Give Walt Wawra a break in his comments about 'Nose Hill gentlemen,' some Calgarians say
American police officer, who visited Calgary during Stampede, plans to write second letter to editor on handgun issue
CALGARY — As critics continue to heap scorn on a Michigan police officer who publicly lamented his inability to carry a gun while on vacation in Calgary, others say the American is being treated unfairly.
In a letter to the Herald, Walt Wawra described a recent encounter with two “gentlemen” at Nose Hill Park while he and his wife were visiting the city.
He said the men asked “in a very aggressive tone” if he and his wife had been to the Calgary Stampede. Wawra brushed them off but said he wished Canadian laws allowed him to carry a gun for protection.
His paranoia over a seemingly mundane incident prompted a social media explosion on both sides of the border as many on Twitter debated everything from gun control to Canadian and U.S. values.
But some say Wawra hasn’t been given a fair shake.
“Everyone is dumping on this poor man,” said retired Calgarian Jim Miller.
“None of us were there. How can everybody assume these two guys were friendly? It’s turned into an anti-American rant. Let’s cut this guy some slack. He’s unwittingly poked a hornet’s nest.”
In a letter to the Herald, one man said it’s plausible that Wawra and his wife “were accosted in an open wilderness with few witnesses around by two possible con men under the apparent pretext of so-called Canadian friendliness.”
But the man at the centre of the firestorm declined to comment on the matter Thursday, saying only that he’s been misunderstood.
Wawra, who lives in Kalamazoo, plans to write a second letter to clarify the incident.
“I like truth — I don’t like conjecture,” he said.
“If I bear some kind of responsibility for any kind of misinformation or misunderstanding, that is something I would like to clear up.”
Wawra’s letter has sparked interest south of the border, with the popular U.S. website Gawker reporting on the matter.
There were even rumours the two men in question worked for the Stampede and were giving out free passes to the park.
Not true, said Stampede spokesman Doug Fraser.
“The fact of the matter is we have a much bigger publicity and marketing machine than two people wandering through a park,” he said.
But the incident continues to keep people talking, both inside the Twitterverse and beyond.
A Calgary restaurant’s cheeky chalkboard went viral Wednesday after it poked fun at Wawra with the message: “Have you been to the Stampede yet? Just kidding. Don’t shoot me.”
Only two patrons expressed bewilderment at the sign, said Taste owner Brendan Bankowski.
“We’re making fun of it as most people are, but if you dig deeper, there are serious issues here,” he said.
“It’s interesting how this story stirs conversation in people. My kitchen staff, who are in their 20s, spent the morning discussing gun control. Pretty weird, but cool.”
Another image making the rounds on Twitter shows a picture of Clint Eastwood’s character Dirty Harry with the phrase: “You’ve got to ask yourself one question: Have you been to the Stampede yet?”
Wawra has shared his opinions in newspapers before.
In 2011, the Kalamazoo Gazette published a letter in which he took issue with U.S. President Barack Obama’s invitation of rapper Common to the White House.
“As Christians, we are called to pray for those in authority over us,” he wrote then. “I ask you to exercise this command of our Lord Jesus Christ, to give our President wisdom, knowledge and the conviction to live a life of righteousness.”
