4 ms·

No. It was 35 years ago, but it's not an urban legend. Back in '88, when he was just mayor of Calgary, Ralph Klein had the city "solve" their homeless problem

• Tiktaalik 2y ago
  As I said, > Like yes it has technically happened before So the reason it's important underline the "urban myth" status here is that while you've correctly pointed to the few concrete examples where this has occurred, in general many people casually, incorrectly throw these statements around as if this is frequent and constantly happening and this is a really toxic and bad habit that our society has. At best it's lazy innuendo, but at worst intentional misinformation. The reason that this urban myth of the homeless from somewhere else is so toxic is that it enables people to dismiss homeless people as not really part of their community and thus enables people to not care about poverty in their community or the impacts of poverty on their neighbours. Thus people can freely disengage themselves from the issues of poverty. It's not their neighbours it's some Other People.
  • michael1999 2y ago
    I don't quite understand your point. I contradicted you because I'm old, and I'm getting tired of people calling things that I vividly remember "urban legends". Lizard people in the sewers is an urban legend. That mean old drunk giving one-way tickets to Vancouver is history.
    • Tiktaalik 2y ago
      The point is that there's a difference between "this is a thing that has happened" and "this is a thing that happens". The latter thing is the toxic exaggeration of the truth IMO. Like you're absolutely right that this particular rare event has happened before and I'm not discounting that, but the phrasing of the OPs story more suggests at the form of this story that is the myth that this is a trend and frequent occurrence. I follow your point. Certainly this is more real than lizard people in the sewer, but not as real as people would have you believe when they casually exaggerate and insinuate that all the homeless around are from elsewhere and are being trucked in to this day.
      • michael1999 2y ago
        Please don't call real events that you acknowledge "urban legends". You demean our cognitive commons with language like that, and undermine your own credibility.
        • Tiktaalik 2y ago
          I decline to join you in your brave fight against context but good luck sir