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Here are the top responses to our piece praising the VPD for carrying "scary" rifles

Colt Canada’s SA series of rifles are the consumer equivalent to the C8 and C7 series of weapons used by law enforcement. Pictured here are the SA20 and SA15.7 models.
Bob Kronbauer
Bob Kronbauer

Colt Canada's SA series of rifles are the consumer equivalent to the C8 and C7 series of weapons used by law enforcement. Pictured here are the SA20 and SA15.7 models. Photos via ColtColt Canada’s SA series of rifles are the consumer equivalent to the C8 and C7 series of weapons used by law enforcement. Pictured here are the SA20 and SA15.7 models. Photos via Colt

Earlier this week I wrote THIS opinion piece shedding light on what type of rifles the VPD were spotted toting during Italian Day on the Drive.

In it I also shared my sentiment that this is the new normal, and that it's a good thing they now bring these out to large public events.

I noted that a few social media shares lambasting our police force shouldn't change the way they decide to keep us safe, and as you would expect the social media response to that story came fast and furious.

Here's the comment that Facebook deems as the "Top" comment on the story when we posted it to our . It had a lot of responses nested under it if you care to click and read them all:

Here's the second "Top" comment:

The third:

The fourth:

The most interesting thing is that this really sparked a thoughtful debate from people on both sides. As you see in the top four comments two were for and two were against my argument, and people really took time to share their takes and consider others. You don't have to dig very far into online comments to see division over issues but for the most part it's people who are angry about a subject who will chime in. Usually it's one-sided, but not this time.

I did get the odd not-so-civil response aimed at me directly over the piece. "F**k off" was a succinct one directed at . But when I posted it to my personal Facebook (as a public post) I got some great responses from thoughtful people within my circle and around it, from friends of friends.

Here's one that stood out, written by a local writer:

And a response to it from another local writer who happened to write a book about the VPD and the sordid story of the Clark Park Gang:

I'll give Hootsuite CEO Ryan Holmes the last word here and thank everyone for their comments, even the "F**k off" guy. I'm working on a followup piece that involves a closer look at the Colt C8 carbine rifle and the VPD's use of it.