Continuing with the 'Hamilton' theme: 'Only in Aldershot you say?'

You should know that while it might appear that I yammer-on into a closed (and tiny room)...the mere absence of comments could reasonably lead you to this presumption...that I do not in fact function in a vacuum. Many of my editorial thrusts result from conversations I have with people of position, people with far more perspective than I possess, people with much better equipped cranial capacities. I'm just sayin'...

Today I was asked how I felt about the whole 'Ti-Cats in Aldershot' sub-plot of this PanAm Games Stadium Site Selection Process Soap Opera. Here's the gist of what I had to say:

"Not that 'I'm not a 'Cats fan', but that what an owner and another business person do re: their own business- and commerce-based desires and needs is not something worthy of investing energy in. This isn't a 'City of Hamilton' issue, no matter how much those who believe it is, want to wrap it up that way.

Would it be sad if the 'Cats relocated to Aldershot?

No.

Why should it be? The Buffalo Bills play in Orchard Park, and both the New York Jets and Giants play in nearby East Rutherford, New Jersey. And it's not like we're talking about a stadium in Grimsby. Or Rockton. Or Caledonia. Aldershot is, remember, right next to Hamilton. The kerfuffle over this possibility is mostly being produced by Hamilton fans uneasy ('in a snit-fit') over the prospect of Ti-Cats games being anywhere other than Ivor Wynne Stadium...and worse, outside the city.

But let's strain for a little more context here, shall we?

Imagine for a second that there was no PanAm Games Stadium Site Selection issue.

Imagine instead that Bob Young had been investigating options for a stadium for a while now.

And that the City was not in a position to do anything 'for' the 'Cats, that fiduciary logic held sway.

Imagine then, that this Aldershot option was what Bob Young wanted. It was the chosen site for a new stadium for the Hamilton Ti-Cats.

Would it be as much an issue?

In the words of a feline philosopher, "I think not, baby pupplatina."

You know, what we have here isn't 'failure to communicate'.

What we have here is conflation.

Conflation of issues.

The issue of the City's need to get a PanAm Games stadium built.

The issue of the 'Cats' need for a better revenue-streaming model.

Conflation.

And confusion.

And a huge amount of misinformation and mis-conception, etc that the public has been feeding off, getting wound up by, bent out of shape over.

Poisoned by."

I provided this answer to the questioner, but immediately upon having provided it, began tapping the keyboard with a lot more fervor.

"What concerns me so much more than 'The Aldershot Gambit', and it should concern City Council, is that this entire 'interlude' is adding to the self-perception on the part of the average Hamiltonian that we cannot get anything done.

RIght or wrong, the PanAm Games Stadium Site Selection Process...now having been renamed the 'We're Going to Lose Our Beloved Ti-Cats Debacle'...is front-and-center with Hamiltonians.

Whether or not they are 'Cats fans, whether or not they are emotionally-attached to the city, whether or not they live their lives as they choose and really aren't affected by just about anything City Council decides...keeping in mind that quite often, no matter how 'important' our tasks and responsibilities are, they don't play any part in most people's lives, period...the fact remains that this 'interlude' has added an enormous amount of 'Can't Do' energy to the consciousness of Hamiltonians.

And the entity they will point to, the construct they'll aim their anger and frustration and enmity towards is City Council.

Is this the kind of mindset Councillors want when trying to fashion a better way for Hamiltonians?

Is this the kind of 'team spirit' Councillors want moving through the hearts and souls and minds of their constituents when attempting to rejuvenate, re-vitalize, re-invent the City? To effectively resurrect it? (Understanding that for some residents of the city, they're disinterested in these goals. What matters is what's ten feet in front of them and no farther.)

Because this 'stuff' only fuels the 'Us vs Them' mentality concerning elected officials that is now endemic in Hamilton.

Though I suspect that very little about the PanAm Games Stadium Site Selection Process is comprehended by the average Hamiltonian, the fact remains that 'Perception is reality'.

And this worries me.

Because I think that there's going to be both a white-wash and a backlash for and against the people's own government at a time when Council needs to generate a perception of capability, of resourcefulness, of Hope.

If I could, I'd get all of Council together and ask all of them their perspectives of all 'this' beyond the nuts-and-bolts, press-release, sound-bite stuff.

Because I believe that what Hamiltonians need right now...far more than 'some' seem to realize...is to be reassured.

Because though we might not be in the middle of a war, our citizenry has long-term battle fatigue.

Does anyone on Council realize this...?"

Which is what brought me to publish my next post.