A no messing around guide to the coolest things to eat, drink and do in Vancouver and beyond. Community. Not clickbait.

On Bad Decisions by Art Directors and How a Virus Revealed Vancouver’s Best and Worst

Tea & Two Slices is a long-running local news round-up by NEEDS frontman and veteran dishwasher Sean Orr, who lives and works in Gastown, deeply aware of his privilege.

Abuse and threats part of daily life for Vancouver park rangers amid pandemic. What is it about our society that makes some people think the rules don’t apply to them? Is it that they’ve been pampered and made to feel entitled by decades of advertising insisting that they’re unique individuals? Is it the seeds of anti-government mistrust sowed by conservative think tanks? Is it that the idea of the greater good has been stripped of meaning, mined by corporations goading us to be charitable, to voluntarily comply in some mythical honour system while they strip the plant of resources and hoard all the wealth? Is it because the tyranny that is Vancouver is built upon some unspoken agreement that as long as we get to take a spin on the seawall every once in a while we don’t mind that the powers that be turn it into a playground for the elites? That if these few freedoms we cling to in order keep living in a city we can’t afford -the idle park hangs and the sunny patio with the few remaining friends that haven’t left yet – are taken from us we turn into giant assholes? The societal contract is null and void?

Or maybe it’s because we love our moral relativism, that idea that things could always be worse. We could be living in the wacky old US of A: COVID-19 U.S.: #FloridaMorons trends after people flock to reopened beaches, ignore distancing. Ah yes that good old Canadian smugness. Meanwhile, we never even closed ours.

“I just called a Park Ranger a fat bitch. It’s not like I’m out here licking railings…” Video shows man licking rail in New Westminster park.

Is it because the economy of manufactured scarcity, which wreaks havoc on our anxieties even on a good day, is magnifying the built-in “I got mine, fuck you” mentality of late capitalism? Irate grocery-store customer allegedly coughs on clerk over limit on tissue paper.

Park Rangers need powers of enforcement but have to rely on the out-dated idea of Canadian politeness. We tell ourselves we aren’t the racist, entitled Karens protesting the lockdown by demanding haircuts or all of a sudden understanding consent. We aren’t spreading a deadly virus to ‘own the libs‘, shouting ‘give me liberty and give me death‘ all the while being duped by astroturfing billionaires.

No, we are polite and we wear cute shoes. Unless you’re Chinese. Then you need to wear makeup and we need a second opinion: Mita Naidu: Cute shoes—recognizing leadership in the time of COVID…

Of course, sometimes we aren’t so subtle about it: Lululemon Art Director Posts Racist ‘Bat Fried Rice’ Shirts for Sale.

Then there is the moral relativist appeal to hypocrisy that we use the DTES for. ‘If they can crowd on the sidewalk and sell stolen goods then why can’t I hang out with my friends on the beach?’ Double standards go both ways. It’s almost like the VPD is using the social experiment of containment they used with the drug war as their strategy for COVID. Live and let die. Outspoken restauranteur Brandon Grossutti expands:

Vancouver has always had 2 sets of laws, one for the dtes and one for the rest of the city. Under normal circumstances that works for many of the vulnerable residents of the neighbourhood, advocacy groups, civil liberties, drug dealers, police, city council etc. These are not normal circumstances. We have seen a little press on this but I have to say that what I saw today and over the last few weeks is just fucking absolute reckless bullshit. We have a vulnerable population with preexisting conditions, many with some form of COPD or are immune compromised with no fucking rules, no plan, no enforcement, fucking nothing. Every day I listen to BC officials applaud how well BC is doing relatively speaking, when it comes to this neighbourhood it’s just dumb fucking luck it hasn’t ravaged the population yet.

There is no social distancing, sharing of pipes, smokes, etc is everywhere, the street is absolutely packed. What the fuck is the plan here, this neighbourhood alone will dwarf BC’s death toll with one infection getting into the hood. It’s just math.

Of course, the VPD only care about the rules when marginalized people take matters into their own hands: 14 people arrested after occupying Vancouver elementary school. Look, I get it. Ivan Drury is a polarizing figure. I’ve had my own run-ins with the guy. But he gets results. Was it a media stunt? Maybe. But it serves to highlight the conditions of our most vulnerable populations and the disproportionate response of the VPD who are doing next to nothing in the DTES and who decided that their priority was to send cops in riot gear to forcefully drag out unhoused and under-housed people who are sick of the murderous inaction of our governments.

Could these protestors have picked a better spot? Maybe. You certainly don’t want to piss off Strathcona moms who have been using the courtyard to provide more than 250 meals a day to Strathcona students. But the optics of empty hotels lighting up their windows with hearts while people sleep on the streets is infuriating peak liberalism.

Juxtapose the VPD’s show of force with this: Vancouver police escort small group protesting government restrictions. “Standfield — who co-founded the Hope in the Shadows calendar that raises money in the Downtown Eastside”… whoa whoa whoa, what? What kind of cognitive dissonance do you call this?

Elsewhere in the DTES: COVID-19 outbreak at B.C. chicken processing plant; 28 employees tested positive. I’d avoid taking the #20 bus. I mean…I usually do…but now also.

Hey, remember that Canadian culture of humanism I was talking about earlier? How Can It Happen Here? The Shocking Deaths in Canada’s Long-Term Care Homes. “Conditions at the residence deteriorated as the owners went on an aggressive cost-cutting spree and struggled to find qualified staff.” I’ve said it so many times now I should get fucking t-shirts made: Austerity kills!

Frontline workers aren’t heroes, they’re hostages: I’m a grocery store cashier, and I’m not doing so great right now. The hero murals you’re painting all over the place are nice and all, but they’re also patronising in lieu of a total lack of lasting, systemic supports.

This article is getting a lot of flack because of a perceived anti-industry slant, but I don’t really see it. Takeout Day sounds like a sideshow that distracts from much need systemic relief: Avoid participating in Canada Takeout Day if you care about the health of our nation. The kicker:

Without additional supports to small businesses – rent relief, a ban on commercial evictions, lowered interest rates for credit cards – it will not be enough to save most restaurants, which already operate with zero-thin margins and cannot afford to incur more debt.

Related: Why Restaurants Are So Fucked. Razor thin margins x customer expectations and entitlement x outrageous rents = a recipe for misery. The industry was already terrible for paying cooks a day wage, I can’t imagine it getting any better after this.

You know it’s coming. At some point I’m going to mention him. It might as well be now: Jeff Bezos gains $24 billion while world’s rich reap bailout rewards. The system is broken. The system is working.

Play with fire and you’re gonna get burned: Once Safer Than Gold, Canadian Real Estate Braces for Reckoning. Wherein Bloomberg admits the entire thing is predicated upon our labour. Well…that and laundered money:

Economists and lenders have long pointed to two pillars that have underpinned housing: a robust labour market and the biggest increase in international immigration in more than a century. Neither is holding up – or is expected to in coming months.

So far it’s business as usual: Sold for over $300 million: Beach Towers overlooking Vancouver’s English Bay gets purchased. There goes the neighbourhood.

Ah yes, Andrew “Struggling to pay rent can be fun and really enjoyable” Wilkinson has a totally not-out-of-touch opinion again: BC Liberal Leader Andrew Wilkinson: Banning Landlords From Evicting Struggling Tenants May Lead to ‘Fights’. Right, because evicting normally hard-working people during a pandemic won’t lead to any conflict whatsoever. Actually, let’s see if he’s right. Let’s see how “wacky” of a time it’ll be when thousands of working class people are radicalized.

Hey, remember when the NDP banned evictions? Coquitlam landlord evicts front line worker over COVID fears. Keep banging those pots and pans, folks.

8 days until the rent is due again: Countdown to Rent Debt – Call your MLA Now!

Hey, if the good old USA is into it… Poll Shows Majority of Americans Support Canceling Rent and Suspending Mortgage Payments During Pandemic.

“We can’t divest from fossil fuels because we would make a lower return on our investments”: Canadian Oil Prices Turn Negative As Global Demand Vaporizes. Does that mean they will pay us to take it off their hands?

Shut it fucking down: 5 more COVID-19 deaths in B.C., several new cases linked to Alberya oil sands camp.

Uh hey…Globe and Mail, you spelled terrorist wrong: Nova Scotia mass shooter was a denturist with an obsession for policing.

It’s been 40 years since École Polytechnique and we’re still coddling the angry white male like it’s some sort of aberrant outlier. It’s who we are and the media has to do better: Nova Scotia mass shooting lays bare media’s white male bias.

In other news: Vancouver’s iconic Science World may not be able to stay open after restrictions lifted: CEO. Maybe Netflix can buy it since it’s doing so well during the pandemic and they pay zero taxes in Canada.

Time to buy: ‘Time to Buy BC’ campaign urges British Columbians to support local booze. Um, yeah, I’m on it.

Time to Build. Scout contributor Fernando Medrano:

I’m not a big fan of Marc Andreesen, but he is right on this – build our way out of this recession. I would, however, add – “with a focus on equity” – housing for all, transit, hospitals, schools, water treatment facilities, renewable energy….build build build….with a focus on equity.

Goals: A Connecticut man broke into a restaurant that was closed due to COVID-19 and spent four days eating, and drinking 70 bottles of liquor, police say.

Honour Bound: Arson at The Ellis: Artists support fund.

Palate cleanser: This Vancouver teacher puts on a nightly balcony concert for her neighbours.

Bonus: Why Video Chats Are Wearing Us Out.

On Ken Sim’s So-Called “Swagger” and ABC’S Class War

Sean Orr is back from his hiatus with a rundown of the local headlines that have been running on a ticker tape through his mind over the past six months...

On Post-Election Recuperation, Platform Paradoxes and Refund Communities

In his latest read of the local news headlines, Sean Orr finds irony in "safety, affordability, and sustainability", and shouts out a bunch of amazing local organizations working on the frontlines.

On Running for City Council, Playing Whack-a-Mole with Homelessness, and the Public Washroom Deficit

In his latest read of the local news headlines, Sean Orr finds a park ranger with a grudge, a gross misuse of air quotes and Tripadvisor slander.

On Living in a City Preoccupied with Street Cleaning, Chandeliers, and Campaigns Against the Homeless

In his latest read of the local news headlines, Sean Orr hones in on the recent Langley shootings, and the ongoing criminalizing and dehumanizing of the homeless population.