That would be to tell the truth. Lying was considered an abuse of the public trust (and dishonest too) back in Journalism 1a6 and it still is. This week a lot of reporters seemed to think that lying to the public was just a lark. That’s when the charity Raising the Roof decided to dupe unsuspecting people on Bayview Ave in order to obtain just the right kind of responses for their project. What was that? Carolann Barr, executive director of Raising the Roof, calls it dispelling the myths about homelessness. Apparently it’s only possible to know authoritatively how misguided people are by lying to them. And what better place to do your lying than in that utterly misguided and uncaring place called Leaside. It makes it easier when fat cat writers purr correct responses. One scribbler snickered about Sleepy South Bayview being thrown into a state of hyper local hyperbole. Is that so? If Mr. Sleepy South Bayview had done what Raising the Roof did he would most likely now be unemployed. At Global News they ventured that Bayview Ave has been the scene of an “elaborate trick”. Actually, it was the scene of rank dishonesty not a surprise party. The further theme running through these stories was that some people don’t think enough about homelessness. Of course comfortable television and newspaper reporters are constantly reviewing what they can do for the homeless. It was all catch phrases. Myths needed to be dispelled, conversations kick-started and similar blather. Dispelling myths. Pinocchio should have tried that one.
