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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2008-01-31, Page 5THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, JANUARY 31, 2008. PAGE 5. Bonnie Gropp TThhee sshhoorrtt ooff iitt Different strokes So I get this e-mail from a sender I don’t recognize and it’s headlined ‘Books ‘n Blankets’. Against my better judgment, I open it and discover it’s legit. It’s from someone I do, in fact, know and she tells me her brother is a member of the Canadian military serving in Kabul. In his spare time over there he is personally handing out donated clothing, blankets and toys to needy Afghani kids. The details are heartbreaking. The e-mail includes photos of a Canadian soldier doling out second-hand running shoes and used sweaters to solemn-eyed grade-school age kids who are barefoot or in sandals. This, in an Afghanistan winter. “If anyone has gently used warm clothing items, blankets, shoes or toys to donate,” the e- mail says, “you can…drop them off at my place and I’d be happy to take care of the mailing.” What a splendid idea! We pack up a bunch of blankets, wool socks and sweaters that have been sitting at the back of our closet for years. We call the e-mailer up to see what time we can deliver the goods. “Please don’t,” she says. She has been totally overwhelmed at the response and can’t possibly handle the volume. Another goodwill gesture gone awry. It’s not the first time that the best of intentions from outsiders have been frustrated in that baffling and beleaguered corner of the world. Back in 2004, somebody in the 1st Infantry Division of the U.S. Army serving at a base about 30 kilometres north of Baghdad had a similarly splendid idea. Iraqi kids, it seems, are soccer crazy. They love the sport and play pickup games in vacant lots, on empty streets – wherever they can. But they’re poorer than dirt. Often they used wadded-up rags in place of a ball. Why not, some Yank wondered, as a goodwill PR gesture, hand out free soccer balls? The Army brass came onside, “Operation Soccer Ball” was born and eventually a five-ton truckload of soccer balls was ordered up and dispatched. Eager GIs lowered the tailgate, slashed open the first of dozens of cardboard boxes and found… Soccer balls, yes – but deflated. And nobody had thought to include a pump or a needle valve to inflate them. Army mechanics were baffled. They had the equipment to inflate the tires of HumVees and jeeps, but not soccer balls. The sergeant in charge of Operation Soccer Ball radioed HQ and informed them of their dilemma. The order came down the line: “The Iraqis should be grateful. Hand ‘em out anyway.” Orders are orders. The soldiers loaded the boxes into their vehicles and drove through towns and villages tossing out flaccid soccer balls to every kid they saw. It was a PR disaster. “Kids were wearing them like hats,” one soldier said. “They were in trees. They were floating in canals. They were everywhere.” What was supposed to be a goodwill gesture came off as a sneer, an insult. And the kids were pissed. “On our way back, kids were throwing rocks at us,” the same soldier reported. “Maybe if we had given them inflated soccer balls, they would have been out playing soccer instead.” So it goes when one blunders into another culture of which one has little or no understanding. Which got me thinking about that e-mail I received. I wondered why is this Canadian soldier – God bless him – but why is he reduced to handing out second-hand clothing in his spare time over in Kabul? Why isn’t the entire frickin’ military handing out warm clothing – with a signature maple leaf logo on the label – full time? Bound to be cheaper than bombs, tank rounds or ammo clips for AK-47s, right? Canada is spending $100 million a month on military operations in Afghanistan. Experts reckon if the operation is still going on in March – and you know damn well it will be – the price tag for Canadian taxpayers will be cresting at $7.2 billion. We managed to put in some Tim Horton outlets over there. We set up hockey rinks for our troops’ rest and rec. Could we maybe slide some pullovers, tube socks and a Hudson’s Bay blanket or two onto the tab? Canada’s hardest working folksinger, James Gordon, said it best in a song a few years ago: Bomb them with butter, with rice and with bread Bomb them with medicine and clothing instead. Kill them with kindness, compassion and care. Let them drink from clean waters, not the well of despair. Get them right where they’ll expect it the least Bomb them with butter, attack them with peace. Just a thought. Arthur Black Other Views Bomb them with blankets One sign of how far Ontario’s once mighty Progressive Conservative party has fallen is the scarcity of candidates to lead it. Incumbent John Tory lost an election and his seat, which normally would be enough disaster to change leaders, in October, and the party in a few weeks will consider whether it wants him to stay. This party has ruled the province for 50 of the last 65 years. Anyone it chose leader almost automatically became premier. Only one of its leaders in that time failed to make it – Larry Grossman, who was made leader in opposition in one of its rare slumps and lost an election, his seat and quit. Conservative leader has been the most coveted job in Ontario politics, but aspirants for it are not lining up. More people queue in any fast-food outlet on a cold winter’s night just to buy coffee. One deterrent is Tory, who says he will fight hard to stay. He has strengths, but no divine right to hold on. The Conservatives also do not have many in their upper echelons who have demonstrated leadership qualities. But a third reason challengers are not lining up is being Ontario Conservative leader does not provide the assurance of becoming premier it once did. It is not the prize it was. There were signs of this in 2004, after Ernie Eves left having been defeated as premier. Tory had to fight off only former deputy- premier Jim Flaherty and former minister Frank Klees to take his place. This contrasted with a couple of years earlier, when premier Mike Harris stepped down undefeated with his party still in power and five senior current or former ministers, Eves, Flaherty, Elizabeth Witmer, Tony Clement and Chris Stockwell, ran to succeed him. When Conservative premier William Davis retired in 1985, four even more household names ran for his job, Frank Miller, a finance minister homespun so many could identify with him, Grossman, smart but abrasive; Roy McMurtry, whose gift of the gab was compared to the Kennedys and Dennis Timbrell, an efficient if colourless health minister. When premier John Robarts retired in 1971, five top ministers ran: Davis, bland but reliable; Al Lawrence, a thoughtful rebel; Darcy McKeough, on his way to being an innovative treasurer; Robert Welch, a supreme negotiator; and Bert Lawrence, brimming with ideas. And when Leslie Frost left in 1961, no fewer than six ministers and one MPP ran, including Robarts, Kelso Roberts, an attorney general admired enough he led on the first ballot, and the versatile Robert Macaulay. The only previous time in six decades the Conservatives have found few willing to run for leader was after Grossman lost the 1987 election and they bottomed with only 25 per cent of the vote and 16 of 130 seats. The Conservatives put off choosing a full leader for three years, but the big names expected to be candidates still found irresistible reasons for staying close to home and hearth – nothing to do with their party’s reduced chances of winning, of course. These included Timbrell, who had twice come close, Bob Runciman, such a terror of governments it is ludicrous he has never run for leader, Tom Long, who as party president did a lot to reorganize it back on its feet, and Tory, who had been Davis’s principal secretary, but said he had to put his young family first. The only candidates the party could find in the end were Dianne Cunningham, who had just won a memorable by-election but lacked experience, and a little known backbencher, Mike Harris. Harris won and this small race proved highly productive, because two elections later he regained power for the Conservatives in a landslide with his policies of cutting government and taxes. The Conservatives had so much difficulty finding a candidate to run in one riding in the last election they advertised in a newspaper. Do they now have to advertise for one for leader? Eric Dowd FFrroomm QQuueeeenn’’ss PPaarrkk Tory leadership no longer prize Aradio station I frequently listen to plays a ‘fabulous funny’every day. It features a variety of comedy sketches and music ranging from the inane to the more complex. The other day a listener’s e-mail was read on air. The writer had requested that the radio station no longer include any Monty Python or Jerry Seinfeld in this daily feature as neither is funny. It was straight to the point, leaving no room for discussion. This had nothing to do with an opinion, but was pronounced with the certainty of one who believes their view is shared by everyone. The comedy did not appeal to him, so it seemed that was proof enough that these were unpopular choices. Well, I was flummoxed. The features with Jerry Seinfeld have never finished without have coaxed at least one giggle from me. And Python? Well, come on, it’s Python. Needless to say the radio announcers too were a little flabbergasted. After all Seinfeld’s Seinfeld is one of the most successful television sitcoms ever, and Monty Python is classic, featuring some of England’s most respected talents. But perhaps even more surprising is that this person could proclaim such an embarrassing assumption, that he doesn’t like them so they’re just flat out not funny. It seems he forgot that one person’s Carrot Top is another person’s Johnny Carson. No brainer. It’s the way the world works. We don’t all like the same food. We don’t like the same books or music. What one person will find attractive another does not. How boring society would be if all of our likes and dislikes were the same. Not to mention crowded. Imagine how impossible it would be to get tickets for something, if that something appealed to everyone in the world. The dating scene could be rough for blondes and brunettes if only red hair mattered. And ‘twould be a sad day for skinny if the hourglass was not just the preferred choice but the only choice. Diversity is one of the most incredible realities of this world, particularly as it applies to humanity. It takes all kinds of people, with different feelings and different views, to keep this eclectic world spinning. Recognizing that everyone doesn’t see things the same way, or like the same things, and being comfortable with that is a sign of an open and accepting mind. But sometimes, it’s pretty difficult not to shake your head. Making the news recently is the story of the ‘pet’ girlfriend. Dani Graves of England, and Tasha Maltby made the news after a bus driver refused to allow them to board. The problem, it seems, was that Graves has Maltby on a leash. The couple complained to the bus company, while the young woman defended their lifestyle to the media saying she enjoyed being a pet. Now I pride myself on at least trying to open my mind to different lifestyles and opinions. After all, if they aren’t harmful, if no one is being hurt and endangered, if they aren’t bothering me, then what right do I have to cast judgment and say that what they are doing is any less normal than what I choose. I try. I really do. Different strokes, right? Maybe I’m not comfortable in a collar, but if it makes this girl happy, I ask, so what. That it does, however, ultimately just made me depressed. One can only hope that it’s harmless rebellion or immaturity on her part. Because the only other explanations are just plain sad. And I think that might be one thing at least most of us agree on. “Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go.” – T.S. Eliot Final Thought