By Kendall Worth
I am taking a bit of a break from my Blog, to think things through and to re-connect with the community of people I advocate for. I found working on the Carrie Ann Bugden story this past winter particularly intense and draining.
But from time to time, I will share some of the important and revealing conversations I have with people. Today, I will share a conversation with someone I will call Mack#2, who is an income assistance recipient and who had a personal experience related to the topic of Inappropriate Body Language which I have discussed before in this Blog. I first addressed this issue back in 2017, in an article in the Nova Scotia Advocate, entitled “Kendall Worth on fidgeting, talking to yourself, and other involuntary body behaviours”. In that article, I gave an overview of the types of “inappropriate” body language I am talking about.
For his part, Mack#2 did not want to be publicly identified with regards to his personal situation and experiences. But he agreed that I could share his story anonymously. (More on this, below.) This story came out of a discussion we were having about how people on social assistance can be approached by police and private security guards due to their “inappropriate” behaviour and body language. He recounted an experience he had had in Ottawa a few years ago.
The incident happened when Mack#2 was in a public space, waiting for a taxi to take him to the Airport for his flight home to Halifax. Out of nowhere, 4 police officers suddenly approached and surrounded him, forming a 4 person human fence. Mack#2 was informed that there had been various complaints called in about him, even though he was just minding his own business, not engaging with others and certainly not causing any trouble. The Police informed him that the complaints included that he had been:
● Behaving hysterically;
● Swearing at people and making them uncomfortable; and
● Fidgeting and talking to himself.
All those who had called to report his behaviour were concerned about his actions.
Mack#2 knew the importance of remaining “Calm, Cool, and Collected” when dealing with the police. He simply, but assertively told the Police that all he was doing was minding his own business while waiting in a public space for a taxi to take him to the airport. The Police response was immediate, “Sir, you are behaving too hysterical today to board a plane”. And he was immediately detained, placed in handcuffs, and taken to the local Hospital. The Ottawa Police took a “We are not messing around approach”.
My observations and experiences in Halifax have been that the Police here also take complaints about inappropriate body language very seriously, even when the concerned person is just minding their own business. It does make you wonder how these situations elsewhere are handled. For his part, Mack#2 felt there were considerable differences between the way I have talked on my BLOG about how the Police might best handle such issues here in Halifax and the way the Ottawa police handled it that day.
I have discussed this issue earlier with regards to both private security guards and police. Mack#2’s experience underlines that this is an issue across the country, - something that needs to be addressed on a national level.
In my earlier BLOGs, I have advocated that police and private security should not be treating complaints of Inappropriate Body Language as a criminal matter. They need to be trained to understand that this behaviour is a mental health issue. To address this issue effectively, I along with others have suggested that a separate unit be established within the Police Department in which there are trained Social Workers, who can be deployed instead of police. If trained social workers got sent to these calls instead of police, then maybe Income Assistance recipients will not feel so criminalized when being approached about these complaints.
A Note on my use of “Fake Names”
In this blog, I have often used “fake names” when reporting on and sharing stories about people living on life social assistance. Life on welfare is already hard enough and the rates that people are expected to live day-to-day life creates more problems than it solves. Yes, as I have noted in an earlier BLOG, the base rate for Income Assistance was increased by $300 this past May and a further increase promised for July. However, these increases will not make much of a dent in the lives of recipients. Life is still mentally hard even after rent and bills are paid. And I am hearing of many who never received the increases and are now fighting the system to start receiving it.
Life on Social Assistance is hard and stressful. It is also deeply stigmatized in our society. This stigma is one reason that many of the people I talk with and who share their stories with me and my BLOG readers chose to use “fake names”. The welfare stigma is deeply rooted in Nova Scotia, and I have discussed this before, both here and here. There is also a well-founded fear amongst welfare recipients that being publicly critical about Income Assistance or other programs can lead to harassment. I discussed this in a 2017 article.
Hopefully this explains why Mack#2 asked that I use a fake name to hide his identity. And why I thought it was a reasonable request.
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