Letter to high-end resident’s association goes viral as comments enrage Vancouverites
A Shaughnessy resident has likely received a lot more media attention than he bargained for, with the publication of his letter that compares people living in high-density homes to human cargo being stacked on slave ships.
The comments, made in the Shaughnessy Heights Property Owners’ Association spring newsletter, sparked outrage on Twitter and hit the headlines of local media outlets, including CBC and Metro.
Mik Ball, a homeowner in Vancouver’s priciest neighbourhood and board member of the association, says in the letter that there is a prevailing “myth” that living in Vancouver proper is a right, which is leading Vancouver’s mayor and council to density without considering “livability”.
He adds, “That priority [of livability] has been discarded and the result puts one in mind of the ‘dense pack’ strategy of early 18th century slavers, wherein they struck upon the idea of stacking their human cargo like cordwood in the hopes of increasing profits.”
Curious to see more? You can read of the letter on page 3 of the newsletter, and check out the Twitterverse’s response below…
In which Shaughnessy home owners' newsletter compares affordability measures to the slave trade. True story https://t.co/AmwkyGCG5Z
— Ian Young (@ianjamesyoung70) May 4, 2017
@imackinn @ianjamesyoung70 I think the fact that they even consider comparing people who can't afford homes in their area to "slaves" is telling
— Cam Cavers (@camcavers) May 5, 2017
Hat-Tip to Julie C on Facebook.
I'll post letter in tweet thread#VanRE pic.twitter.com/n5RIfOace3
— FIVRE604 (@FIVRE604) May 4, 2017
@FIVRE604 Nothing like verbatim quotes from the creme de la creme to improve your afternoon.
— Karen Sawatzky (@karensawa) May 4, 2017
Hey @balkissoon...I think this just might be a contender for "Face palm of the day" https://t.co/hqwmb170VE
— Megan A-C (@Biddo604) May 6, 2017
