Is it just me or is Western civilization collapsing one bad news story at a time?
The Barbarians are at the gates. Not even legendary 50-year-old koi are safe from barbarian predators looking to breach their urban sanctuary and eat them.
Nor are we safe here in formerly bucolic North Vancouver. Authorities at Seycove Secondary in Deep Cove are so distressed by the junior barbarians in their midst, they’ve been forced to shut down the washrooms.
According to reports, kids are scheming to use the washroom to vape, which is basically smoking in the washroom 2.0. Other kids feel unsafe, so the administration acted boldly and swiftly and locked the washrooms, leaving only a couple open near the principal’s office.
Wait a minute. Once again, the comfort of the many is compromised by the bad behaviour of the few. I can’t believe I’m actually about to write this, but ...
When I was in school, the offenders were suspended then expelled and the rest of the student body could continue to use the washrooms. That was a long time ago, far, far away.
I mean, think about this. Time and again, people who are willing to play by the rules are shoved aside, ignored, or ridiculed. I’m sure the vape vandals think it’s funny that they’re forcing the student body to cross its legs. And I can be readily dismissed as an old curmudgeon.
But unless someone is willing to stand up for the right to go to the bathroom – it’s right there but it’s locked? – we’ll have to chalk up another symbolic blow against sweet reason.
I suppose we can be thankful it’s only locks on the washroom doors. In France, the “yellow jackets” protesting fuel taxes have set fire to a high school near Toulouse. And once again, the bad actors prevail – the French government announced this week it was suspending the fuel tax increases indefinitely.
Imagine if Vancouver drivers set the city on fire because of fuel tax increases. Of course, riots only happen here when the local hockey team loses a playoff game.
I wonder how many people bother thinking about the reason for fuel surcharges to begin with. Instead of subsidizing drivers with free roads and cheap fuel, governments are trying to reflect the true cost of our dependence on fossil fuels so we’ll turn to alternatives that don’t drive climate change. Good luck with that.
Don’t take my word for it. Sir David Attenborough, the renowned broadcaster of Life on Earth, earlier this week predicted the collapse of Western civilization if we allowed climate change to proceed unchecked. He found himself pleading with Donald Trump, the Scofflaw in Chief, not to pull out of the Paris Climate Accord, which might be the last chance we have to keep the planet from burning up.
Donald Trump and his pals don’t care. They probably smoked in the school washroom.
The recurring theme in all of this is that there is a whole bunch of people who either don’t care or don’t comprehend our current fragile state. Let someone else take care of civilization. I’m too busy expressing myself to take on that responsibility. Or any responsibility, for that matter.
I can’t speak for the people who locked the washrooms at Seycove Secondary, but we all suspect what would happen if they tried to discipline the vape vandals: outrage that anyone would try to control our precious offspring.
Doing the right thing has lost its appeal. It’s too hard and boring. There may be consequences. The Greater Good won’t hold a banquet in your honour. Somebody might yell at you on Twitter. You could be subject to a review.
It’s easier to just close the washrooms, explaining that it’s for the safety of the other students. Meanwhile the vape vandals will continue to do their thing any way they can – in the washrooms that remain open, in the schoolyard, even, by some reports, in the classroom.
Don’t get me wrong. There’s plenty that can be done to improve the school system. The rules can always be refreshed and reformed. But knuckling under to the rule-breakers is not a step in the right direction.
Especially at a time when a cult of rule-breakers is growing around the world.
It’s time to stop this tilt toward self-destruction. In your own small way, Seycove administrators, take a stand – and make the washrooms safe again.
Journalist and communications consultant Paul Sullivan has been a North Van resident since the fall of the Berlin Wall and the rise of Madonna. p.sullivan@breakthroughpr.com
