(This took place yesterday, which is why it has been written as such)
It is Thanksgiving weekend, and today my daughters and I celebrated with my mother's side of the family. We were walking through her residential area; I had my youngest daughter in the stroller, while my oldest was walking with my mother.
Off to our right, across the street, were two guys walking down an alley driveway. Suddenly we heard a honk. Right behind them was an SUV, obviously fed up with the men's slow walking speed and desperate to get around them. As they crossed the street, they finally moved out of the way for the driver.
That was when I saw the driver turn his head to yell at the men, taking his eyes off the road, and his car was careening towards us on the other side.
Everything moved in slow motion. I began yelling at the driver, "Hey, hey! -- Hey!!!" Once I recognized that he wasn't stopping, my focus immediately went to my daughter, who was being pulled back from her run by my mother's arm, who had just managed to catch my daughter as the driver hit the brakes.
(Image created using an AI art generator on Night Cafe)
I was in a state of disbelief. My eyes locked with the driver's, who had what appeared to be disappointment on his face -- at me! It was literally an expression of, "I'm so sick of your shit," while he slumped back against his seat.
"What are you doing?!" I fumed.
His response: "I was trying to talk to these two guys!"
Disbelief turned into flabbergasted. I couldn't believe what the fuck I was hearing. "You're driving a vehicle!" I shrieked. "Your attention should be on the road!!" I crossed in front of him before he took off speeding down the alley once again.
I ran to check and make sure that my daughter was okay. After realizing she was fine, I broke down crying.
My children being hit by a car is probably my biggest fear to date. Today it almost happened, and not only would it have been over something so incredibly fucking stupid, but I would have been greeted with no sympathy. The driver's reaction was one of complete apathy -- he was not scared, or apologetic, or regretful. And it wasn't just the driver -- it was everyone around us. My mother and I were the only ones to rebuke the driver; the two men just continued on walking. A woman had been walking behind us for the entire incident simply continued to walk past as I was sobbing, as if nothing had even occurred (and she couldn't even be bothered to give us space as she walked past).
And as terrible as it is to say, this is fairly normal in the cities nowadays. I could not expect any other kind of reaction in today's day and age, where people no longer reserve compassion for those who deserve it, and people who hate my skin colour are graciously being welcomed as my neighbors. I no longer expect people to acknowledge their wrongdoings -- "Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry!" -- or be bothered to ask if my daughter was okay.
This is the society that many of you allowed to happen while you cowardly sat back and watched. Some of you actively contributed to it, and now the malicious individuals have what they wanted: a Brave New World. There is no longer a sense of community, hardly a shred of humanity.
So that is the reality of Canada in the year 2024. My daughter would have been hit by a car and everyone -- even the fucking driver -- would have turned a blind eye to it. And only one day away from fucking Thanksgiving, at that.
(Our most recent photo together)