Times Advocate, 1992-06-24, Page 4Times -Advocate, June 24, 1992
'Publisher: Jam ',',',:least(
Iliserslidtterr4Plerfon Harte
euslnss.11IIt1111rer: Don Smith
Comptllrttion 1/Inter: ben Lora
PieelestlenireialleiglariatonNumber Me
lath', f+MMMI s Palmy
T.
tinehileiliewillaa WNW) or anpgillrkmaieMi s
110,0w►'SIti'7i t+
41411011 elemea`7SLOo
ii
lio
•
'Nt
1
"Men are never so likely
to settle a question rightly
as when they discuss it
freely."
. Thomas Macauley
Pub$Mhed Pooh Wedrrssday Ston0rg sot 424 Male St.,
Exeter, Ontai40,140M lift) b J.W. Eed PublieslleM Ltd.
eesspeamis-s0 x.r. raes:seses
Canada customs is looking out for
our mte tual welfare
n its pursuit •of a',kinder, ,gentler
Canada, 'customs ,officials in -Ed-
monton seized what_they:believed
to be -pornographic material and 'de-
stroyed it -.even though the work 'had
been written in Canada and :approved
for sale.
Heroes, Dreams and Incest, was writ-
ten by 68 -year-old retired :psychologist
Robert Lally from his year of 'experi-
ence as a sexual abuse counsellor.
"...(Canada) Customs is determining
what we should and shouldn't read and
I think that's a dangerous 'precedent,"
Lally has told the national press.
The book is apparently a work of fic-
tion that uses graphic descriptions of
"sex and violence, sex and degradation
and sex and children."
Lally defends it as an attempt to de-
pict the twisted mind of the pedophile
in hopes of explaining this phenome-
non to the general public.
The Alberta Attorney General has
concluded that "the exploitation of sex
has a justifiable role in advancing the
plot or .theme of this work, . and in con-
sidering the workas a whole, does not
:merely represent dirt for,dirt's sake, 'but
:has a legitimate role when measured by
:the internal necessities of the work it-
self."
These comments do not relieve the
:apprehension created by the existence
of this work - Lally's comments not-
withstanding - and of its seizure under
dubious circumstances by petty offi-
cials in the customs office.
It is not .up to c toms agents to de-
cide moral issues in a vacuum; they are
expected to be able to interpret guide-
lines.
The somewhat incoherent approval of
the attorney general's office does not
make the work seem acceptable,. nor
does it breed confidence in the censor-
shipprocess.
Lally -had apparently sent' the 'book to
'his U.S.:agent in hopes of finding a pub-
lisher;',however, she sent it back to him
with instntotions. that is was not current-
ly marketable.
Customs agents "discovered" the book
.as it reentered Canada, seized it and
shredded it after calling the RCMP. The
Mounties raided Lally's home seeking
pornographic material,; arrested him, dis-
covered their mistake and finally apolo-
gized.
All this does not detract from the fact
that this is a very important subject that
deserves the .attention of every level of
government.
The question is this:
What is more important - censorship or
pornography?
This .ancient irreconcilable debate has
more to do with precedent that with
practicalities.
Even if Lally's book were truly porno-
graphic and had no redeeming social
value, weecannot have customs officials
seizing it and -binning it in some mis-
placed fervor.
Customs :officials •cannot make deci-
sions 10 burn books.
Nor can we :allow :any individual to
pursue criminal interests involving chil-
dren.
If Customs has not violated regulations
by shredding Lally's book, than the reg-
ulations they work:wider are inadequate.
If society chooses to ban written mate-
rial - racist, pornographic, seditious; call
it what you like - that decision must be
made in the full light of day and in open
court, so to speak.
Lally has mistaken the consequences
of what happened. It is not:customs offi-
cials who .are deciding what we read, it
is customs officials deciding what we
write that is a matter of critical concern.
D.G.
Haystack seating only at HCP
I read m a press release last gymnasiums have .bonen more t>,atithis bas anything to do with
. -. _- -
ment had generously awarded consider the .most ;important I feel it is .our job to use our
the Huron Country Playhouse a gauge of the •effectiveness 'of -itnooHMd a ofAbeam Jo page a
grant of $127.487 which will be setting in a performance; ,the -pmdtmtion which ,beat oompie-
utilized by the , theatre for igen- ability to ci to an illusion for .',runts our facility. Two -years
vations. Building chairpersonago, for example, Doug Bale of
for the Playhouse was quoted in the London Free Press praised
We London Free Press as saying, Adding our director for ler exceptional
"It's gone from tent to barn and Thought ability w utilize the -entire class -
it's time the damned place was room as the set for the David
Se
made into a theatre."retie French comedy "Jitters" *hich
For me, this ,statement was by coincidentally is being per -
Michelle formed at the Playhouse later
Ellison this summer.
Of course, it isn't really practi-
cal to compare our theatre which
hooses a capacity of only 126
seats to Wet of the Playhouse.
The chairperson is genuinely
correct in that the construction
planned is necessary for the
safety Land comfort of the pa -
trolls of the theatre.
My experience simply tells ate
that theatrically, some of the
most entertaining and celebrated
productions to come out of the
Playhouse could just as easily
have come from the rented tent
or the original "recycled" bum.
1'd even be willing to convince
the students' council at school to
trade some of our fire safety ac-
cessories to the Playhouse for
even one of their curtains or Half
an orchestra pit. 7bat way they
could arae the .$127.487 for more
to tic ' outdated set of the Play- stairways and decent doors to c s. I don't sup -
house. Such settings as.class fill any fire safety requirements. J fd would disa-
.rooms, courtyards. lawns and But somehow, I can't justify ai>
nothing short of ironic. if taken
in context it is easily understood
as an exaggeration to make :the
point that the board feels she the audience that they are Iwiilin
theatre -needs to be rtastoned, to a the .world 'of :the ittliitgatilars
more contemporary and acorn- •
ihemsAlves.
modeling estabbshsswtt. I suppose I have somewhat of
The article wem onto say .the a I biased opinion on the subject
grant will be limed.for;the instal- of set for theatre. Being an ac-
lation of a fire alarm.aysbem, a give member of my theatre soci-
fire wall *Winning the studitori- ely at university, it has always
um, alage,Areas:from,thc n;st been a struggle with administra-
of the bhtilding, cp1si) b&F5 ort tion to obtain the facilities we
exit doors, new railings on stair- require. Recently, however,
ways, replacement of some with a new addition, an amphi-
doors and a reorganization of theatre classroom became our
storage facilities. Thus, if ;akren theatre. Of course, as the execu-
literally, the comment is suggest- live we made the best of it. i
ing that these are necessary crate- mean the Greek amphitheatres
ria to create a respectable theAAtri- are where it all began right?
cal setting. Being the largest classroom at
As a student, some of the best Huron College, this theatre
theatre I've seen has been per probably has more than enough
fonned in locations more similar crash -bar exit doors, railings on
The indoor tent
"Can we sleep in the tent to-
?"
Alexander had come .up with
.the idea, and he managed to get
the twins .all fired up :about it,
too.
"If you want to," I said. "If
you :don't mind the,mtoatluitoes
and :blackflies, the -raccoons -land
porcupines, :the black bears -and
wet/verities-and wolves -and..."
".Stop it, Dad!" Alex said,
"you're scaring Duncan .and
Stephanie".
"The bats and the owls, the
weasels and .the foxes, the . fer-
rets.and.the badgers...."
"Dad, there mentally badgers
in our part of the country," Dun-
can said, "youlaid so yourself.'
"They may decide to return to-
night. with such tender prey in
easy reach. Why shouldn't they?
If you wore a hungry motmtain
lion in search of a late-night
snack, where Would you go?"
"Cut it out," Elisabeth said,
"let the kids have their fun in
the tent!"
"I didn't mean to. scare any-
body. If you like the outdoors at
night, if you don't mind booting
.Abipgs :and
footsteps;in the dark, go right
ahead and pitch the tent and
spend the rest :ofthe summer out
.',there."
"Dad, this ian't,fair," Alexpro-
tested, and Elisabeth supported
him.
"Only kidding," 1 admitted.
"Go ahead and sleep In .the sent
and have a:food &rime.". Alex let
up. the.tent,uuder:aoan,ygale bee.
,When it started to rain gently
during supper, I even helped
Alex to spread a large tarpaulin
over the tent, just in case the old
canvas had sprung leak.
Soon the rained into a
Peter's
Point
•
Peter I-iessei
downpour. As the evening pro-
gressed, a major thunderstorm
developed that knocked the en-
thusiasm right out from under
the kids. They were disappoint-
ed.
But in between roars of thun-
der, Duncan had an idea: "Could
we build a tont in the living
room?"
"Why not in the attic?"
"Could we?"
"I don't see why not."
"Could we sleep there?"
"Well, you won't get wet, and
hmaugovascare you."
The kids disappeared. An hour
later I climbed up to see what
they were up to. Not only had
they hauled put their sleeping
bags. They bad also used every
,available bed abeet ,aid blanket
to tum a gusher of the stud into
a big indoor "sem", safe from
. the elements and unwanted
wilderness creatures.
This is the kind of camping
even 1 could endure. 1 thought.
They didn't get to sleep for
quite a while. Duncan and
Stephanie brought All their toy
animals up into the tent. Every
last one of them. No wonder the
tent had to be so big.
By ' eleven, finally, 'all was
quiet. Elizabeth and I anealmd tip
again. The kids must have feu*
it a bit -hoot, since they 1n,
brought up and wined on t- c►
fans. A ghetto blaster was pia
ing soft music. What a life!
Tenting in the attic. It, looked
like the perfect solution, the best
of both woods. A camping expe-
rience without the annoyances of
the great outdoors. Simulated
roughing.
At about two in the morning 1
heard some commotion. Duncan
had come down. to get a night
light.
"It's too dark up there. 1 can't
see anything at all."
At three, another body was on
lthc prowl. "I have to go to the
batlunom."
"Well, go ahead and go. You
don't have to wake us up for it."
"1 couldn't fwd it. 1 didn't
know where 1 Wss," _
Tonight I'm going 16 encopr-
age the kids to sleep in the out-
door tent. They may as well get
used to realistic conditions In-
stead of this virtual reality of in-
door camping. Real darkness
and real bugs. The teal voice of
nature from the bush. The real
outdoor bathroom.
And uninterrupted sleep for
the parents.
Public response to tragedy upsetting
Midst people are likely wonder-
ing why Lam writing this letter.
y speaking I am the type
of who keeps to myself.
However, since the tragic loss of
my little girl I have been cast into
the public eye. I feel that perhaps
it is tune for me to have my say.
There have been some people who
believe that 1 should be held rc-
spoisibtc and made , accountabk
for what
First of 1 ki me say Mat 1 have
taken full responsibility for the
death of my daughter even though
it was an accident. 1 lave and al-
ways will hold myself accountable
for the loss and for the pain which
my husband, children and family
we going through. 1 an fully
aware of what happened and tic
affect diet it has bad p i teem. Eve-
ry time one of dram busks down l
remember. Every time I walk out
the driveway i remember. Every
time I go to get her up from her
nap orset anex-
tra place at the
tabic I remern -
ber. And if this
isn't enough i have
the public to help
me but. I have peo-
ple call and then twig up when I
answer. I get ignored when 1 gm
out in the public aixi then I'm asked
why I don't go out as Much any-
more. I ' t urtutvou to Mow that 1
loved r mane ditto auy
could. If go back to that day
and change the events cwt lead up
to it I would. If i could change
places with her i would without a
rnoments hesitation. That's one of
the hardest mayprrttss all the "ifs" that
yew_ can't change no matter tow
badly you want to. 1 have to live
the rest of my life witicut her, all
tic plans li,at we made that won't
happen, hese .are all constant re
minders of that day. I dont thini.
there is. a person out .there who
could punish nu anymore than
what I war already punishing my -
wit. 1 made a terrible mistake that
resulted in the death of my beauti-
ful 'little girl. It's too late for me
but, it's not too late for all of you
parents and grandparents. The exact
time you are in a hurry because you
are late, please for the sake of your
children and yourself stop and take
a moment to think about what you
are doing. So that you will never
Hive- W go through what 1 wear
through, what I ani going through,
and what I will go tluough. If this
letter stops Just one Person from
making the name mistake, then
writing it will have been worth it. I
am asking that this be We last of
this story so that my husband, my
children and mya elf can start to put
tic plates of our lives back togeth-
er. Oucc again I would like to
thank all the people who have sup-
ported us through this.
Linda Alexander
Hermit