Hamilton’s culture of distrust | TheSpec.com – TheSpec.com

In an attempt to avoid working on the last chapter of my dissertation a while ago, I was scrolling through my Twitter feed. Between pandemic updates and cat memes, a strange photo appeared. Friends had been sending me messages about the odd image.

Two things bothered me about the photo. The first was that the photo, apparently of a festive lamppost display, looked almost purposefully suggestive. The lights and garland were arranged to look like a part of the human anatomy. The original poster claimed this was a display put up by the City of Hamilton along with the comment how did these pass approval?!?

The second was that I had seen it many years ago on Reddit, albeit attributed to a different city. A quick internet scan revealed no fewer than 25 variations of the same photo claiming to be anywhere from Moscow to the suburbs of Detroit. A version of the photo even went viral in 2014 after being posted on the actor George Takeis Facebook page.

I cannot fault my friends for believing the photo was real. Not knowing their motivations, I cannot blame the original poster for perpetrating this cheeky hoax. What stood out to me, though, was their final comment: how did these pass approval?!?

I study the intersection of municipal politics and populism. One theme appears with regularity: distrust in government. Here in Hamilton, the iElect group conducted a survey and found little faith in our government. While survey respondents were highly skewed toward Wards 1, 2, and 3, the results still paint a striking picture. Over 70 per cent of respondents strongly disagreed with the statement Hamilton city council is transparent, accountable and demonstrates openness. Nearly 57 per cent believed council had not shown good leadership on issues that would improve their lives and the lives of those around them.

It is not hard to see why there is little faith in city hall. A formal inquiry is investigating how the city lost reports concerning the safety of the Red Hill Valley Parkway. A privacy obsessed council took the unprecedented step of reprimanding a citizen volunteer for criticizing local elected officials. And who can forget the secretive response to the revelation that sewage had been spilling into Chedoke Creek for years?

Events like these chip away at the foundation of trust between the city and residents. Some residents respond with apathy. They shrug their shoulders, blame those clowns down at city hall, and avoid the ballot box come election time. Others respond by ridiculing or shaming local politicians on social media. Local politicians respond in kind, dismissing outspoken residents as keyboard morons, Twitter trolls, or dissidents and perpetuating a culture of us versus them at city hall and on school boards. This is the present situation in Hamilton, where a culture of distrust has paralyzed our civic affairs.

In this atmosphere, no wonder people believed the city would inadvertently put up an obscene light display for the holidays. Without a culture of open and honest conversation between residents and city officials, Hamiltonians are so often dismissive and distrustful of our citys actions.

Even more concerning are the long-term implications of this culture of distrust. Populist demagogues thrive in places where people lack faith in their institutions. They exploit peoples cynicism and anger, offering shallow solutions and faux accountability. The chants of Drain The Swamp at Trump rallies in the United States show what can happen when a populist, seeing an opportunity for personal gain, weaponizes the distrust of people against institutions.

But the rise of a local populist is not inevitable. Local politicians can commit to transparency and open communication. City staff can work closely with neighbourhoods and impacted communities on important projects. And we, as engaged Hamiltonians, can promise to do our research, check our facts, and most importantly, question anything we see on Twitter.

Chris Erl is a doctoral candidate in urban political geography. You can find him on Twitter @ChrisErl.

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Hamilton's culture of distrust | TheSpec.com - TheSpec.com