I’m divided on this one. On the one hand, there’s a crisis facing indigenous peoples. On the other hand, this is a pretty normal Halloween sign that has nothing to do with that. It might be in poor taste but I’m not fully convinced.
this post was submitted on 20 Oct 2023
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There's no fault here, imo...the person that put up the sign probably wasn't thinking about events in Winnipeg. But that doesn't change the fact that someone was killed and thrown away like trash. This sign pokes fun (albeit unintentionally) at a very real and raw situation. It's fair to ask them to remove the sign, so as not to put the families of these missing women through more pain.
Honestly, everything could trigger some group based on that logic. What about a zombie pictured with missing limbs at the local recreation center triggering amputees. What about a nerf whistling football at a school setting off refugees who'd escaped bombing in their home country.
Why does this scenario warrant action, when other similar situations do not?
There's a line that needs to be drawn somewhere, and I honestly don't think this sign is on the wrong side of it.
Not every group of people has recently, within the last year, had to contend with two of their members being murdered and thrown in a landfill, and then it becoming a major national political campaign issue.
If this was posted on a landfill in or near Winnipeg, I'd agree that it needs to come down and would be legitimately triggering.
In a completely different province... I don't see the issue.
I'm with you on this. Almost all jokes re: Halloween are in poor taste so I'm not sure why this one is off limits suddenly after years of indifference.
That’s probably what’s happened: the government is finally taking it seriously.
As far as I can see from the article, the government didn't have anything to do with it.
They were ordered by presumably the government to remove it.
The article says the order came from the corporation that owns the facility and says nothing about the government. Do you have evidence that the government was behind it?
It says:
"Regional district staff instructed the landfill operator to immediately remove the sign and to destroy it, so as to ensure a similar error does not occur again," Sailland added.
I interpreted that to be a government district, but I can see how it could be a fully private enterprise.
It's also a landfill on Vancouver island, and I'm from BC as well where I have hardly ever heard of these Manitoba landfill bodies. It easily could have been done in complete ignorance.
Even if it was done intentionally in bad taste, which I can't imagine it was, ordering its removal is going too far IMO. It's okay to have poor taste.
I'm queer and this summer we saw some people burning rainbow flags. I don't like what they did, but I wouldn't want it to be forbidden either.
Know your enemies? I kind of agree with you, but this was not a matter of police action or government orders, as I understand it the company itself decided it wasn't funny. I think I have a right to put funny signs in my yard, but if a neighbor asked me to take it down I wouldn't think they were overstepping either, what's appropriate is supposed to be negotiated between people.
Know your enemies?
Certainly that, but also I'm in favor of erring in the side of letting people make their own decisions and mistakes, as long as they don't affect others excessively. It's not black and white, we all have different ideas of where to draw the line.
what’s appropriate is supposed to be negotiated between people
Completely agreed. I'm just sharing my opinion, which is not any more valuable than any other.
Your opinion is fair. Mine is that because as far as I can tell the government wasn't involved, I support this action. It just seems like the kinder thing to do, to me.
Is no one going to point out how cheap that is? Minimum charge is $6 for a can of household garbage…
People are too sensitive and read too much into things these days. Relax. It's a joke...
In light of recent events I am all for taking those signs down.
I am also for the ban of fireworks for similar reasons.