Assault and Injury

"If the government would pay us our money, we would have no reason to be in their house or anyone else's houses. My granddaughter, who hasn't even been born yet, is probably going to be standing in front of a judge in the same situation some day. Only it's not going to be Caledonia, it's going to be a different place, maybe Brantford." Blake Miracle, uncle of Richard Smoke

Richard Smoke is awaiting sentencing by Justice Alan Whitten, post conviction of the brutal beating of Sam Gualtieri. Mr. Smoke, a teen-ager at the time of the beating, was convicted of aggravated assault and break and enter. He left the 56-year-old Mr. Gualtieri, a local builder who was constructing a home for his daughter in the Stirling Wood subdivision, with seriously traumatic injuries.

As a result of that beating, which took place in the basement of the almost-completed house, Mr. Gaultieri was left brain-damaged. He had a broken nose, cheekbone and shoulder blade, after the attack. He experiences problems reading and writing. His savings have evaporated; his business has gone by the wayside; he is no longer physically or mentally capable of working at it.

"I pray for Mr. Smoke's soul and hope he can understand what he has done to me and my entire family. I forgive him because I have no choice."

The attack by Mr. Smoke on Mr. Gualtieri was yet another incident that resulted from a native occupation of a new housing development in Caledonia in September of 2007. The violence and the standoff that ensued between militant natives and the OPP was to no one's credit. The matter has still not yet been resolved.

Mr. Gualtieri had rushed to the house with a few of his building crew on hearing it had been entered and occupied. Mr. Smoke was found to be beating the-then unconscious Mr. Gualtieri with a piece of lumber. It was an attack that Justice Whitten at trial characterized as a "notch below culpable homicide".

The relatives of Mr. Smoke claim that he was driven to the attack as a result of the continual racial slurs he was accustomed to being on the receiving end of at his high school. Where, they testified, it was routine for native youngsters to be exposed to insulting comments from white classmates, to which the teaching staff did not respond, to end the conflict.

There is little question that uncivil social racism is a common element that impressionable young kids are exposed to, even in a country that prides itself on its respect for the concept of equality and social respect. And there is little question that it is long past time for the government of Canada to come to terms with and finally settle outstanding land claims.

But there is little question also that we are all responsible for what we do, and we all make choices and our actions have consequences. Because of resentment and a violent reaction some people have a tendency make rash judgements and commit themselves to a series of actions that they should not, that have the result of victimizing someone.

In this case, Mr. Gualtieri was an innocent victim of a vicious assault. And the young man who visited such long-lasting harm to another human being is guilty of hugely diminishing the prospects of continued health and enjoyment of life of someone who was a stranger to him. Conflict of interest is not always avoidable, but brutal, violent conflict can be avoided.

It is a choice that intelligent, well-balanced-emotionally people make, to work out their aggression in other, more suitable and useful ways.