06/01/2026
I made a post on Saturday, with a pic like this, asking for people to come downtown, and got a lot of responses from people saying they don't come downtown because "it's icky" or they don't feel safe, or it's THE MOST DANGEROUS PLACE ON EARTH!!! So here's my response.
First of all, I'm not trying to tell people what they're allowed to be afraid of, whether it's a grown man, or a woman half my size(or less). If you genuinely don't feel safe somewhere, I respect that. I just want people to examine why they feel that way, and whether they're willing or able to change their perception.
I've lived downtown for 13 years, above what is now the tattoo shop. I feel it's mostly safe. Some of the people commenting said things like "most of the people who are downtown are buying dope or selling it." I'm going to be brutally blunt, sir- you're completely out of your mind. That's blatantly, comically untrue. My bet is you were downtown once, saw someone you didn't like the look of, and that turned into everyone's buying or selling dope. Most days I wonder where all these addicts or troublemakers are that people keep talking about. Usually the streets are just empty. No homeless, no addicts, no shoppers. What about winter when there are absolutely no people hanging around getting high? Where are the shoppers then? What's the excuse then? I've noticed in years past there's a particular type of Owen Sound resident that just LOVES to s*** on it any chance they get. They're happily, even gleefully willing to think the worst, and they'll tell every single person they know about it. Inferiority complexes are a terrible thing, but I really don't get why you'd live in a place you hate so much.
So here's what I think. First of all, we've become addicted to convenience. One commenter said the stores downtown are great but it's a hassle to get there. I would have thought it'd be a hassle to ride a horse 600 miles to get your cattle to market, but apparently driving around for a couple minutes looking for a parking spot is much worse. We're willing to pay hundreds a month to walk on a treadmill but walking on a snowy sidewalk is just too much effort. Why help out your community when you can enrich a billionaire, buying socks with a click of a mouse, while sitting at home in your underwear?
My main point though, is I'd be willing to bet a lot of money that the busiest businesses downtown are the Artist Co-op, Heartwood Home, and the farmer's market on Saturday mornings. All three are great businesses, well run and deserving of their success. However, do you think it's a coincidence that those businesses sell products that you can't get anywhere else? You can't buy farm fresh eggs at Walmart. You can't buy local artwork, or funky antiques on Amazon. So clearly, people are happy to come downtown if they need to. We give out free Halloween candy on the Saturday morning before Halloween, and the streets are jammed with parents and their kids in their princess and pirate costumes. 99.9% of them don't so much as glance at the books, just get their free candy then drive up to Walmart and spend hundreds there. Are you seriously bringing your children to a highly dangerous death zone for some crappy free junk food? Or is the "downtown is dangerous" thing a convenient lie, so you don't have to feel bad about the spending hundreds at Walmart part?
I think people are happy to come downtown for the things, like local artwork, they need, but otherwise are perfectly willing to their friends and neighbours who own local businesses. And they use the "I don't feel safe" excuse to feel better about abandoning their community. That's what I think.
