Quote:
Originally Posted by Everymans
If you really truly hate something then right a letter to your MLA about it. I did that on 3 occasions now and all 3 occasions I seen change(Liquor in movie theaters, extended patio laws and removing some stupid trees back in my home town).
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As I get older, increasingly I feel like democracy isn't working. Perhaps it has always been that way -- maybe it was just me being young and naive that thought things were better back then.
I have written to my MLA and MP on numerous occasions. But you know what the responses are? On "less significant" issues that have very little political implications, their PR guy / deputy would likely write back some generic bs that merely "explains" their rationale for doing precisely the thing that I complained about. It never addresses the issue that is brought up, and they just carry on doing whatever dafuq they were doing. When the complain is directly at odds with their party line, most of the time the MLA / MP doesn't even bother replying, and I am not suprised either. Generally, my letters in this case mixes a lot of harsh mockery into the complain. When someone clearly lays out some cold, hard facts regarding how ridiculous, stupid, or incompetent you are, what else can the MLA / MP staff and office say?
The one time that I was actually most impressed was when one of the police forces was involved in some sort of scandal. I can't remember which PD it was (though I'm pretty sure it wasn't the VPD nor RCMP), although I think it likely had something to deal with an officer physically assaulting a civilian. As is generally the case, I included some harsh criticism in my letter to the police chief. Much to my surprise, the municipal police chief actually took the time to call me at home. (As a rule, I always leave my home address and phone number when I write these letters.) I was at work when the police chief called, so he just left a message on the answering machine to assure me that the scandal will be dealt with in a fair and open manner, and that I should contact him personally if I have any further concerns. He definitely earned my respect that time. When it comes to our municipal, provincial, and federal politicians, Jack Layton is the only person that I have some level of respect towards.