I'm not going to harp on the pathetic street and sidewalk maintenance efforts by the city of Saint John, now it's just a fact, like stating the sky is blue, everyone knows and seems to accept it (it must be like this everywhere, right?) and doesn't see a point in trying to change it. I must be starting to fit into this city well because I'm now able to take my backhanded slap and carry on with the relationship I've settled into.
Tomorrow happens to be a Sunday. The second last shopping Sunday before Christmas. When you're living in a locale desperate for every dollar, you need to do things that may not be terribly safe or responsible - like not clearing the sidewalks and streets as well as they should be for the sake of the safety of your residents or keeping malls open without regard for putting the often-minimum-wage-earning employees in jeopardy - for the sake of economic survival.
I know of at least one mall that has told its retail establishments to track the buses before coming to work. If Saint John Transit - an interesting entity in itself, taking the Canada Post theory of doing business, increasing rates while decreasing service - pulls its buses off the roads, the mall will close. There are so many reasons this strategy is so golden, particularly for the employees that took the buses to get to work.
Anyway, I had a friend who was dating a girl who used to use this exact technique for making decisions herself. Whenever we would pair up with this couple to go out for dinner, she would leave the decision of where to eat to anyone else. That way she remained free to criticize without having to take any of the responsibility.
The problem in this case is that you're playing a game of craps where someone's safety is valued at the same level as an business's financial bottom line.
And that's wrong.
