Can Rob Ford rebound after rehab?
Can Ford conquer his pain and become an inspiration? Opinion June 3
I admire Gabor Maté and his work. He has done a lot to deepen our understanding of the roots of addiction. I do agree that well beneath the addict’s observable behaviours there invariably is a broken and suffering child. This is no doubt the case with Rob Ford.
However, there are also other truths to consider when we are talking about the mayor of Canada’s largest city. A pained and broken child is not running Ford’s show; a grandiose bully who blames everyone but himself for his troubles is.
There might well be unbearable shame being covered by the addictions and bombast but it is so far removed from Mr. Ford’s awareness that it does nothing to mitigate his bad behaviours by inching him toward humility or remorse. Torontonians are left to suffer from his shameless enactments.
A grandiose bully will use whatever is available to further his agenda, including our premature forgiveness and understanding. I give Ford neither.
Ken Ludlow, Toronto “The most telling aspect of the Ford saga has been the absence of empathy toward a human being who is suffering.”
Rob Ford the man has needed help and compassion for a long time. Ford the mayor is a disaster, a one-man wrecking ball, and not just because of his pain. Rehabbed or not, he has neither the intellectual heft nor the interpersonal skills to inspire trust in the people a mayor needs to work with.
Re-electing a manchild in pain whose rehab will realistically take years will put back at the helm someone who lacks the ability to be an effective, let alone an inspiring, mayor. Ford needs to move on.
Janice Etter, Etobicoke Although I certainly harbour no great love for Ford, I find the editorial cartoon June 3 by Theo Moudakis offensive. And the irony lies in the article on the adjacent page by Gabor Maté, who portrays the often tortured and difficult lives of the addicted and their struggles to recover. It’s time to give the man in need of compassion a chance.
Ginny Moeser, Cameron