Courage

It takes a great deal of courage to turn to people you don't know personally to ask for their help.

Just think - if people in the Black community in Toronto asked the police for their help - instead of perpetually "seeing nothing", would we have the same kind of carnage in the city that we've seen over the past few years?

If the Chinese community in Toronto were more forthcoming with their problems, would we have an "Asian Crime Unit" in the Metro Police trying to unravel Chinese organized crime?

Well, would we?

Let us, then, turn to the Muslim community in Toronto. I've had no shortage of things to say about these folks over the past few days, have I? Well, along comes Shahina Siddiqui, president of the Islamic Social Services Association. She's been to Ottawa to say, "We're not here to say we don't have an issue."

From the Toronto Star: "Of course we have an issue," she told a news conference on Parliament Hill. "But we can't deal with it ourselves. We're part of the Canadian society and so we demand that the Canadian society come forward, help us root out this."

Well, I can't say as I like the way she put it, but put it she did.

Is it a red herring? Perhaps some more posturing of the "victim culture"? How come none of the imams came up with this? Will the marginalized youth(s) listen to her?

I can only hope for two things: 1) She is successful in getting the help her community needs, and 2) those giving the help don't pussy-foot around the issues in doing so.

I'm going to keep an open mind on this - for now. I don't think I can be blamed for looking at it with a slightly jaundiced eye, though.