I’m a retired elementary school teacher, and I’ve been told on occasion that I am a presentable, non-threatening kind of person. I am also deeply concerned about BC Hydro’s blanket rollout of wireless smart meters.
Last Thursday, the day before the UBCM’s moratorium vote, I had the questionable pleasure of sitting beside “legislative reporter” Mr. Tom Fletcher, on a sunny bench outside the Vancouver Convention Centre.
I was one of the “tiny group of protestors” he mentions in his “dumb leaders” article, and I twice attempted to engage him, briefly, in polite conversation. Predictably perhaps, I was met with a dismissive nod, no eye-contact whatsoever, and silence. His interaction with me, or lack of it, was memorable because it underscored the fact that Mr. Fletcher was, for a full 15 minutes, singularly unwilling to look around to see anything except what was directly in front of his face: a newspaper, his aromatic cigarettes and his iPhone.
In light of his article – penned after the vote and re-printed in local papers province-wide – and the defensive tone of “I’m done arguing with people who make up their own facts. I’ll just address those who haven’t bought into this nonsense,” it seems that he is making a huge mistake. His one-sided, self-serving, caustic commentary, like his closed approach to dialogue, doesn’t help to raise awareness about the issue. It simply negates intelligent input and ultimately disrespects new voices, ethical viewpoints and the democratic process.
From his statement online that he is more interested in the “real world,” which for him now seems to be iClouds, apps and wireless devices, more’s the pity. Another chance to be an unbiased reporter goes up in smoke- and-mirrors meters.
Linda Ewart
