Re: ‘Higher-earning families part of St. Albert’s appeal,’ April 3.
When I first started reading this vitriolic letter I expected to discover satire, like Jonathan Swift’s A Modest Proposal and that, at some point in the diatribe, the writers would reveal that the article was tongue-in-cheek. To my disgust, I realized the letter was a true reflection of the mindset of some of St. Albert’s citizens.
Its scurrilous use of the phrase “low-income households” denoting criminality, drug use, and other unsavoury activities is offensive in the extreme. If the writers had substituted ‘black’ or ‘Jewish’ or ‘native’ for low-income, this letter would be considered a hate crime.
I understand the concerns raised by residents of Akinsdale over the high-density housing planned for their community. But the intent of the aforementioned letter has gone beyond the valid worries about green space, parking, overcrowding and property values.
Do these writers live in a vacuum? St. Albert is already home to a wide range of income-earners, including upper, middle and lower classes. To imply that the city is an elite clique of only the wealthy is absurd. The writers claim they don’t want to worry about drugs, gang fights, speeders, or the unruly families that will supposedly infiltrate our community with the proposed development in Akinsdale. All of these behaviours are already quite evident in St. Albert, just as they are in every city. This city is not an island of upper-class morality. Immoral behaviour is evident in all strata of society, not just the poor.
The writers imply that the intrinsic value of a human being is measured by his paycheque, and that friendships among children and teenagers are based on one’s “house and other possessions.” (Perhaps that says a lot about the character of the so-called ‘friends.’) It’s certainly an eye-opener to see the writers’ low opinion of the people who serve their coffee, work in their stores, clean their houses, guard their country, and babysit their children. To denigrate an entire class of low-income people as undesirables is snobbish arrogance.
My husband and I, both retired high school teachers (who incidentally were raised in low-income families) moved to St. Albert several years ago to enjoy the wonderful amenities this small city enjoys. We have praised the services, inhabitants and atmosphere of this community to our friends who live elsewhere. This letter, however, made me ashamed to be a citizen here, ashamed that readers from outside our community would believe that such sentiments reflect the beliefs of St. Albertans.
John and Irma Peltier, St. Albert
