lana Merceris fi fale

misguided about
feminist ideology

Dear Editor,

[ can’t help but be

appalled at the attack on Dr. °

Veronica Dahl in the Nov. 19
Ilana Mercer Fair Comment
column.

Having seen the interview
in question, I was shocked to
find 10 minutes of eloquent
and healing dialogue (on
gender issues in our schools)
distilled into three or four
misquoted sentences and
four columns of bitter, ill-
founded rhetoric.

pRadical feminist ideolo-

Indeed, perhaps it is a
“conspiracy theory” that
leads us to believe chat
women now in their 20s,
even here in North America,
are the first. generation to
hope for egalitarian access to
professional opportunities,
and just as impertant for
quality of life, leisure.

Yes, largely due to the
efforts of those nasty radical
feminists, and an awakening
population of men and
women who realize that the
success of one gender cannct
. but benefit the other, we
“have the luxury of exclaim-
ing that boys are falling
behind in class.

Does that also give us the
~ right to re-write history into
a-few sentences about child-
rearing?

Ia. quotin Barbara
Amiel, a beautiful, brilliant,
wealthy | and privileged
woman who knows as much
about the plight of the aver-
age woman as I do about
African. pygmy goats, Ms.
« Mercertakes quite a leap of

logic. =
. > “Yes, at one’ time “women
had to be pregnant or in
“-fabour’ for most of: their
‘arduous “lives or -the reibe
would not have lingered ...”
and the point is what? They
were pregnant so much they
‘ didn’t have time to be edu-
cated, to Own’ property, to
vote, or to _be.recognized as
persons?:: cos ;
It was a sad matter of

“time constraints?.An unfor-
_ | tunate misunderstanding?

. Dr. Dahl did’ not ~bash
« boys.”-She did not say that
boys were lazy. She was mis-

"quoted. She did say that if

boys: were given to believe
they belong to.a “ruling

“class” who are favoured in‘

the competition for. profes-

sional opportunity they may

* tend to “laze a bit.”

"this comment was in ref-
erence to a statement made
during an earlier interview,
by Prof. Crawford Quillian
of Capilano College, about
the unfortunate fact that
there are too few male teach-
ers (and therefore mate role
models) in primary grades,
and that if there is a man, he
is likely to be a principal or
vice-ptincipal.

It seems rather obvious to
me why many girls are doing
better than many boys in the
classroom. Girls in the pri-
mary grades tend to work
harder.

It.is true today-in my
daughter’s classroom and it
was true 30 years ago in my
own.

Why are girls motivated
to work harder? When we
answer that question, per-
haps we can provide a more
creative and productive edu-
cation for both our sons and
our daughters.

In the meantime, it is
heartbreaking to read some-
one as obviously intelligent
as Ms. Mercer lose the path
of reason as a result of an
emotional reaction to one or
two misheard statements.
Lori M. Barber
Port Moody
Lori_Bamber@telus.nct

Not quite. all’s
OK with Y2K

Dear Editor:

It was wonderful, no Y2K.
bug, the hostages free, and
Yeltsin resigned. If only the
NDP had followed his lead it

‘ would have been perfect.

Denis Mason
West Vancouver

peed

MAIL Bo

Dear Editor:

Re: the Dec. 26 North Shore News article by Vikki
Finkbeiner and Mrs.Katherine Moscrop.

There was not a railway bridge crossing the First Narrows at
any time. The present bridge was opened ou Nov. 12,1938, and
known as the Lions Gate Bridge or First Narrows Bridge. There
was no railway bridge crossing from che North Shore to Stanley
Park and Vancouver over the First Narrows.The Lions Gate
Bridge was built by the Guinness Trust for $6 million so that
the residents of the British Properties could travel to Vancouver
and other places south.

Initially it was a two-lane bridge if the movies of its building,
which I have seen, are correct. .

However the first crossing of the inlet occurred at the
Second Narrows and was a railway bridge which was opening on
Nov. 7,1925 by Minister of Public Works for British Columbia
J.H. King.

This was after 33 years when the {st proposal was for its
building was made. The bridge remained open until 1930 when
it was again taken out of service, after being knocked down
twice by freighters and then by a third vessel by the Pacific
Gatherer, a steei-hulled log barge, that get stuck under the
bridge on an incoming tide. It was not until 1934 that the

Sunday, January 16, 2000 — North Shore News — $

Dre

bridge was repaired.

It was used not only for freight trains coming and going to
North Vancouver but also for vehicle traffic, for which a coll
charge was made.

Also wher: driving a car it was sometimes necessary not only
to wait until a freight twain had passed over the bridge bur also
for the raised portion to be lowered after the passage of a
freighter or other types of vessel on their way to Port Moody or
Indian Arm.

Even after the Second Narrows Bridge was built, the rail
bridge’s centre section was again knocked out by a freighter and
had to be replaced.

The Second Narrows Bridge was built at a cost of $19 mil-
lion. On June 17,1958, it was well into construction when part
of the bridge collapsed.

Eventually it was opened to the public on Aug. 26,1960,
when William Wright cut the blue ribbon. This bridge was the
second largest canulever span in Canada.

Mrs, John A.Wright, vhose husband had died in the col-
lapse, unveiled a plaque.at the south end «f the bridge, which
listed the 23 men killed in the bridge’s construction.

John C, Downward
Quzlicuin Beach, B.C.

NV fire victims say thanks

Dear Edito-:

On New Year’s morning
about 4 a.m., a house on East
4th Street in | North
Vancouver caught fire. My
wife Carol, my six-month-old
son Jason and J] were tenants
in the basement suite. We
escaped uninjured, with a
heart full of thanks tc our
herves, a transit supervisor, a
neighbour, and a passing off-
duty Sunshine cab driver. I
wish I could remember their
names,

They woke us up by bang-
ing on our windows and
doors, at that point the top
level of the house was fully
involved.

The fire department
arrived and quickly put out
the fire. They were extremely
quick and professional as was
all the police and ainbulanee
staff who arrived as well. I had
on only underwear and no
shoes or shirt.

The neighbour: across the
street from our house took
everyone in. They offered us
hot coffee, and proceeded to
give me clothes to wear, shoes
and shelter. Thank you.

is pleased to announce the
addition of Bill Bobie

to our staff. -

Bill’s customers can

4

SPECIALIZ Gl

contact him at

‘How far will you walk in your life?’ _

es

. BS

ts

me i ttefP

“THE AVERAGE PERSON WALKS 184,000 KM IN THEIR LIFETIME

“We welcome you to a clini¢ near you for a ten minute

computerized gait and pressure ancilysis test. This test
Measures the weight disyibution along the boom of
your foot while you are walking. Digital information.
and our doctor's clinical exam can then be used to
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foot functions If you have pain in your feet, ankles,

"knees or lower back, please contuct a'clink:
fear you for a gait and pressure anuiysis test.”

‘Come walk
with us

foot _.
axx

Delbrook
Orthotics
987-7100

mal wo ee

All three of us would like
to thank the firefighters of the
North Vancouver fire depart-
ment a million times over
because immediately after the
fire was out they went down-
stairs to our suite, gathered up
some of the baby’s stuff, our
photo albums, and other valu-
ables put them all on the
kitchen table and covered
them with a tarp, as the water
from above had begun to run
down through the ceiling and
quickly became a couple of
inches deep. They also cov-
ered up all our clectronics
with plastic sheets. This act
alone saved all of our valu-

You've Szard about hug
cancer, But did you inow
that smoking alzo causes...

WRINMLES - semnhers ia
thelr 40: have wrinkling similar
te nen-sezokirs in their G0

SKIN DRMAGE - stained
fingernais & yeSew fingers

TONGUE CANCERS

“STOMACH ULCERS

‘more comunoa in smehers,

ables and electronics, an
extreme relief as, nightmarish
as this was, we had no insur-
ance. The nightmare would
have been much worse. So,
from the three of us we thank
each and every one of you for
the help, as your quick actions
have helped to keep this dev-
astating event within bearable
limits.

To family, friends, commu-
nity and the Red Cross
Emergency Service who all
helped us and offered us help
we deeply appreciate it and
thank you all.

John Drescher
North Vancouver

on my carpet §
around the edges. %.
of the walls and. }
under deors? .-

a€These lines are
called _ filtration
liaes. Found where
there. is air space f-
between the ;
boards or spaces in the 9.”
subflooring. Could be. §
called: soil lines, smog
lines, or. perimeter soil-
ing. Caused by -pas-
sage of air through
across the carpet car-.
tying: ‘soil. particles. @ ‘.:
4 Carpet.acts as a filter f
# in these areas of rapid:
fair flow, .causing’ the
.@ Unfortunately, the dis-:
i colouration”:can. not”
‘always .be removed
a Time, type: & amoun

THROAT, MOUTH ATID

HEART SISEASE - smoking is
amaer cause of heart aitseks

LUNG DISEASE - a greater
rish of astiena aed emphysema

- pot ely are cheers

they alco take longer to heel

A DAY FOR
PARENTS”

TO TALK WITH
CHILDREN ABOUT.
NOT SMOKING ~

f type. of carpet, :will.
i determine the success..
Early - intervention . is’

* Upholstery, stains:
© Molds, mildew odor:
* Flood/water damage

floor- 962