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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2018-01-18, Page 5THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, JANUARY 18, 2018. PAGE 5. Other Views Somebody must be to blame There's something in human nature that seems to require us to find someone to blame when anything bad happens. Last week, when mudslides swept away homes and lives in California after torrential rains undermined hillsides burned bare by earlier brush fires, I heard a news network host ask a guest if someone shouldn't have done something to prevent the tragedy — as if some human authority had to be held accountable for nature's deadly temper tantrum. In the current exposure of prominent men for bad behaviour ranging from criminal sexual assault to boorish behaviour toward women they've worked with, there's also a sense the guilt must be shared beyond the scuzzy individuals because someone, somewhere should have been able to prevent these men's bad behaviour. Some of this has legitimacy — apparently plenty of people knew of the bad deeds of Harvey Weinstein for years but turned a blind eye. Other cases are a bit more about wishful thinking The closest to home these scandals have hit so far is the case of four women who have sued Albert Schultz and Toronto's Soulpepper Theatre of which he was the artistic director until he was fired recently. It's the closest because Toronto is a lot nearer than Hollywood but also because I've spent a lot of time since 1975 involved in theatre as my second career. I have no inside knowledge of what actually happened at Soulpepper or about Schultz's guilt or innocence, but I do know that the very structure of non-profit theatre creates the kind of power dynamic that has been typical of these sexual assault/sexual harassment incidents. Schultz was an artistic director. The structure of a Canadian non-profit theatre is that supposedly the artistic director is Keith Roulston From the cluttered desk employed by the theatre's corporate body, represented by its board of directors, but the need for artistic freedom really turns that dynamic on its head. An artistic director is hired by the board and can be fired by the board, but in between it's hands off. Nearly 40 years ago when I was general manager of the Blyth Festival I attended a meeting of theatre GMs from across the province. One of their complaints was boards of directors who thought they actually had a role in running their theatres. One GM from a prominent theatre nailed the prevailing sentiment: "Why can't they just go out and raise the money we need and leave it to us to spend it!" Schultz was far more powerful than most artistic directors. Twenty years ago he and a group of fellow actors decided they wanted to start a new theatre company. Schultz, with a huge amount of charm and his recognizability as a star on CBC television, recruited leading Torontonians to form the board of directors (in effect hiring the board instead of the other way around). Directors would talk to their wealthy friends and raise money to bring to life the vision of Schultz and his other creators. Their reward, as with the boards of most theatres, was to be allowed to be near, and feel a tiny part of, the process of creating theatre. They're just not supposed to get too close to the process. An artistic director holds a position that Donald Trump might envy. He or she is absolute ruler of everything that happens within the theatre which can be interpreted as artistic expression, from the choice of the plays and the artists who'll stage them to the poster. Below her/him, the director of an individual play has similar power, commanding everything within that production. This structure is created because someone has to have the final say and usually these powerful people welcome collaboration. If the absolute ruler is a power monger, however, the process it open to abuse. For many in the theatre community, the Soulpepper board of directors, which was supposed to get out of the way until these problems arose, is now ultimately to blame for Schultz's abuses. They should have known what he was doing and they should have stopped him. The actresses who are seeking redress for his sexual harassment are suing the theatre itself (represented by the board) for $4.25 million as well as Schultz for $3.6 million. The theatre world is pretty distant from most people but similar situations of volunteer boards of directors are common in many areas of our society. I've sat on the boards of several organizations over the years where we nominally were the bosses of our employees but in reality we were more their servants. Whenever you have full-time employees supposedly answering to part-time bosses (and that includes municipal councils and school and hospital boards), the information the directors must use to make their decisions is controlled by their employees. It's not a comfortable position. In the Soulpepper case, next to the women who were abused, I'm most sympathetic for the board members who are now a punching bag for those who think someone must be blamed. Sometimes, when it rains, it pours 0 ne day last week, suffering from a particularly rough cold that my daughter chose to share with me, I decided to work from home. I had writing to do, and I could do it from my laptop at the dining room table, so I figured, why not? Why not avoid spreading disease around the office? Why not keep my sniffling, sneezing and gravelly voice confined to the house? So I sat at my kitchen table with the front blinds closed to try and prevent distraction by the rain falling throughout the day or anyone walking and enjoying the warmer weather. After writing up a handful of stories from a Morris-Turnberry Council meeting, I heard a sound I can only equate to the breaking of wood multiplied by 10 and saw a shadow pass over my front window. Something had fallen off of my roof. Assuming the worst, I ran to the mud room, dressed as warmly as I could and came outside to assess the situation: the eavestrough, soffit and fascia had all ripped off the front of the house. I soon discovered that my barbecue had been in the path of falling building materials, denting it significantly. I started digging a path to survey the damage and found that our gas meter had suffered a little damage as well — nothing deadly or explosive, but enough that I felt it safer to call in Union Gas. As anyone who was on my street in the middle of the day now knows, Union Gas, having its closest responder approximately an hour away, called the Fire Department of North Huron to check in on the meter for any potential leaks. In the meantime, I was involved in some difficult discussions with my insurance company. Denny Scott Denny's Den So, to sum things up, I was sick, my daughter was sick, my house had a structure - wide hole to the rafters in it, my barbecue will never be the same, my front yard is home to a scrap metal dump, there were firefighters (whom, of course, I know) waiting for me when I got back from getting supplies to try and plug the hole in my house and Union Gas had to shut off everything in my house (momentarily) so they can get a new meter installed. Suffice to say, aside from the illness, none of that was on my to-do list when I woke up that morning. Fortunately for me, I've got an understanding wife who came home to help, a fantastic father who climbed a ladder to fix the problem in the middle of what can only be described as poor conditions to be anywhere outside and other family members who were quick to offer sympathies and assistance. North Huron also has some great firefighters who were quick to help while offering a smile and laugh with me, not at me, at the situation. I'm not going to sugar coat the events of that day — I got stressed. I had some heated moments and, by the time everything was said and done, and my wife can attest to this, I just had nothing left in me to give. As I fell asleep that night with the aid of some pretty potent cough syrup, I was reminded of an important lesson that was bestowed upon me when I was younger. Basically, it reads that life (the universe, God, your chosen deity, etc.) will never throw anything at you that you can't handle. I'd like to attribute it to someone who passed it on to me, but I honestly can't remember when this gem of knowledge came into my life. It rung true with me when I learned it and it has stuck with me all my life and, in my darkest moments, when I want to give up, when I want to run away and hide, that sentiment gives me strength. It may seem a little hokey, and it certainly isn't based in anything more sound than my own faith, but with that knowledge in my mind, I've faced some tough times in my life and come out with stories to tell and scars to show. Forgive me the sin, but I'm proud that I've been able to keep that attitude with me for so long. It's not an easy belief to hold on to and I'm certainly not belittling anyone who has felt they couldn't keep going. What it is, I guess, is my own mantra. When the damage occurred, I reminded myself I could handle it. I have family and friends that will help. When I saw the deformed barbecue, I thought, "It's not a big deal, it's still usable and I can handle this." When I saw that we needed to call Union Gas, I just reminded myself that I couldn't smell it, so this was just a precautionary measure and the situation was under control. I won't say I kept my cool the entire time. I certainly did raise my voice and get angry, but I didn't give up because I knew I could handle it. So, once again, thank you to all the great people in my life who make me feel that I can handle these things, because it's no simple task being there for people. AgN Shawn Loughlin Shawn's Sense It takes a village There was a tremendous feeling of jubilation last week throughout Huron County when Hockey Canada announced its men's Olympic roster. Justin Peters, a Blyth native now playing in Germany, is one of three goalies on the team. While it was no doubt thrilling for Justin to be able to represent his country once again (he had done it at a number of levels before, but never the Olympics), there was just this sense of pride throughout Blyth (and visible on social media throughout the county) that one of our own would be lacing up his skates in the Olympics for his country. It certainly was the talk of the town just hours after it had been announced. Justin has been playing in Germany this season after toggling between the American Hockey League and the National Hockey League since 2008 and before that he was in the Ontario Hockey League for a number of years. I live two houses down from Jeff and Janice, Justin's parents, and have always counted myself lucky. After news broke of Alex (another of their sons) playing on the Flint Firebirds and playing a part in a number of stories (the mass walkout of the players that made national news, his involvement in the troubled Flint community and winning the Mickey Renaud Captain's Trophy) I always thought it was neat to see this hockey star practising on his parents' driveway when I would drive home from work at night. Just to think of how adored Alex was in the Flint community and here, Blyth had him rollerblading on his driveway practising his craft. That has really been the story of famous folks with roots in our communities. They always have time for their hometowns and they always come back when the circumstances are right. So, when Justin was named to the Olympic squad last week, it felt like a victory for many. There are teachers in the community who would remember teaching him at Blyth Public School and gym teachers who saw his potential in early physical competition when he was just a child. There would be his old hockey coaches and those who remember playing alongside him on the streets of Blyth or in the Blyth Minor Hockey system and friends he has made along the way. Hell, he has a poutine named after him at the Cowbell restaurant. If naming a poutine after someone isn't the best way to honour a Canadian, I'm not sure what is. Yes, it felt like when Justin was named to that Olympic team that we all had a little bit more of a reason to get up really early in the morning to watch Canada's games next month — not that most of us weren't going to do that already. But to be able to cheer on someone you know, someone you've met or someone with whom you grew up adds that extra thrill. Predominantly, however, I would imagine that most people will be happy for Justin and his family. To get this opportunity after such a long and difficult road through the world of professional hockey must truly be affirmation of all of his hard work and perseverance throughout the years. Congratulations to Justin and the Peters family. You truly deserve to enjoy this moment. Now, Justin and his teammates have a job to do for us as Canadians And we'll all be rooting for him here at home next month.