While the Crypt of Commerce is patting itself on the back yet again for pretending to stand for “the social and economic welfare” of Nelsonia at their sold-out annual glad-handing gala as they deceptively push the oligarchic agenda beloved by billionaire bros ever since the society-destroying Reagan Revolution forty years ago that legalized the corporate bribery of politicians, local business folks such as the Foody’s bar owners are making the big-city Vancougar news for their involvement in the Save Our Streets coalition which has nothing to do with bomb-dropping or mass shootings.

Obviously, there has been an escalation “of mental health and substance-use challenges since COVID-19, when pandemic policies forced many people to stay home, to lose their jobs and become isolated from friends”, and according to Neil Boyd, Simon Fraser University criminology professor emeritus, “the roots of this type of desperation, though, can be traced back decades to governments not providing enough treatment or supported housing for those struggling with mental illness and drug addiction… (which) has led to some people feeling too hopeless, or too unwell, to respect the rule of law”.

Instead of empathizing with the plight of these poor people who are someone’s child, business owners like Mrs. Foody are choosing to demonize the disenfranchised among us despite their claims of not wanting “to fan the flames of fear” by documenting the few times that they’ve been threatened or harassed by some “unruly” customers over the last couple of trying years for most everyone other than the privileged WASPy elitists among us. For instance, Mrs. Foody talks to the press about how she’s “been assaulted, screamed at, yelled at”, including someone who had “scribbled threats directed at her on the walls of her restaurant’s bathroom”, along with an incident wherein “a difficult customer (who was asked) to leave ended up pushing my husband and wanting to fight, repeatedly doing it, while my nine- and 11-year-olds were witnessing it”, causing her to be “just horrified”.

Obviously, nobody should have to go through such experiences while doing their job, however, we’re talking about someone who has made a living for over a decade selling cancer-causing booze to her citizens and customers which is a toxic substance well-known to cause violent actions and destructive behaviour on a regular basis. Fights and chaotic antisocial actions are calling-cards of bars the world over, so why is it that surprising for such an alcoholic establishment to witness abusive drunkenness?

For one thing, Foody’s Bar has always been a relatively scuzzy booze-hall in a dank part of downtown located in a building built with two entrances that used to segregate customers based on their genders. Plus, for many years, Foody’s was apparently well-known for hosting a gang of sexual predators who would prey on young women while running up their lucrative tabs. When you’re seemingly the last stop at the end of a drinking night for most late-night carousers who you make money off of, you’re bound to encounter some no-good buffoonery, no?