Ah, The Calgary Stampede!

The home of the brave and the free.  They are brave and free because they have certain heritage traditions, as a society that glorifies and gives honour to its frontier spirit.  And the single most notable symbol of that frontier spirit is enshrined in the American Constitution as the Second Amendment.  One that guarantees to American citizens their right to bear arms.  It does not bear discussing; that right is sacrosanct.

To that right Americans ascribe their liberty and their freedoms and their personal responsibility to defend themselves.  As a right and a duty.  Gun ownership is paramount, and there are more guns owned per capita in the United States than any other nation on Earth.  It is often said that the U.S. is a violent society, but in comparison to many other countries, some with relaxed gun ownership laws, some not, it is not, particularly.

There has to be a soupcon of paranoia, a facet of suspicion of others built into the American psyche for gun ownership to have such pride of place symbolically in the American reality and value system.  On the other hand, most Americans, out of uniform, military or civilian, tend to be relaxed and friendly people.  Mostly when they're on their own home territory.  Perhaps not so much when they're abroad.

Americans know full well, for the most part, that when travelling as a tourist or for business or pleasure to Canada, those guns must be left behind.  They may normally drive their pick-ups with gun racks toting rifles and other lethal weapons, but they do know they will be confiscated if they make it through the border.  And certainly an American police officer must know that Canadian civilians go unarmed.

Walt Wawra, a police officer from Kalamazoo, Michigan knew that when he visited Calgary last week.  Mr. Wawra did not enjoy his visit, he found it dreadfully disconcerting.  And so, he wrote a letter of complaint that was published in the Calgary Herald"

"I recently visited Calgary from Michigan.  As a police officer for 20 years, it feels strange not to carry my off-duty handgun.  Many would say I have no need to carry one in Canada.
Yet the police cannot protect everyone all the time.  A man should be allowed to protect himself if the need arises.  The need arose in a theatre in Aurora, Colo., as well as a college campus in Canada.
Recently, while out for a walk in Nose Hill Park, in broad daylight on a paved trail, two young men approached my wife and me.  The men stepped in front of us, then said in a very aggressive tone:  "been to the Stampede yet?"
We ignored them.  The two moved closer, repeating: "Hey, you been to the Stampede yet?"
I quickly moved between these two and my wife, replying, "Gentlemen, I have no need to talk with you, goodbye."  They looked bewildered, and we then walked past them.
I speculate they did not have good intentions when they approached in such an aggressive, disrespectful and menacing manner.  I thank the Lord Jesus Christ they did not pull a weapon of some sort, but rather concluded it was in their best interest to leave us alone.
Would we not expect a uniformed officer to pull his or her weapon to intercede in a life-or-death encounter to protect self, or another?  Why then should the expectation be lower for a citizen of Canada or a visitor?  Wait, I know - it's because in Canada, only the criminals and the police carry handguns."

Just as well there were no such lethal weapons back in biblical times; Jesus Christ approaching this pious man might have been taken for a brigand and shot.  And it is indeed very sad to realize that Mr. and Mrs. Wawra encountered a 'life-and-death' situation while in Calgary.  Little wonder they're upset, who wouldn't be?  Pity he doesn't describe the life-and-death situation.

The two young men who exhibited the unmitigated gall to approach two people in a park, along a path in broad daylight in an open field, had in their possession complimentary passes to the Calgary Stampede which they were tasked to hand out to interested people who had not yet witnessed the famous spectacle.  Certainly they looked bemused when they were rebuffed by this buffoon.

Simple civil courtesies of speaking to strangers seem to be outside the normal experience of this man and woman visiting Canada from the United States.  Which truly is a pity.  Mr. and Mrs. Wawra will undoubtedly not wish to re-visit Canada for quite a long time.  Which is perfectly all right with Calgarians who are puzzled when their hospitality is summarily dismissed and threatened.

Mr. Wawra's attitude as a law enforcement officer is a rather frightening one.  One can only thoughtfully feel concern for the citizens of Kalamazoo, Michigan, a very nice city I've been told.