HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 1992-05-27, Page 6PAGE 6. THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, MAY 27,1992.
The Other Side
By Keith Roulston
j ■Ji J
Putting your
foot in it is easy
these days
Believe it or not, I have a certain
amount of sympathy for Dan
Quayle these days. Though Mr.
Quayle has a way of putting his
foot in it regularly, just about any
one who gives a public statement
can find himself/herself in trouble
these days.
Everything has become so polar
ized these days that it's no longer
acceptable to try to stimulate
debate by giving a new idea. Just
by saying something, anything,
you're liable to be branded with
some popular epithet.
It depends not so much what is
said, but who says it. If a well-rec
ognized liberal feminist woman
had said something about the now-
infamous Murphy Brown mother
hood issue, no notice would likely
have been taken but since it was
Dan Quayle, a whole lot of extra
baggage went with what he said. If
a black community leader had said
the breakdown of family life had
contributed to the atmosphere that
made the Los Angeles riots possi
ble, it would have been acceptable.
Since it was Dan Quayle, it became
something to get people angry.
What's more, in this day of 30-sec-
ond sound bites on TV, nobody
hears the whole speech and the
qualifiers that go with a statement.
They just hear the one sentence and
the entire country erupts over it.
It's no wonder that U.S. President
George Bush took about five min
utes to choose his words carefully
as he replied to the fuss by Mr.
Quayle's remarks about the unwed
motherhood of TV career-girl Mur
phy Brown. No matter what he
said, he was bound to have people
howling for his head. After much
pursing of lips, he finally said his
administration felt that a child had
the best home atmosphere when
there was both a mother and a
father in the home. Most psychia
trists, family counsellors and liber
als would agree. But because it was
George Bush who said it, the reac-
Letters
THE EDITOR,
I write in response to the seminar
on child abuse, sponsored by St.
John Ambulance on May 13. I was
disappointed to see that our
community didn't have a better turn
out.
Constable John Marshall took
time out of his busy schedule to
inform us about child abuse, and
the attendance was far from good.
To be accurate, besides the hosts of
the seminar there were only five
other citizens and one member of
the press.
This gave me the impression that
the people of the community don't
worry about their children's safety.
The sign coming into Brussels
states, “Drive Carefully, We Love
Our Children”. Do We?
Although we live in a small
town, it does not mean that child
abuse does not occur. Child abuse
can occur anywhere and does. In
fact, Const. Marshall says the
tion was immediate. Single mothers
were irate. Children raised by sin
gle mothers were irate. Black com
munity leaders were upset.
But even having good liberal cre
dentials apparently doesn't mean
you're immune from attacks. Pierre
Berton reported in his column in
the Toronto Star on Saturday that
June Callwood, of all people, had
run afoul of the kind of intolerance
that allows people to be branded for
saying something others don't agree
with. Nobody has better liberal cre
dentials than June Callwood. She
helped start Jessie's, a home for
unwed mothers, Casey House, a
hospice for men dying of AIDs and
back in 1984 was first president of
Nellie's, a home for women who
were victims of family violence. It
was the latter institution that got
her into trouble. According to Mr.
Berton, Ms Callwood, until recent
ly a member of the board of direc
tors, disagreed with some younger
staff members over a matter of pol
icy that had nothing to do with
race. The staff members she dis
agreed with, however, happened to
be black. A group called Women of
Colour Coalition called her a racist
and demanded Ms Callwood not
only be thrown off the board of
directors, but she be banned from
the premises permanently. Rather
than destroy the institution she
helped to found, Ms Callwood
resigned.
Now Mr. Berton, in writing this
column, is treading dangerous terri
tory himself. Despite his impecca
ble liberal credentials, he'll no
doubt be branded both a racist and
a male chauvinist for daring to
speak on the issue.
We're in a period of exclusivici-
ty: only women can speak on issues
that effect women because men, not
having experienced what it's like to
be a woman, couldn't possibly
understand. But women from the
comfortable white middle class
can't comment on issues dealing
with poverty or race because they
couldn't possibly know what it's
like to be poor or black or yellow
or red. I suppose middle-class black
women shouldn't be allowed to
comment on being poor and black,
majority of abuse in Huron County
occurs by members of the area
whom children know, such as
neighbours and friends.
I attended even though I've just
completed a course on the topic at
school. I feel that the more you
learn about it, the better you are.
Parents, teachers, and club
leaders are all in positions where
they have children in their care and
that is why I feel it to be so
important to learn about child
abuse.
We need to learn what child
abuse is and how to recognize it.
I hope that if Const. Marshall
decides to return to give another
seminar on the same topic, that
attendance is that of our dances.
Lori Willie
An Early Childhood Education
Student at Fanshawe College.
THE EDITOR,
Sydenham Central Public School,
also known as Sydenham Commu
nity School, is celebrating its 25th
Anniversary in 1992. A reunion is
planned during Thanksgiving
Weekend on October 10 and 11,
1992.
We invite everyone who has
attended, worked at, volunteered
their time to. or have had children
continued on page 23
Even a poor black person probably
wouldn't be allowed to sympathize
with a poor black disabled woman
because they couldn't possibly
understand.
Let's admit it: there are racists,
there are male chauvinists, there are
do-gooders who pretend to help the
poor but go home to comfortable
homes each night with their con
sciences feeling better. But there
are bigots on all sides. All racists
aren't white. All sexists aren't male.
All hypocrites aren't rich.
But do many so-called leaders
today seek to reject anyone who
offers to understand. Anyone who's
not exactly like them is accused of
being a bigot.
These charges are so easily
hurled, and so difficult to defend
against, that many commentators
hesitant to touch such subjects as
Mr. Berton did for fear of being
branded some unspeakable "ist".
Despite a lifetime of promoting tol
erance and understanding, you can
quickly find yourself lumped in
with white supremisists and men
who beat their wives.
The Dan Qualyles of this world
are no longer alone in being able to
put their feet in their mouths at the
drop of the hat. Anyone with the
courage to say anything is likely to
get in trouble these days.
Going by
Mark Franken of Brussels doesn't quite connect in his first
at bat of the season with the Brussels Mites. The team
played Seaforth Tuesday of last week at home then
travelled to Winthrop where they defeated the home team
by one run.
TIRED OF CRIME
WANT TO DO SOMETHING
BECOME A CRIME STOPPER
Huron County Crime Stoppers Inc. is looking for a few new
members who feel they can contribute their skills to help with the
Crime Stoppers program.
We need members from Exeter, Wingham, Clinton, Seaforth and
the outlying areas of Huron County.
If interested call Wayne at 1-800-265-1777 or write Huron County
Crime Stoppers Inc., P.O. Box 461 Goderich, Ontario N7A 4C7
Against Our Will
Is Against The Law
If you’re like
most people, you'll
look at this and
think rape.
Well, think again.
Because sexual
assault isn't only
rape. It’s any
unwanted act of a
sexual nature
imposed by one
person on another.
And if you think
it’s always a dark
alley and a violent
stranger, you're
wrong again.
More than half of
all sexual assaults
of women are
committed by men
they know.
It can occur on
a date. Between
friends. Even
This message is sponsored by
The Brussels
between husband
and wife.
So most people
don’t think of it as
a crime. And often
it goes unreported.
But attitudes
must change.
Because against
our will is against
the law.
If your life has
been affected by
sexual assault, find
out what can be
done. Contact a
sexual assault
service. Or talk to
someone you trust.
Men must under
stand that sexual
assault is a crime.
Maybe then
they'll think twice
about it.
Mennonite Fellowship
Sexual Assault Is A Crime.