You might disagree with him, but that’s because Don Cherry says what he means - not what he thinks you want to hear.

Except when he’s apologizing for promoting violence, Cherry doesn’t present his views publicly in an ill-fated attempt to (re)gain your approval. He makes the controversial comments he does because he believes in them, and is blessed with the enviable skill of knowing how to freely speak his mind.

Our fearful leader Stephen Harper, however, is a career politician who needs your vote and mine to keep his job.

I scream, you scream, we all scream for less crime, safer streets and a brighter future for our children; Harper skates across the ice - his helmet of hair untouched by the wind - digs in an edge, and suavely remarks, “I’ll be tough on crime!”

But Harper doesn’t say he’ll “be tough” because he believes he really will reduce crime; he says this because the majority of us have come to understand that being tough on criminals magically cuts down crime rates, which means he’ll get a majority government.

So far it’s worked.

But being tough on crime is almost entirely counterproductive.

The longer we spend our time and money fine-tuning our punitive justice system and ignoring the benefits of one that is more restorative, the more difficult it will be for us to prevent future criminal acts and recidivism.

And although crime in Canada is reportedly at its lowest level since 1973, most Winnipeggers I know would agree that violent acts, many of which seem to be strongly encouraged by an individual’s substance abuse and mental illness, are not uncommon enough.

So why do we fool ourselves? Why do we let ourselves be fooled?

In part, it’s nothing more than pure, unadulterated outrage - the outrage of being victimized. And no politician is going to ignore what the people are outraged by. No journalist is either, which is why any time a politician puts more police officers on city streets than social workers in rural communities, he or she is treated to a smiley self-portrait in the local news section of most mainstream newspapers (not just the openly conservative ones).

But now that we’re willing to look forward to tomorrow, the important thing is that an aggressive response to crime is no less natural than dropping the gloves in a game of hockey: it achieves nothing more than getting the crowd riled up.

Nobody wins in this game but the politicians.

The time to develop a true sense of community where you live and with the people you know is now.

Get to know your neighbours, and be willing to be a good role model for young people.

Be able to admit when you’ve done wrong.

Take responsibility for your actions and say thank you to those who have the courage to believe in justice instead of fearing it.

And most important of all, ask yourself, “What is restorative justice?”

Sean Perkins is a Winnipeg musician and man about town. Restorative Justice Week 2011 takes place Canada-wide November 13 to 20.

Published in Volume 66, Number 11 of The Uniter (November 9, 2011)