Dear Sir:
A new restricted parking space at a grocery store got my attention, it reads veterans only and is Americanized with a note on the bottom saying, “thank you for your service,” so I wonder who is this space for.
I am a veteran and I respect veterans. At the end of the Second World War, I was drafted and sweeping mines in the north Atlantic, not a job without risk for which I received 50 cents per day.
Military personnel today are volunteers and receive a decent salary. Having said that I think it is a disgrace how veterans are treated by our government. I have like most people that experienced war come to the conclusion that war is no way for humans to solve problems and I, like so many, worry about all the sabre-rattling taken place right now.
So who is this parking space for?
The veteran with limited mobility can obtain permits to park in handicapped spaces just like everyone else with disabilities. Surely it is not meant to be for the 30-year-old veteran that during his whole career sat behind a computer which enabled him to drop bombs thousands of miles away, nor to the pilot who from 3,000 feet was able to kill people that had never harmed him.
It can be dangerous to join the military but if you compare it to other occupations not so much if you are a logger or a miner or mill worker not to mention police and firefighters.
Last year 82 workers were killed on the job while 1.5 million were injured or poisoned. When we had a logging industry that included sawmills and pulp mills as many as 60 loggers got killed in one year.
The only reason those numbers are down is the drastic decrease in number of people working in the bush. Even flaggers working for road builders are being killed or hurt by motorists who are either texting on the phone or in too much of a hurry to go somewhere important to them.
My point is this there is nothing wrong with respecting and honouring veterans.
What is wrong is that little or no attention is given to the working-class who sometimes give their life to make our lives easier and more pleasant.
Wonder if the grocery store will put up a sign that signifies parking for veteran flaggers?
I salute the veterans, and to my sisters and brothers working hard every day often at meagre wages, sometimes risking health or life, I thank you for your service.
John Jensen
Terrace, B.C.