lucky420 wrote:I want to know what the "Stampede" is and did this guy think this was a life or death situation?
The Calgary Stampede is this big 10-day rodeo/fair/agriculture festival that kind of encompasses the whole city. There are fireworks and concerts and agricultural exhibitions and millions of tourists. It's apparently impossible to be in Calgary when it's on and not
know. Heck, it's almost impossible to be in
Canada and not know that the Stampede is on, because it fills the headlines. Last year, the royal Spawn went there on their post-honeymoon tour. Every year, the prime minister goes. Our current Prime Minister, who hails from Calgary, is a particularly ardent fan. And every year there's a lot of controversy relating to questions of animal cruelty (mostly coming from people outside of Calgary) and then outrage when one or more horses die (usually in the chuckwagon races).
Interestingly, the Stampede happens a week or two after Toronto Pride, is similar in duration, and attracts a similar number of visitors. The two events kind of represent two really different facets of life in Canada -- Eastern/urban/liberal/modern vs. Western/rural/conservative/traditional -- so they are kind of foils for one another. Which one gets more funding in a given year is kind of seen as indicative of the values of the federal government of the day.
Anyways, this guy makes a very weak argument for allowing people to carry handguns. According to his story, he -- a police officer with 2 decades on the force -- was approached in what he claims was an apparently aggressive manner by two young men "on a paved trail in broad daylight" (his description) who asked him if he'd been to the Stampede and then backed off, puzzled, when he told them he had nothing to say to them. And somehow this is evidence that he should have been allowed to carry a handgun? That's the WTF for me.
Oh, and the two young men? It seems that they were representatives from an oil company handing out free Stampede tickets.
If you want drama to stop following you everywhere, try letting go of the leash.