HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Exeter Times-Advocate, 1975-11-20, Page 5"Home-town" reporting interests
Times-Advocate staff writer
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395 Main $t., Exeter 235-2350
lammisalior
The all Oatario Trust Company
begun in 1889
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UCTORIA and GREY
TRUST COMPANY SINCE 1889
Times-Advocate, Navernber 20, I 97, Page
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59, 9 29
Dear Editor
When does the right to freedom
of enterprise unjustly becpme
license for discriminatory
Policies and misuse of the public
trust? According to the Ontario
Human Rights Code it does so
when a dealer in private en-
terprise denies public access
(which is also interpreted as
access to merchandise) to any
person or groups of persons on
the basis of race, creed, colour,
language, nationality, etc,
Regrettably, it appars that
Huron Carpet of Exeter continues
to operate ender a policy which is
restrictive to the people of
organized churches other than
the sect known as the Jehovah's
Witnesses. It refuses to deal in
merchandise with the Christian
churches and in so doing main-
tains a policy which is
discriminatory and a violation of
the public trust.
On the twenty-eighthof July this
past summer four persons
representing the manse com-
mittee of the Thames Road-
' Elimville Pastoral Charge of the
United Church of Canada visited
the premises of Huron Carpet
with the purpose of purchasing a
carpet to be used in the study of
the United Church manse. After
mentioning to a salesman where
the carpet was to be used we were
politely informed that the policy
of Huron Carpet of Exeter was
not to intall carpets in any
religious establishment or church
related building. We could
purchase a rug, we were told, but
Huron Carpet would refuse to
install it.
Somewhat non-plussed by this
revelation, we continued to
browse examining samples until
we were finally served by the
manager. It was then that the
• even more explicit and disturbing
pokey of Huron Carpet was ex-
plained to us. Huron Carpet
would not sell any merchandise
to the United Church of Canada
or, for that matter, any other
religious organization. The
manager explained that this was
a personal policy of the company
in no way related to the policy of
the Jehovah's Witnesses.
Nonetheless it was a policy
clearly related to the convictions
of the manager as a member of
the Jehovah's Witnesses. It was
carefully but hypocritically
explained that Huron Carpet
would sell to any individual
whether or not he was a member
of a church but that churches
would .he refused access to its
merchandise on the grounds of
personal conscience and con-
viction.
It has never been explained
what precise line of distinction it
is that permits Huron Carpet
from staying in business by
selling its merchandise without
censure to any committed
member of any church.
Astounded by this arrogant at-
titude, the group left to purchase
the same rug at Dinney's Fur-
niture at the other end of town.
Although news of this policy
has been and will be a shock to
many people who read this ar-
ticle, I understand that it is not
news to some others who have
also been turned away from
Huron Carpet on similar grounds.
It is time someone challenged
Huron Carpet to discard their
policy of discrimination against
area churches or risk the con-
sequences of public censure,
To make sure that I fully un-
derstood the policy and also to
privately express my concern
about its implications to the
manager,I visited Huron Carpet
for a second time recently. Once
again I was informed that the
United Church of Canada would
be refused access to any of the
merchandise of Huron Carpet. In
explanation, I was informed that,
as a member of the Jehovah's
Witnesses sect, the manager
refused to deal with any of the
churches of (to use his term)
fallen Christendom and, in this
particular case, he refused to
deal with the United Church
which, along with the other
churches, was, in his opinion,
completely under the control of
Satan. Although these may riot be
the precise words that were used
in explanation they fairly,
believe, represent the managers
reasons for carrying on such a
policy. As a Jehovah's Witness he i
must regard all other churches as
essentially on the side of the
forces of evil, as unChristian, as
ungodly.
I must sly that I find it difficult
to explain, let alone understand,
such a polity which seems So
black and white. Most areas of
human decision Seem to me to be
.controversial, that is, open to
question and interpretation.
Nonetheless, Huron Carpet's
policy appears to very cut and
dried. I expected a theological
explanation, I received one. I
informed the manager' that I
regarded his policy and actions
aS diScrirninatorY and dishonest.
}le argued that he was net
discriminatory in that he would
sell to any individual but not to an
organization or corporation such
as a church, My friend failed to
uhdetstand that his policy is a
policy against a group Ofpeople
1110 id that any cOrporationi I f it S real
arid viable, always represents a
group of people, in this case, a
group of le.peop ho by their own
choice are members of and
support the United Church of
Canada , I was informed that
under no circumstances would
Huron Carpet sell to the United
Church even If this amounted to a
centravention of the existing laws
of our land.
Since then I have wrestled with
the pros and cons of making this
incident public with the per-
mission of the Times Advocate,
Apathy and pure human inertia
have pressured me constantly to
shelve it. I have no desire to hurt
the manager of Huron Carpet. I
did make an effort to resolve this
privately, I alsofear the reaction
of some people who might be
prompted by this incident to treat
the members of the Jehovah's
Witnesses with even more con7
tempt than they now receive on
their periodic invasions of
privacy.
However, I have written the
article, A legal adviser in the
offices of the Ontario Human
Rights Commission, Toronto, has
informed me that Huron Carpet's
policy is in violation of Seetion
Two of the Ontario Human
Right's Code which terms as
"discriminatory" the denial of
access to public property (and
merchandise) on the basis of
creed, I was asked whether or not
I wished to sign a complaint
authorizing the Commission to
take action against Huron Car-
pet. I said, "No,"
A good friend of mine, for
whose opinions I have great
respect, debated with me one
night the morality of Huron
Carpet's policy and, although
agreeing with me in the final
analysis, asked a good question
which really gets to the heart of
what I am trying to say here.
"Why say anything about it?
Even if he is wrong, you got your
carpet. They didn't really hurt
you. They probably run a very
good business otherwise."
I suppose I have said this tcI
myself a hundred times during
the past month as well as won-
dered about the possible
misunderstanding or negative
reaction that writing such an
article might.produce. Besides, I
bear no ill will against Huron
Carpet nor its manager who, in
many respects, is a polite, per-
sonable, honest and, obviously,
sincere man. Unfortunately,
Huron Carpet, maintains a policy
which treats ,certain groups of
our society upjustly, Obviously,
any individual has a right to his
creed and the laws of our land
and of our conscience before God
should protect that right.
But that freedom does not
mean licence to deny another
person the right to his creed
(which is the logical implication
of Huron Carpet's policy as is the
policy of any other individual or
group within our society who will
use the•means of their livelihood
to foster intolerance of the rights
of any individual or group. When
a business attempts to deny
access to its public/ services to
any member or group of mem-
bers of our society on the basis of
religious convictions, it crosses
over the line of freedom of belief
into the area of discrimination
and injustice.
Obviously, this article reflects
a personal opinion, which, I am
sure is not shared by Huron
Carpet, Although I have already
been pre-accused of slander for
suggesting to the manager that
his policy receive more ad-
vertisement than he is prepared
to give it, I have tried to be very
careful in recording the facts as
they have happened and as they
have been spoken,
The fact that the manager
was visibly upset and almost
outraged that I would make his
policy public makes me even
more suspicious that he knows
full well the questionable ethics
he is using in continuing such a
policy. Why should he he afraid
or upset unless he is more con-
cerned about keeping the
reputation he has as an efficient
carpet salesman while practicing
a policy which treats certain
groups of people unfairly? In
what way, then, is he different
from the big corporation
president' who uses his business
to implement personal prejudices
against even a few people, while
carrying on the reputation of a
fine and reputable member of the
business community? Should
eithermerchant be allowed to get
away with such double-
standards? I think not.
And in the case of Huron
Carpet, while I have absolutely
nothing to gain by writing this
article (and while my move is not
one of revenge — if it was, the
property authorities tell us that
legal action could be taken).
Huron Carpet's policy represents
a continuance of that unfortunate
relationship between the various
Christian communities in our
area and the group known as the
Jehovah's Witnesses, a group of,
albeit sincere, zealous, com-
mitted members of their sect,
who choose to live within and
benefit fully from our society but
not contribute to it fully, who
demand respect for their
freedom of belief by their con-
stant proselytizing but who will
not respect the beliefs of other
Christians.
I for one regret the policy of
Huron Carpet which DOES
discriminate against the
Christian Communities in our
area, But it is Huron Carpet that
has set the policy and who, in so
doing, has taken an action against
one of our most basic human
rights.
Barry J. Robinson
Dear Sir:
As a former Exeter resident I
have followed discussions con-
cerning the fate of Exeter's town
hall with a great deal of interest.
I would like to encourage your
readers to support those who are
calling for its restoration.
It is sometimes difficult to
appreciate our historical land-
marks until we tear them down
and then the decision is
irreversible.
It's only recently that Lon-
doners have begun to appreciate
this fact and are taking steps to
preserve as many historical
landmarks as possible. Unfor-
tunately, for many buildings this
change in attitude came too late,
I sincerely hope Exeterites will
realize the value of their town
hall while there is still time.
Victor Fuldher,
London, Ontario.
DRINKING, 0/161 DRIVING
eruat DISASTER $c 6''
By LEIGH ROBINSON
This being my first column for
the T-A, I had reservations about
writing it so soon after joining the
staff. I thought about a number of
subjects to explore and came to
the conclusion that for column
numero uno I had better stick to
things that I know best, like
myself,
Then I had a change of heart,
Perhaps people wouldn't be all
that interested in reading about
me, After all, I had kind of hoped
that someone might care to read
my second column. So moving
away from the hazards of
egocentricity, I , am deciding
instead to write whatever comes
into my head as illy fingers peck
away at this typewriter.
First impressions are always
important, although they seldom
reflect, the total picture.
Impressions of Exeter in my first
week have been very pleasant,
even exciting. The staff here at
the T-A has certainly helped to
make a new person feel com-
fortable and a part of things.
Walking around town, I get the
feeling that people really take an
interest in the place. Not like
some hamlets, where everyone
complains and seems to want to
leave on the next bus going
anywhere.
An interesting area where
Exeter is situated. There seems
to be a nice balance here between
going forward and yet hanging on
to anything from the past that
might be important. That's a
good sign. Sophistication seems
to be tempered by a sense of
humanity and a respect for
tradition,
I must say that I am glad that
the belfry atop town hall is going
to stay , It'siaLready become a part
of my perception of the town, and
its nice to be able to tell the time,
too. I always forget my watch.
Now, maybe I can sneak in a
little of that autobiography that
might have scared you people off
in the first couple of paragraphs.
My newspaper career began in
Wallaceburg when I was six. I
had received a toy typewriter for
Christmas. Soon I was scouring
the neighborhood for news. Cat
and dog fights, Robby Sills'
skinned knee, the cold war
situation in Europe, you know,
the silly things that six year olds
think of as being all-important.
Our next-door neighbor, Mrs.
Lozonne, who was a very nice
lady by the way, used to take the
Windsor Star. My parents didn't,
and I liked reading the coloured
funnies. So I would sit down at my
little typewriter and print out the
news of the neighborhood on old
paper bags and then run across
the driveway with these priceless
things and exchange them for the
funnies and perhaps some milk
and cookies. I titled my tabloid,
The Daily Snooper",
Years later, I wondered why I
had chosen that title, because it
seemed to indicate a' rather
negative attitude towards the
press. I think that it had
something to do with a story my
mother had told me about a
reporter trying to squeeze an
interview out of a woman who
had just lost her husband at the
scene of a terrible house fire,
where the tragedy had occurred.
The message that I must have
taken from that was that
newspaper reporters were so
greedy forsensational news, that
it didn't matter whether people's
feelings were tromped on in the
process of "informing the
public",
It wasn't until rather recently
that I had an urge to come back to
journalism and Pm not sure if I
have the talent and the creativity
of my "Daily Snooper" days, I'd
tried a few things, some en-
joyable and some kind of not. A
year's stint at law school had
ended in failure and I was feeling
a little sorry for myself. Then I
saw an ad for a newspaper
reporter and I knew that I wanted
to give it another try.
There have already been some
times and I know that there will
soon be some more when I am
going to find it hard to do a story
for one reason or another, I don't
think I could do a story like the
one my colleague attempted to
get at the scene of a fire. For-
tunately, a great deal of the news
in a rural community is of a
happy nature. Must have
something to do with the clear air
out here.
There have to be reasons,
though, for being in this business,
I think the biggest one for me is
v an insatiable interest in people
and what makes them tick. Aside
from that, truth has always been
important to me. And Justice,
Sounds corny, I know (like the
Lone Ranger or something), but I
have always felt that a
newspaper should be heavy on
these two concepts. Kindness
towards others and a sense of
humor also have important roles
to play in newspaper reporting.
If these things can all be kept in
mind when I'm doing some news
reporting around these parts,
maybe the six-year olds won't
have to regard the newspaper as
the "Daily Snooper",
Save money!
Cut taxes!
with a
Registered Retirement Savings Plan
accumulating at
Kurt Bowman, Manager
Main St., Exeter 235-0530
a
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PRICE GOES UP, BUT DE BOER'S DOESN'T — Andy DeBoer,
proprietor of the Sunoco station on Main St., Exeter, continued to
pump gas at 69.9 on Monday /despitethe price freeze lift of 5.4 cents a
gallon. "We'll sell what we've got at the price we bought it for before
we go up exactly 5.4 cents a gallon, De Boer said, 7-A photo
4galrM
Thank you you to all those who visited us
last week. We appreciated seeing you
and look forward to meeting you again.
4\*Ast****Avic*AVatatigRM4P
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