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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 1993-06-16, Page 5Arthur Black THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 16, 1993. PAGE 5. Stories like this can make your day I hear rumours that Clint Eastwood plans to do another Dirty Harry movie. I can't pretend that I'm surprised. It must be easy work. When he portrays that ne-er- do-well, rogue San Francisco detective Harry Callaghan, all Clint has to do is squint a lot, adjust his sunglasses from time to time and blow away bad guys with his .44 Magnum. I can't say that I'm surprised either that Dirty Harry movies continue to be box office dynamite. They flog the same commodity offered by the Death Wish movies Charles Bronson sleepwalks through every couple of years — simple, Old Testament solutions to modern problems. In the world of Death Wish and Dirty Harry the lesson is always cut and dried and the bad guys are always badder than bad. They're scum, ergo: gun them down. Would that real life were so simple. Would that modern justice were even in the ball park. The other day on my TV Oprah was interviewing a prison inmate who had just been sentenced for dealing heroin. "What did the judge give you?" asked Oprah. Is Belgium a boring country? A friend of mine once said that Belgium was one of the most boring countries in Europe. Before I could object to this statement, he countered, "When was the last time you were there?" then added, "When was the last time you wrote about it?" Based on those two questions, I had to admit he had a point. I haven't set foot on Belgian territory in many years and I have also forgotten the last time I wrote about it, either in this column or elsewhere. However, in spite of this admission, I would like to differ with my friend. The political cauldron in Belgium seems to be constantly bubbling much as it is in Canada since that country, like ours, is a bilingual one with both of us having French as one of the two official languages. The other one, in case you were wondering, is Dutch in the north part of the country. I should clarify that by saying that it is a Dutch dialect better known as Flemish. While federalism is the goal of probably a majority of Belgians, there is a vocal minority who would like to see outright separatism of the two linguistic groups. All this has a familiar ring, especially when I tell you that the most vocal separatists in Belgium are the French speaking people in the south. A bit of background is in order. At the turn of the century the Walloons, or the French speaking Belgians, were the more prosperous of the two groups. They also considered themselves to be culturally more advanced and they still do to a considerable "Eighteen years" said the prisoner. "And when do you get out?" pursued Oprah. "I'm eligible for parole next summer" said the prisoner. And the TV audience laughed! That's how cynical we've become about the courts and justice. That's why a little cheer leaps unbidden to the back of our throat when we see Dirty Harry short circuit a legal system that's constipated to the point of immobility. Hooray — here comes simple, monosyllabic Harry dispensing instant "justice" in lethal lead capsules. It's stupid. It's fantasy. But it works. And the news we get from the courts doesn't seem calculated to make Six Gun Justice any less attractive. 'Some time ago I wrote about the despondent New Yorker who tried to kill himself by jumping in front of a subway train. He lived — albeit as a quadriplegic. When he recovered sufficiently, the would-be suicide sued the New York Transit authority for a million dollars, claiming the Authority had failed to protect him. He won, too. Last month a woman sued the Chicago rapid transit system over the death of her husband. And how had he died, exactly? Well, while waiting for his train he urinated over the tracks. Right on the electrified rail. The wife sued for neglect, claiming $1.5 million would go a long way towards allaying her grief. degree even though the economic balance has tilted to the Flemish north. Brussels, the capital, is located right on the border between the two groups and it is about the only truly bilingual part of the whole country. Both sides watch the other carefully to see if they can detect any sign, no matter how miniscule, of favoritism from the capital and there is a great deal of bleating when one is allegedly detected. What separatism there is in the north is mainly due to the fact that some Flemish think they are paying too much to the poorer south in the form of subsidies. This brings us around to the second problem, that of budget deficits. (That sounds familiar too!). Not only is there a per capita debt even larger than that of Canada but the current budget is showing a large deficit of no less than six per cent of Gross Domestic Product or the total output of the country in a given year. Like Canada, Belgium has cut back severely on the level of its armed forces and the bickering got so bad (Bob Rae would be at home in Brussels) that the reigning monarch, King Baudouin, had to refuse the prime minister's offer to resign. Instead he told him to get back to work and solve the problem at hand, which he eventually did. There seems to be no end of similarities with Canada. As the government attempts to cut back on the deficit, any segment of the economy which sees its funding reduced is prone to protest, picket, complain, point accusing fingers in all directions except theirs, of course, and generally carry on as taxpayers everywhere. At least the country does not have the balance of payments problems that we do. The present current account balance is in the black to the tune of about $7 billion which can be accounted for to a considerable degree by the fact that many of the administrative offices of both NATO and the She won, too. Ah, but every so often the universe unfolds the way it ought to. I give you the tale of Dwight Coverson, would-be Mississippi rapist. One night Dwight broke into a house in Jackson and found himself in the bedroom of a 50-year-old unprotected woman_ Perfect! Dwight jumped on the woman, slapped her around, cursed her, and when he had her thoroughly frightened, took off his clothes. Which is when the woman grabbed him in, what would have been an intimate embrace if it hadn't been quite so ... energetic. There are no names in jiu jitsu for the hold the woman put on the man. You won't see it employed by members of the World Wrestling Federation. Suffice to say it was two-handed, vice-like and extremely painful. "Please, please" whimpered Dwight, "you're killing me!" "Die then" said the woman. "Woman, you got me suffering" moaned Dwight. "Have you thought about how you were going to leave me suffering?" she replied. With a twist. Dwight Coverson eventually managed to break free and get away, but he wasn't hard to find. Police just followed the crawl marks in the dirt. They led right to Coverson's house. Police found him in bed, in great pain. I don't know how Dirty Harry would feel about it, but a story like that sure makes my day. European Common Market are located in Brussels. Sometimes, I think that it is this that keeps the city going. The one thing that few Belgians complain about is the king. He has been on the throne for a relatively long time and during this period has shown an amazing level of even- handedness when dealing with constitutional problems. He has even managed to avoid all the scandals to which the British monarchy has been subjected. Maybe Belgium is boring in the eyes of some people. However, from a political point of view, you would never know it. Letters to the editor Continued from page 4 palities and their employees. Members of the Legislature, senior, non-unionized employees of the government are all covered by this approach as well. Paul Klopp, MPP Huron. THE EDITOR, I am compelled to respond to the article entitled "Why Zero Increases are Difficult" printed in the Huron County Board of Education flyer, which was distributed May 12. The article indicates there has been a cutback in speech pathology support to the schools. This is in reference to the School Health Support Services Program which is administered by the Huron County Home Care Program and funded by the Ministry of Health. There has been no cutback in this program. Responsibility for each specific type of speech and language service is outlined by the Ministries of Education, Health and Community and Social Services in the Interministcrial Guidelines for the provision of Speech and Language Services document. This is where the stated "controversy" lies. Joanne M. Jasper, Director, Huron County Home Care Program. The Short of ►t By Bonnie Gropp The party remains the same I believe men and women are created equal. I believe that one gender is as capable as the other of doing a task when it's important to them. However, I also believe that the sexes differ in what they perceive to be important. Comedian Tim Allen, in his stand up routine says he wants to be a "masculinist. Not anti- women, just into men's things. Those things that women look at guys and say 'If that's what you want just go ahead and do it'." For example, Shriners. While many liberated women feel put out about being excluded from certain clubs or organizations I have yet to meet a woman who wants to be a Shriner. Men and women also differ in their strengths and weaknesses. Not the physical ones — they're obvious. The ones I refer to are more subtle but when you become sensitive to them they're just as evident. It has been my experience over the past 30 something years that men in general tend to be less reserved with new acquaintances. While a group of women will warily dance around an unfamiliar peer, men will within five minutes be swilling brew and slapping backs like long lost buddies. That reticence which I've seen in many women may also contribute to some of their more positive traits. Most of the female partners in the relationships that I am acquainted with are the ones who usually, though I hasten to add there will be exceptions, respond rather than react. Though woman will take the spontaneous jump, there is a tendency on their part to stand back and look just a little bit before they leap. Women's strengths lie as well in their organizational skills, their ability to be objective, perhaps acquired from years of refereeing the kids, and the opportunity and the drive to succeed. Women in the 90s have the chance to use their abilities and be accepted for them. That's why I should have been happy to hear Kim Campbell was. to be our next Prime Minister. Since the guys haven't done so well, lately I believe that the time for women to lead is here, so I should have been elated by the outcome. Unfortunately, I couldn't help wondering if Ms Campbell's narrow victory was because she was a woman. In a country where the little faith we had in our politicians has been shattered, where the leaders of the two opposing parties, most Canadians will agree, are not the strong leaders we need in this difficult time, where the choices in the leading party seemed as limited, did the PC's feel that their best chance was a politically correct one? Ms Campbell's shiny moments were a little short-lived if you ask me for a potential leader. She has in the time since her predecessor announced his resignation, done little to make me believe we will be any better off. As a matter of fact, there have been times when she's made me a little nervous. Even if her win wasn't orchestrated a bit and even if she can bring to the role of PM a frankness and honesty which were, if not non-ex:stent then not apparent in Mulroney, there is one thing I can't get past. While :he face and the name may have changed, the party remains the same, International Scene