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The Citizen, 1989-07-12, Page 4PAGE 4. THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, JULY 12, 1989. Opinion Great party With the exception of one event, the Brussels Funfest committee seems pleased with the results of the big weekend event as well they should be. A huge amount of work went into the planning and carrying out of the four-day event by a few people so that thousands of others could have fun. The community owes that industrious few a huge vote of thanks. Funfest as currently conceived may not become a huge tourist attraction like Zurich’s Bean Festival or the Thresher Reunion in Blyth but it may be more valuable to the community. The weekend had the feel of a big party rather than a spectacular tourist draw. But communities need the excuse for a big party more often. At one time nearly all community events were planned for the community rather than for outsiders to come and leave their tourist dollars behind. Those events helped build the kind of community spirit that has made our small towns and villages such a good place to live. Today that spirit is often endangered with endless struggle to make the economics because our population is more transient and more people live in one community and work in another. That sense of togetherness, of being the part of one community, is a precious commodity. That spirit was very much alive in Brussels on the weekend with such simple but very fun things as balloon drops and bathtub races. Rather than imported talent, the community provided its own entertainment. It’s great Funfest was successful in raising money to help community service groups keep up their activities but even if it hadn’t been an economic success, it would have been a great success as a community-builder. And on.., and on Israelis are in mourning and some are calling for revenge after more people (including some Canadians) died last week in another tragic incident in the long string of violence between Israelis and their Arab neighbours. In the latest incident a bus was sent hurtling down a ravine and 14 people, including two Canadians, were killed when a Palestinian grabbed the steering wheel and forced the bus off a cliff. Emotional Israelis are calling for retaliation against Palestinians and one Palestinian has been killed when his car overturned after being struck by a stone. Such incidents as the bus crash are tragic and senseless but the threats of revenge are even more senseless. The tragedy happened because the young Palestinian was seeking revenge himself for treatment his family had received at the hands of Israelis. Since the Palestinians began a revolt 20 months ago violence has claimed the lives of 552 Palestinians and 33 Israelis (as well as two Canadians). Surely someone soon has got to figure out that revenge only brings calls for more revenge, that violence breeds more violence. If each side seeks revenge for the actions of the other, the agony will only go on forever. These two peoples must finally realize, or die in their ignorance, that they are stuck living beside each other and must start to talk and compromise rather than seek to drive the other side out. IiT this the birthplace of two great religions perhaps the Jews and Arabs could borrow- one small part of the third religion born in the region: Christianity. A lesson about turning the other cheek. Biy oaks Big oaks from little acorns grow, goes the old saying and those pioneers from the early seasons of the Blyth Festival got to see a mighty tree when they gathered for the Festival’s 15th season reunion party Sunday. It was exactly the same day (July 9) that the first Blyth Festival opened in 1975 but oh what changes. The event was held in the Festival’s new building on Dinsley Street with facilities the early pioneers couldn’t even have dreamed about. It’s just one manifestation ofthe tremendous growth in 15 seasons, growth that’s seen the budget go from $9,000 to a million, from 3,000 visitors to 40,000. Growth that could only make many of the pioneers say “wow!” The Citizen P.O. Box 429, BLYTH, Ont N0M 1H0 Phone 523-4792 P.O. Box 152, BRUSSELS, Ont NOG 1H0 Phone 887-9114 Why me? The International Scene Prejudice in a modern world BY RAYMOND CANON In most languages the word “prejudice” shows the same roots as it does in English; in essence it means to judge somebody in ad­ vance or before you get to know them. Even before I knew what the word really meant, I discovered several manifestations when I ar­ rived in Canada and showed up at school. There seemed always to be somebody who made fun of the way in which I pronounced a certain word, of the clothes I wore or, when all else failed, even my name. I don’t look back with a great deal of joy at those first days in school but I realize now that young boys and girls are frequently like that and in many cases they are like that because they learn it at home. For me and for many others prejudice showed up because of my different nationality and, as I learned English, I came to the conclusion that the language was literally shot full of derogatory terms about other nationalities or about people of other colours etc. I’m sure that, if you sat down for a while and thought about it, you could come up with quite a collec­ tion of such words. This is not to say that other languages do not have them; they certainly do. You have only to listen to the French talk about the Germans to realize that, in spite of the European Common Market, there are many Frenchmen who are not about to forget several hundred years of history. And so it goes. I don’t think I have to lecture my readers endless­ ly about the evils of prejudice. We all know it exists and in a few minutes 1 will get around to making a few suggestions what can be done about it. However, it is worth pointing out what frequently goes on in the minds of many towards whom the prejudice is directed. If you expect to be on the receiving end of a number of occasions, you reach the point where you not only expect it, you start looking for it and discover it whether it is really there or not. Let me illustrate this point. I once had a student in my class who did not like the mark I had given him on an essay. He was a member of a visible minority and it soon become evident that he was pre­ cisely one of those people who went around searching for injustices and professing to finding them even when they did not exist. Thus it did not take long for him to get around to accusing me of prejudice. He said it in a loud voice so that everybody in the office would hear Continued on page 5 The Citizen is published weekly in Brussels, Ontario, by North Huron Publishing Company Inc. Subscriptions are payable in advance at a rate of $17 OO/yr ($38.00 Foreign) Advertising is acceptedon the condition that in the event of a typographical error, only that portion of the advertisement will be credited Advertising Deadlines: Monday, 2 p.m - Brussels, Monday, 4pm - Blyth We are not responsible for unsolicited newscripts or photographs Contents of The Citizen are © Copyright Serving Brussels, Blyth, Auburn, Belgrave,.Ethel, Londesborough, Walton and surrounding townships. 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