I recently read the post about the Penticton Scottish Festival on the “Mayor’s Minute” blog on the Penticton City website.
In his mostly pleasant description the mayor refers to being heckled when he attended the event. While the remark in question could be considered rude he used his “Mayor’s Minute” to heckle back by delivering a public scolding to the woman in question. He referred to her as “some old lady” and then as “a little old lady.”
Using terms like that in the context he did is demeaning to older women generally and evokes stereotypes in the same way it would to refer to an older man, for example, as an “old geezer.”
I don’t agree that the mayor needed to publicly air his grievance, but at the least he should have used language that is respectful to all citizens.
Maureen Balcaen
Penticton