Kim Hearty

Responding to media attacks

Pidgin’s owner said he wanted to start a conversation – he got more than he bargained for! Low-income people are speaking out against forced relocation and economic exclusion/segregation in Vancouver. The Pidgin/Pigeon Pickets have made headlines across the country for two weeks straight. Unfortunately, mainstream media coverage fails to represent the many voices of low-income DTES residents. Instead, many news stories repeat the same old poor-bashing rhetoric and hateful lies: the DTES is “hell”, a “pigsty,” a “ghetto,” etc. These slurs ignore the causes of poverty and they erase the reality of the neighbourhood’s diverse, loving and resilient communities. (…)