Change your Perception

I never got to blog about my first impressions of Regent Park because I was out of the city at the time my other blog-mates did it, so I'm gonna post them for you now.

When I first walked around Regent Park, it was 8 p.m. at night. I think I was trying to do something for class at the time, and I just walked down Dundas looking around for things to keep in mind for story ideas. I'd tried to get to the neighbourhood twice over the last two days, but apparently my geography skills weren't what they used to be, and I kept not going far enough to get there.

So as I wandered around, the only thought pervading my head was, "Why does everyone see this place as scary? It's not that bad." Sure, it was a little darker, and could use more lights. Yeah, the place did seem abandoned after dark. That said, I don't see what the big fuss is about that place.

I know that there is some...shady stuff that goes down in that neighbourhood. But I've come to believe that perception changes everything. Think about it - if you read a news story about how there was a crime (let's say, robbery) in Regent Park, many people would say "Oh, of course it would happen there, it's Regent Park." Now let's say it happens somewhere like....(let's not pick on Rosedale today...) Etobicoke, Royal York Road area. Suddenly, it's "Oh wow! I never would have expected that there!"

See the perception?

Why should we expect bad to happen in certain areas? Because statistics say so? Because someone published a report pointing it out?

I'm not saying let's be blind to the facts. What I am saying is what' I've been trying to say all along - to change something, you need to change the perception. I don't fear Regent Park as much as some others do (and that's fine if people do, not criticizing here) because my perception is that every person on that street is a human. Just like you and me. Human. If nothing else connects us, it is our humanness. I think the Dalai Lama said that once.

What if we stopped looking at each other with an emotionally-charged label? The hooker, the banker, the drug dealer, the rich person, the poor person - what if we tossed all of these labels aside? What if instead, we looked at each other and merely, simply, thought "Human"?

That's my challenge to you this week.

For one day this week, with every person you meet, discard the labels that come to your mind. With every label that comes to mind, replace it with the word "Human". See how your perception changes. Maybe once the perception changes, we can work on the fear.