“The Boy Who Cried Wolf” was written by Aesop in the 17th century. The premise of the fable is that lying will diminish your credibility. Perhaps a modern take on the fable is: assume that people don’t believe you. This may be the result of the “urban myth” or of the constant onslaught of spinformation, but there is nothing wrong with some healthy skepticism.
I think some skepticism is warranted toward a community warning regarding Withrow Park in Toronto. There was apparently a incident involving a rape in the area. One member of a community group took it upon themselves to e-mail the warning the rest of the community and confirm that the incident did indeed take place. Further more, a man (who did not want to be identified) suggested in the National Post account that police ought to do something because the source was “reliable” and something serious took place. His argument: put the unsupported information out there and let people make up their own minds!
Forcing people to “make up their own minds” in this situation is calling to murky underlying beliefs that have no place in solving the problem. “He said; she said” forces you to side with “he” or “she.” Who gets the benefit of the doubt in that case depends on many variables. “We can’t tell you what she/he said or who she/he is, but please listen to how serious this is” makes it much less rational and begs for overgeneralization. Knowing the details (as uncomfortable and private as they may be), will shine some light on what should be done.
The police have work to do in order to be a trusted partner in finding the solution. Not being brought “into the loop” is a strong indication that they are viewed as an “out-group” in this community. Once the right information is out, we can start to clearly address the issue. Until then, as interesting as it is to observe, the issue gets increasingly clouded by unsubstantiated claims.
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