writing a letter lamenting not having his gun during a visit to Calgary.
In a message to the Calgary Herald, Wawra, of Kalamazoo, Mich., describes what he felt was a dangerous confrontation with two men in Calgary's Nose Hill Park for which he wished he had had his firearm.
Walking with his wife, the men approached Wawra and asked if the couple had been to the Stampede. After receiving no response, they asked Wawra again. He told them "Gentle-men, I have no need to talk with you, goodbye." The men looked "bewildered," he writes in the letter and likely had bad intentions indicated by their "aggressive, disrespectful and menacing manner."
While small talk is still legal in Canada, tourists aren't allowed to bring guns across the border.
Plenty of Canadians would argue that's because you don't need one and many readers found the story hard to believe, writing in to ask if it was a hoax. It's not.
Despite all the negative attention, including at least one threatening phone call to his home, Wawra told CBC he doesn't regret writing it.
The story has sparked the creation of a new Twitter hashtag, #NoseHillGentlemen. Gawker's headline captured the sentiments of most users: "American Becomes Laughing Stock of Canada."
The letter comes at a time when gun law debates are heating up across the U.S. and Canada, after shootings in Colorado, at Toronto's Eaton Centre and earlier this week at a Sikh temple in Wisconsin.
Undoubtedly, Wawra's letter will become a part of that discussion.
http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2012/08...n_1756991.html
It's awkward
So one cop writes a letter and We are the Laughing stock of Canada? Meh that cuts so bad....
lol are all cops like that.Walking with his wife, the men approached Wawra and asked if the couple had been to the Stampede. After receiving no response, they asked Wawra again. He told them "Gentle-men, I have no need to talk with you, goodbye." The men looked "bewildered," he writes in the letter and likely had bad intentions indicated by their "aggressive, disrespectful and menacing manner."
Also why is huffpost canada basicaly dedicated to making fun of america. The US can't help it
The gun thing is largely irrelevant - it's the story of the unwelcome tourist everywhere. Go to another country where you know laws/customs will be different and then complain about them being different despite the fact you knew they'd be different when you arranged the trip. Though admittedly, when British tourists complain about things abroad it's normally the fact that they can't buy fish and chips in continental Europe, not being able to walk around tooled up.
Some people should just stay at home.
Walking with his wife, the men approached Wawra and asked if the couple had been to the Stampede. After receiving no response, they asked Wawra again. He told them "Gentle-men, I have no need to talk with you, goodbye." The men looked "bewildered," he writes in the letter and likely had bad intentions indicated by their "aggressive, disrespectful and menacing manner."
So ... does he need a gun to deal with bad manners ?
Yeah, and the park where this occurred has kilometers of pathways through natural grass lands and scrub forest... and would be a pretty good spot for two asshole's to mug a tourist and his wife.
There's a difference between, "Hey buddy, have you been to the Stampede yet?" and, "Hey.... have you been to the Stampede yet?" after I've just stopped you in a secluded area and I'm staring at your wife's purse.
The sheeple that think this guys is right out of it have NO idea who actually lives in this city, and what a lot of them would do given the chance.
Edit to Add: To clarify, I'm a cop in the city where fellow had this encounter. There's times I wish I had my gun on me as well.
Also:
http://www.calgarysun.com/2012/08/11...ed-with-murder
This guy killed a peace officer over a dog complaint. There's nutjobs here too.
Cops spend their entire careers reading people's intentions. I would go with a veteran cop's instincts over the way some folks who were not there wish to characterize the incident.Originally Posted by armored_diplomacy
Hmm ... I must stand corrected then.
Which is why we create enclaves that are basically Blackpool with more sun
I'm not questioning that he felt uncomfortable during the incident, however I do think his reaction is foolish. He knew he wouldn't be allowed to carry when he booked the trip. To write to the editor of a paper saying that he wished he had his gun, after knowingly visiting a country where he can't carry is just inviting mockery and will achieve nothing.
I suspect that there are more Canadians sympathetic to his viewpoint than the Canadian media would have us believe.
Lutz pointed to comments left by readers in a Kalamazoo Gazette report on Wawra's controversial letter claiming they were approached by the same men and offered passes to the Stampede's centennial celebration free of charge. Lutz says the two promoters were representing Calgary Oil.
Source: http://gawker.com/5933264/report-nos...ium=socialflow
His letter reads like a J.K. Toole excerpt.
Wrong again.
If you ever lived in Calgary, please tell me. Most threatening thing I have ever seen while living here for 6 years is along the beltline, where the possible stabbings happen or up in Marlborough where ethnic gangs are. Nose Hill is far from troubled areas.
I was under the impression those things didnīt happen in Canada
Trunk monkey is a Cop there and says this Walt guy is spot on.
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