Editor, The Times:
“A recurrent complaint is that for all the meetings and presentations and workshops and open houses they attend, people have no idea if anyone is actually listening to them. Policies and projects are developed somewhere else, and there is no obvious reflection of people’s ideas and criticisms.”
The above words, taken from the latest Mining Watch newsletter, partly describe the latest open house concerning the Harper Creek Mine. The June 1 exercise could also be described as one of myth building. According to the Merriam -Webster dictionary, a myth is “ a popular belief or tradition that has grown up around something or someone.”
A myth can be built on truth, half-truths or even lies. As long as the story enters the popular belief system, a myth can be formed and, once that takes place, any factual discussion of the actual truth reflected in the myth becomes difficult, if not impossible. To sell an environmental disaster like an open-pit mine, an appeal to some abstraction, like prosperity, is essential. The early stages of myth building require constant repetition associating the project with its potentially positive outcomes. They also require that any negative consequences be minimized with absolute and ruthless efficiency.
At the open house, negative consequences of the Harper Creek Mine were dealt with in a variety of ways. By far the most intimidating way of silencing the voices of concern were unprovoked verbal attacks on “environmentalists.” in the abstract. The blunt rejection of some concerns (“there is no uranium here”), talking around the point, and mock accommodation were also used to terminate the discussion of consequences.
Once a myth has been established, the meaningful discussion of actual facts, even in an informal setting like over a cup of coffee, becomes far more difficult when individuals are likely to hold opposing views. Facts no longer matter because attitudes become hardened and rather than spoiling that pleasant cup of coffee, any reference to the subject is avoided. The community then becomes divided but silent. Any common representation of concern, made to the regulatory agencies, becomes less probable. The social and environmental history of a town and an area can then be rewritten whether or not the result is found to be desirable.
Accepting a myth that embodies something that we want, like prosperity, can be effortless. Did you ever meet a kid that didn’t want to believe in Santa Claus? Nevertheless, all of those presents sitting under the Christmas tree come with a price tag.
Dave Simms
Clearwater, B.C.
