Fear and Loathing in Toronto: What the Hell Happened to my Hometown?
What the hell happened to my beloved city?
"Living in the city, you know you have to survive." - Living in the City, Sonic R
I'm deeply saddened and disturbed by the news reports of the current crimewave gripping the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC), Toronto's public transit system. These incidents hit especially close to home, as I'm a born and raised Torontonian. While I now live in a small city, I was always a pedestrian and I also used both the TTC and Government of Ontario (GO) Transit, a commuter train and bus system.
In fact, one of my jobs for several years was to verify the delivery of free newspapers throughout the TTC's subway stations. I loved this job. Unfortunately, my happiness came crashing down when I was assaulted on a subway platform one beautiful summer morning. I suffered from this ordeal and was on sick leave for several months. During that period, the department I worked for was shut down and I was subsequently laid off. This was around the time that Toronto was becoming increasingly more gentrified, overpopulated, expensive, and dangerous. This wasn't always the case, though.
Toronto in the '80s and '90s was a special place and time in the world. The city was cleaner, safer, more affordable, less congested, and had a funky vibe. There was a thriving artistic bohemian community near Queen and Spadina. You could see the CN Tower and Lake Ontario instead of just endless walls of high-rise condominiums. Downtown was chockfull of cool bookstores and record shops. The malls had something for everyone instead of just high-end boutiques. Local landmarks such as the long-departed Sam the Record Man, World's Biggest Bookstore, and Honest Ed's drew in crowds of tourists. It was a magical place.
Over the years, my family and I watched Toronto's slow and gradual transformation into its current form. We stuck it out in the big city until a few years ago, when the escalating crimewave could no longer be ignored. We started having close calls. I was at Yonge-Dundas Square a few hours before a fatal shooting. I obliviously walked down Yonge Street during the van attack. We drove along Danforth Avenue on the day of the mass shooting. By the grace of God, we always managed to get out of the wrong place at the right time.
I never thought I'd leave the hustle and bustle of the big city. Unfortunately, Toronto had become too crowded, dangerous, and expensive. With my assault on the subway and our close shaves, we no longer wanted to tempt fate. It was time for us to throw in the towel, pack up, and leave the big city for a small one. Change is never easy for those of us on the autism spectrum, so my willingness to leave the only home I'd ever known tells you something of the dire situation there. Thankfully, we left Toronto before the pandemic hit, again, by the grace of God.
While we may now feel safe in our new home, we still worry for all our friends and family we left behind. Toronto's crime and gentrification have gotten much worse in the years since we left. It's an interesting paradox: a city for the rich under siege by gangs, criminals, and murderers amid a global pandemic. A place where excessive wealth and extreme poverty collide with little to no middle-class in-between. Perhaps I'll do a more in-depth deep dive on this topic later.
It feels like Toronto has become increasingly more dangerous over the past twenty years. It's a place where a serial killer stalked the gay village. Where gunshots rang out at the Raptors' victory parade. Where a woman was immolated on a bus by a psychopath. Where a homeless man was savagely stabbed to death by a gang of teenaged girls. Where TTC commuters are now getting randomly attacked and have become victims of crime during their daily commutes. Modern day Toronto now resembles Gotham City. All that's missing is the Bat-Signal and Batman himself.
In closing, I mourn the city I once knew and loved. I worry for our friends and family still living there. But I'll always remember the Toronto of my childhood and teenaged years with great fondness. I listened to a CBC radio show or podcast awhile back that summed up the nostalgia of the '90s perfectly: "the Berlin Wall was down, and the Twin Towers were still standing". Man, how I wish I had a time machine to go back to that simpler and safer world. I'd stay there if I could.
Previously posted on my original Blogger blog, The Ranting Zone, on Sunday, 29 January 2023.