Fuschi’s Canadian Forum

The title represents  a shopping list for the youthful Toronto criminal career aspirant. Pressed by the territorial kingpin, for greater returns, the ambitious scofflaw will insist on these raw materials with which to nurture a productive neighbourhood.

Guns and money are the obvious tools of his trade and require no further elaboration. Equally important, yet often overlooked by us straits, is a steady supply of officious idiots. These are vital to the success of any criminal enterprise for their part in ensuring the diversion of great financial, legal, and law-enforcement resources, down bottomless black holes, and safely away from legitimate criminal activity.

For the definition of idiots to be complete, in this context, you should find illustrations of the parents of the mother of all black-hole resource diversions – the gun registry. But, to be current, room should dedicated to Toronto mayor Miller, for his notably misguided campaign to attack the city’s gun crime by agitating for a federal gun ban.

First let’s admit that the idea is not unpopular. But it is so because of the indiscriminating gullibility which sucks so many Canadians into an intellectual void when they hear the word gun. Everyone who supports Miller’s movement should test that support with honest answers to these questions:

• Which is the more serious crime, murder, or contravening a gun ban?
• Will those who consider murder as part of their job, give a fig about the gun ban?
• Then, who is this new law going to deter?

 The answers – murder, no, and no one – are obvious. Then, it is equally obvious that even if the law were passed and enforced vigorously, nothing would change. Those who use guns as tools of the trade, will rightfully split their spleens at the tremendous wasted  resources being diverted away from them. Which leads us to the, “What can it possibly hurt to take guns away from society,” crowd? The registry should have been a vivid illustration of the tremendous waste of manpower and money, and the consequential hobbling effects it had on real law enforcement, which was ordered to squander their time pursuing the wrong people. 

If Miller thinks this is going to get him votes, he is correct. I see every two-bit Toronto hood motivating their troops to vote for him, probably for the first time in their life. But that’s what this is all about, isn’t it? In the successful tradition of Jean Chretien, make a great deal of fuss over a policy that will achieve nothing, but which will dupe the gullible into believing that all the noise means action.

If Miller was truly concerned about the object of this enterprise, he could follow a clear example currently unfolding in the federal persecution of Tamil Tiger assets. First, identify the enemy and declare their status. Second, arm the law-enforcement agencies with the tools to move against this enemy. Last, go after them.

On the other hand, there is Miller’s approach. Fire the police chief (Fantino) for getting too vocal on the identity of the perpetrators. Saddle the law-enforcement agencies with impossible rules of engagement. And last, go after the wrong people. Toronto’s gangsta community need not fear that the supply of idiots will dry up any time soon.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, April 15th, 2008 at 8:15 pm and is filed under Politics. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.