HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Goderich Signal-Star, 1982-08-18, Page 4P•Arogd sorollPro.illaiaciaiffloSTAR, SCED=DAY, AUGUST tti., Bea
• DAVE
SYKES
• A
5\
A 4
A
For three with a galfetglatilg nature co a
morbid foes of Friday the 13th, last Ftiday
wes an excelled clay to eta in bed.
I was rather k to spend the day in
ishmatter but my contract odth this weekly
inures that I at least make the effort to
report to the office. If I choose to sleep on the
ob, well, Oars a differed my.
But while some may cliog to fulde
notion that supernatural govern the
weird happenings of T. 13th, it was
also a day of recognitioo f a minotity
segment ofthe populatina
Last Friday Wag also Intesnational Left-
handers Day, a day of pageantry set aside
for those who torture themselves trying to
live in a "tied world, My sincere
sympathies are extmded.
Not being of left-handed persuasion
myself, I have often marveled at the
realms' icy of left-handers. To be honest, ft
pears to be more of an affliction than a
preference
My sympathies are mealy amused at the
sight of a left -banded person contorting his'
or he. body into unnatural shapes while
bytogti perfrcoa simple tasks like =itm
or cutting of objects with kinves or
sisors. It looks damn pthnful, if the berth
were known.
So in recognition of the Hurcigeateloato
1A -handers perform to nwely cope with
routine feats in a righthanded world, I
Wetted heartycongratulatinns to ief ties jag
Friday. It was the charitable thing for a
normal comae to do.
Lefties have loog been considered an
oddity in our right-handed world but, hi
fairness, the conveniences of life are geared
for ,the rightie. For a good time, watch a
leftie using a pencil sharpener or a
corkscrew.
The left/bander has been much, and
whops wady, mthigned in our society.
But then our language and permeation el the
left-hander have been mast unkind as well.
The word itself is otos used in derogatory
fashion and in No case of a pews who is
somewhat less than Agile co the dance fkor,
he is said to have two left feet And eve.n the
French word for lefts gauche, implies
something awkward and less than am
cptable.
There certainly existed a stigma about
•
being leftabarded and even researchers
claim' that left-handers, because they utilize
the right side of the brain, are more prone to
alcoholism, and suicides and are more
susceptftile to stammeting and stutterbos.
But, in defence of the people who insist en
performing from the wrong side, ether
• studies have offered evidence that lefties
are more creative thinkers with respect to
the arts and certain .sciences.
Many lefties emelt at various web at the,
rate level and quite atlequatdy too.
Many of those same athletes, perhaps by
sheer coincidence., are branded as flakes.
The fact that Many lefties are inure prone to
isimrovoke,d and unsolicited crazed actions
is immaterial.
So the southpaws of the world celekrated
their left-handedness Friday, a cellective
celebration for the ane in'six persons who
vainly attempts to get a grip on the world
from the wrong side.
itis interesting to theorbe on why people
show a marked preference for one side or
the ether and I have watched with
fascination as my see ably uses both hands
to perform his daily chores of ripping aped
the Sykes' household_ He's atflakt kid so it
wouldn't be the least bit surprising if he
comes out swinging with a good left book.
BLUE
BBC.)
AVAARD
1979
andoicioea, _
ma� registration..
eunstier-0710
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The government giveth and the government taketh
away.
Since 'Finance iilitfisterlillari Ma -esaclien -released a
new budget in May the liberal govenunent has been
poeichiog a gospel o restraint. Subsequently the six per
dent formula wag applied to helfiliftthe ailing
diconomy from the doldrums. I :
• In a rare show of bravado the government limited wage
increases to simpereentthis year and live per cent the
fdlowing year for all its employees. The private sector
' was urgedtofollowtheezaanples
• l'he six per cent solution is causing some problems and
has met with much disdain in organized labour ranks.
Mitch of the prwate setter Is net willing to live within
P4apti.etifril# reeovetylonnat,
But whihnone arm of the getrenuneet is extended in a
pleading gesture to follow restraint, the other is dipping
into the - 'taltihnrer's pocket, this\ week the federal
•
government announced that ermine taxes on beer, wine
anftiBaretles ivill ti.se by 15 per cent September 1• ,
The increase in that tax is more than double the
govgrrurient's suggested guidelines. Now; the cost of 24
mple
beers will rise by 30 cents to $12.35 and a package of
cigarettes Will cost 5 cents more.
Perhaps the increase is not signifimnt le amount butthe
significance lies in the fact the government has violated
its own policy and guidelines.
People across Canada have been strongly urged to
settle for 11 per cent wage and salary increases over a
two-year period and companies have been asked to limit
price increases accordingly. The same rule, it seems,
does not apply to the government's federal excise tax.
The increase in the excise tax will mean an *Ara $45
million to the government while a six per cent increase
would have netted only $18 million.
\ But the point remains that the government could have
shown some definite leadership by limiting the excise tax
to six per cent. It would have been the decent thing to do in
this case but the government ignored a moral respon-
sibility for dollar signs.
Considering the govenunent chose to ignore such an
opportunity to set a fine example, it eliminates any in-
centive for business and industry to limit price increases.
It is inconsistent action such as this, that severely
detracts from the people's faith in government. D.S.
Children are victims
Israel may • have buddy cleared the way for an
agreement on a plant° eVacuate Palestine. Liberation
Organization guerrillas trapped in West Beirut.
For almost 10 weeks the members of the PLO have been
. camped in West Beirut, exchangingfire, bombs and lives
with the Israeli forces. It is time a settlement was reached
to allow French troops and United Nations personnel to
execute an evacuation and peace plan.
The Israeli's have been unrelenting in their pursuit to
drive the PLO from Wet Beirut. and as a result many
civilians have lost lives and loved ones in the war -tern
section of the city.
Unfortunately, in a conflict such as this, there are
many innocent casualties, people caught in a struggle
they know little about or even care about: "
Fortunately the world is not without its humanitarians,
people like Mother Teresa. The Catholic nun, a former
Nobel Peace Prize winner, was in West Beirut last
weekend to offer tender loving care to the innocent vic-
tims of the war. While she had been advised not to make
the trip, she did so at the insistence of Pope John Paul II.
Thirty-seven children, most of them retarded and
paraplegic, were taken by Mother Teresa to East Beirut
after enduring weeks of bombing and deplorable con-
ditions in a home for the aged.
• These helpless children, who were innocent and trapped
victims, were finally rescued during a ceasefire between
Israeli forces and guerrillas. They now have the care and
love they deserve.
When one considers the suffering and plight of those
children, there certainly must be the disgustlng
realization that thousands of other innocent victims are
trapped in such a war. Their fate left to the cold hands of
soldiers acting under military orders.
Mother Teresa will no doubt attempt to extend her hand
to others caught in the seige of Beirut, help that is
desperately needed. In wartime, casualties simply
become numbers and there are many more people, such
as the sick, blind, mentally ill and homeless children that
require urgent aid.
The world would be a finer place to live if there were
more people of the Mother Teresa mold.D.S.
• Inaction is not excusable
Beating someone up is always a crime, right?
Not neeessarily, a committee of the Ontario Legislature
learned lately, much to its Inrror. For, when a husband
beats his own wife,it's only a crime in most -police
jurisdictioris in the province if the wife agrees to lay
charges.:
And 'many wives will not, because they are often so
•- --financially•and.emotionaily dependent. on -the -man that
they must continue to live with him. Realistically,
because shelters for abused wives are rare 10 Ontario and
crowded where they do exist, mostly in large cities, she
. has no other placeto go.. •
McMurtry, iv -No -hie. the "Otiittei' to
insist that police lay charges against husbands who beat
their wives, as police in London have been doing for some
time, seemed reluctant to take. that' step when he ap-
peared before the legislative committee. "He exhibited all
the stereotypes we've heard about there," one committee
. member said, stereotypes that insist what happens at
home, even if it is brutality, is a private affair.
Then t e's the reverse typecasting that blames the
victim, th Wife, for somehow "asking for it" or at least
not helping herself or the sick notion that's common in our
society that a wife is quite dose to being a chattel of her
1.•••••,,
husband- a sort of possession that he can treat as poorly as
he chooses.
Battered women, for various reasons, including the fact
that very light sentences often result, are not apt to start
charging their husbands in great numbers. In many ,
jurisdictions, police encourage them not to.
But what's happened in London, where police have been ,
inotnietod to loy _choral! thernselyes wheo wives Who are
ts-eaten'annot;ot winnot, 1s constrwctive. The iiirelifferd-
repeat offenders has dropped drastically. When people
learn society will punish their behaviour, they change that
-I-behaviour; iddedin London's case by -a aellthelpgroupfor
nmen-whohavenbesed-theirwives.- _ _
But women in any Ontario town and city deserve the
same protection that women in London have. Along with
government action to provide tore shelters for abused
Women, we peed, a strong statement from the attorney -
general that yes, indeed, wife beating is a real crime in
Ontario. And that the men who commit it can expect
charges to be laid right down the line.
When statistics show that one in ten married wader) is a
victim of abuse by her husband, at the lowest estimates,
Mr. McMurtry's inaction is not excusable. (Huron
Expositor)
Jagging along .
By Dave Sykes
DEAR READERS
SHIRLEY KELLER
Boys will be boys. That's an adage that has
been with us since time began I suspect.
In today's female liberated society though, it
has developed some new connotations. Now we
know thatgirls are often just one of the boys, and
unfortunately for mischievous purposes as well
as for good ones.
There doesn't seem to be any age limitations
either. While "kids" usually get tarred with the
brush of vandalism, it doesn't have to be young
people. Lots of cases on record indicate older
folks aren't immune to the stupidity of deliberate
destruction.
All this is leading up to a telephone callI had a
few days ago from a resident of Goderich who
was experiencing some unusual happenings
around the house.
The latest episode that prompted the telephone
call involved the theft of a child's bicycle.
My caner asked "Could you write something
for parents asking them to remind their children
to respect other people's property?"
Funny thing though. Somehow I think the
majority of parents do teach their children to
respect the rights and the property of other
people.
But then it isn't the majority of people who
become vandals is it? Or thieves either.
Thankfully a very small minority of
youngsters fall into the habit of such disturbing
behaviour.
And through the years I've begun to wonder
just how much influence parents do have on such
behaviour.
Vandals and petty thieves can emerge from
homes where discipline and love is lacking ... but
they also come out of exceptionally good homes
where mom and dad have carefully schooled
their offspring to honesty and integrity at all
costs.
Psychologists will tell you that people resort to
vandalism and petty thievery for a host of
reasons, only one of which is rebellion against
parents' wishes. L
There are often deep-seated obscure reasons
for such acts - reasons which may not be ap-
parent to anyone, even the person committing
the acts.
That's the scary part of it all - and the part that
is nearly impossible to control.
It isn't simply a matter of boys being boys ...
although that can be part of it too.
More likely though, it is some kind of a
Sickness that strikes the minds of victims and
drives them to willfully damage and destroy or
to take those things which belong to others
whether they have a use for them or not.
And that brings up another topic that deserves
the attention of parents and others in authority.
It is this whole business of mind control - and the
hideous happenings because of it.
Each of us tends to believe that our mind is our
private place - our own inner -sanctum where we
can be at pace or at war with ourselves as we
choose.
Not so, we're beginning to learn. Scientists tell
us now that even our subconscious can be con-
trolled by outside forces, and that we can be
moved to do the strangest things as someone else
wills it.
You don't believe me?
There is documented proof I'm told, that
shoplifting has been, reduced in some major
department stores by putting an anti -stealing
message through the store's stereo system in,
with and underthe music being played.
While the conscious mind cannot actually pick
out the message, the subeonscious mind un-
derstands it and obeys . •
That's mind control for good - but there is
plenty of mind control for evil.
The latest hirer- in the country is over back-
ward masking on rock and roll records.
I had the opportunity during the weekend to
listen to a tape containing the sound of the
. records in question played backwards. Very
. definitely, there was clear messages there with
evil intent.
• My question though, was, "How many
• youngsteenlistento their music backwards?"
I was advised that it wasn't necessary for the
music to be played backwards - that the message
recorded there got through to the subconscious
minds of many hearers anyway.
My own children must now remember what I
told them about the music which pounded
through the house hour after hour for so many
years.
I felt the music was harmful to them - that it
drove them to have new thoughts, dangerous
thoughts that would threaten their future en-
deavours. But they figured it was just more of
mom's ridiculous ravings to prevent them from
enjoying life as it was meant to be lived.
I didn't know about backwards masking - but
the message I got from the music was that it was
not good taken in large quantities. Maybe my
subconscious heard the word. Who knows?
The point of all this is that vandalism and petty
thievery here in Goderich has no simple solution.
Still there is nothing wrong with reminding
parents to exercise greater control over their
children.
Maybe when they understand that even
youngsters .from very proper homes can be led
astray for a &ariety of outside reasons, it will
help them to act responsibly in helping their
children cope in a difficult world.
Accommodation was available owner says
Dear Editor:
Mr. Bush of Shelter Valley win'e°171mmigms&
• Park has expressed our view
on the front page article in
the Goderich paper August 4.
We too operate a trailer
park for tourists and we
ave-fetdotrulloil the:weekend
of July 24 as the article sug-
gests in the paper.
Mrs. Adams' remark to
Epe.Was that there was no ac-
TTE
commodation between Owen
Sound and Goderich.
We work hard to provide
this service to the tourists
_ .
should make a call to the
various parks to check to see
if they are full. •
We find business has been
good this year and contrary
to the news reports, we have
and driveways to set up tents
and trailers until all area
camps and parks are full if
the Tourist Information
Booth makes an effort to
check with the existing ace
erican etersmodation.
. —had , a Jot snore Ain
and were very upset to see visitors this year.
this report in the paper. Our
expenses are high and we Goderich citizens won't
feel the Tourist Informatinn need to open up their yards
'Mrs. Grace MacKenzie,
ItlacKenzie's Trailer Park
11113 Goderieb
nvestment in tneatre couici. aictate p ays
Dear Editor, ,
Mr. John Hirsh's request
(as reported in the August 3,
1982 edition of the Stratford
Beacon Herald) is touching
on possibly dangerous
ground, when he asks for one
or two million dollars of
financing from the city of
Stratford.
Would Mr. Hirsh prefer to
have the Festival Theatre
operate like the theatres of
New York City's Broadway?
By this I mean Wing
private financial backers
with their 'fingers in the pie',
so to speak.
What 1 see as dangerous is
the influence the city of
Stratford's financial com-
munity could or would de-
mand in return for their
millions invested, Surely s
request for more popular
plays and less of the boring
stuff is within their right? If
the theatre alone is what at-
tracts the tourists, then they
would only be serving their
own best interests to have about some things though!
some say in the choice of
plays. More comedies, more
farce for less tragedy and
less of the experimental or
new Canadian works, maybe
even phase out the
Shakespeare plays, is it
possible?
Mr. Hirsh is dead right
This area of Ontario, not just
the city of Stratford, but
from London to Goderich to
Kitchener to Woodstock, all
benefit. So they start pit-
ching in to help promote the
region to visitors, but they
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