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.

B.C. will decriminalize up to 2.5 grams of hard drugs. Drug users say that threshold won’t decriminalize them. It’s not decriminalization because cops will now just be searching everyone to make sure their stash is under 2.5 grams. Why do these politicians never listen to the people whose policies they will affect?

The flip side is that now all the anti-homeless public safety pearl clutchers will scream that downtown is a shithole because of our laissez faire approach to drug use, when in fact we have by far the highest number of drug related arrests in the country.

The alt-right just love to blame everything except the current system. They blame socialism for the things caused by capitalism. Case in point: a 61-year-old white man goes on a rampage and it’s instantly our “left wing” mayor’s fault. They fail to mention that the police utterly failed to contain the man hours before this occurred.

Maybe if the police were trained to deescalate situations involving mental health issues instead of shitting on each other. That’s not a euphemism – they actually trained undercover officers to defecate on each other: ‘That sounds disgusting’: Disturbing allegations at B.C. undercover police training course. We desperately need an alternative. We have the highest rate of police involved deaths in the country and 70% of those are mental health related. We need a well funded team of peers, mental health experts, and street nurses to call when someone is having an episode.

Meanwhile, in Victoria: ‘Ongoing youth violence’: VicPD cracking down on groups of teens involved in downtown assaults. Like drug users, you’ve offered these kids nothing – no safe space to be kids. I can’t believe even Ezra Levant can see this and you can’t:

the victoria police department has somehow managed to unite all of canadian twitter, gotta respect it pic.twitter.com/X3R9bz3bLC

— Justin McElroy (@j_mcelroy) May 30, 2022

Not content with the power that police possess over our political system, they are now infiltrating said system: Former VPD spokesperson running for Vancouver City Council under ABC party. As it is, it’s bananas that two cop wives serve on council. How is this guy going to vote on *waves arms wildly*…anything?

Speaking of cop wives, apparently they think that being married to a police officer is a protected human right (it isn’t):

So MDG thinks that being married to a police officer is a protected human right.

You really can’t make this shit up. https://t.co/GpcRZrSfqi

— Kent Clark (@kentcclark) June 5, 2022

Then there’s John Coupar, mayoral candidate for the NPA, who despite being the parks board commissioner, doesn’t know the difference between a machete and a pruning saw:

Machetes on open store shelves at Clark and Hastings not a good look @DollaramaCad @GlobalBC @MikeSmythNews https://t.co/NWvWn07kRx

— John Coupar (@JohnCCoupar) June 6, 2022

And finally, there’s TEAM candidate Hardwick: ‘You of all people should understand,’ Vancouver councillor tells Indigenous leader of removing Mountie’s urn for construction. There’s no end to the sneering indignance of the booster class. Their gaslighting and patronizing contempt is on full display. NPA, ABC, TEAM… they are all the same.

Four participants struck by vehicle during March For Recognition in Mission. This is a fucking hate crime, not an “impatient driver”. Shame on the RCMP.

Yet another white dude outraged that those so-called uppity Indigenous people are daring to ask not to be murdered: Vancouver realtor loses licence after allegedly tearing down Chelsea Poorman posters.

Meanwhile: First Nation calls for return of artifacts from Royal B.C. Museum, funding for own museums.

And finally there’s Terry Glavin, who penned an article in the National Post (that I won’t link to) that is dreadfully revisionist, racist, and full of holes: What Terry Glavin overlooked.