More mini movement T HE INCREASED role of transit mini-buses in the Lower Mainland transportation system would be welcomed more enthusiastically on the North Shore than perhaps any other municipality in the Greater Vancouver region. In a recently released report, University of B.C. pisnner Alan Artibise recommends increased transit mini-bus use for reasons that range from economy of operation to pleasantness and comfort of ridc. North Shore residents world add freedom to move to the above factors associated with mini-bus transportation. Public east-west transit on the North Shore remains a major concern for ail three local municipalities. - The mini-buses, which are sbout half the size of regular transit buses, would go a long way to remedying that transit short- coming. With their cheaper running overhead and less obtrusive mechanical profile, the smailer buses would have access to many more of the North Shore’s neighborhoods than wouid their conventional bus counterparts. To date, the North Shore’s transporta- tion system has been tailored to and im- proved for the private automobile. With interest growing in all ways to cut the environmental impact of single- passenger vehicles, commuters and other residents need practical options if they are to meke practical inroads in reducing that impact. Mini-buses would have maxi application or the North Shore. Children may grow up more open-minded Dear Editor: The comments made by Cheryt Andrews and Victor Bedrossian in your July 5 story on group home development in Lyan Valley are reminiscent. of the type of com- ments which sparked the black civil rights movement in the Unit- States. It is sad the Mr. Bedrossian feels that having people with disabilities living next door to him will ‘affect our family’s enjoy- ment and ability to live comfor- tably in our home,’’ when in fact this presents an opportunity for his children to grow up with a more open-minded view of the world than he obviously has. As to Mr. Bedrossian’s claim for financial compensation from the government, it is the people moving into this group home who - deserve some compensation. Many of the group homes which have been developed in North Vancouver are new homes for people moving out of institu- tions. These people have wasted decades of their lives living in places where a “bedroom"’ is shared with 15 other people and the only ‘‘entertainment’’ avail- able is a TV. Mr. Bedrossian should visit one of these institutions before he begins to talk about living com- fortably. Meanwhile, Ms. An- drews can continue having the “‘normal’’: people in her neigh- borhood over for a chat. Fiona Lewis , North Vancouver Publisher Peter Speck Manag ing Editor... Timothy Renehaw Associate Editor Noel Wright Advertleing Director .. 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SDA DIVISION 61,582 {average circulation, Wednesday. Friday & Sunday) Entire contents © 1992 North Shore Free Press Ltd. Atl rights reserved. ports mirror the way that real life works THIS OLYMPICS week, as we cheer the winners and feel for the losers, is also a good time to ponder what’s going wrong today ai so many points with our democratic secie- ty. According to a Canadian aca- demic who died earlier this year, much of our problem comes from refusing to treat life as we treat sports. In his book The Disease of Government, Professor Henry Ferns, who taught at Birmingham University in Britain, blames social, economic and political woes in the major democracies largely on our failure to distinguish — as the sports world does — between rules and results. ““Games and sports,’’ he writes, “depend on rules and the activity of umpires or referees who inter- pret and enforce the rules. Both the participants and the spectators conceive of justice as the equal, disinterested and impartial obser- vance of rules... ‘But the distinctive character of games and sports of essential im- portance both to players and spec- tators is the absence of control over results.”’ (The italics are mine.) What preposterous nonsense, he points out, if the fans of losing teams — agitating for ‘‘justice’’ - - forced the league to arrange for each team to win 2! games and lose 21 games in every 42- game season. Yet the same kind of nonsense is now demanded by every group with a grievance — radical feminists, gays, lesbians, visible minorities, jobless school dropouts, you-name-it. Always backed by vote-hungry political sponsors like the Audrey McLaugblins and Svend Robin- sons. For them, it’s no longer enough for the law — the basic rules of social conduct — to establish justice in human relations. ‘Social justice’? means the law also has to provide grievance groups with the same RESULTS that the rest of - society must win by their own ef- forts. in short, there must be no losers. Everyone must be a winner — regardless of capability or will- ingness to improve his/her indi- vidual performance in relation to society’s norms. This is the phi- losophy, of course, that currently dominates our public schools, with their horror of graded tests and concentration on students’ “‘self-esteei.”” it can no more work in real life than in the sports that delight mil- lions — where the answer would be empty stadiums everywhere. Legislated equality of opportu- SOCIAL JUSTICE’ pediars... NDP leader Audrey Mclaughlin: i (‘women 51% of everything”), MP Svend Robinson (‘‘gay's the ; way"’). HITHER AND YON nity? Of course. But legislated equality of the results kills any in- centive to achieve them by merit under the rules of society in gen- eral. Since human beings are what they are, it empties life — as it would the stadiums — of all meaning. That’s the way Professor Ferns saw it, anyway. Food for thought as we watch them go for the goid in Barcelona. POSTSCRIPTS: ‘Have sax, wili travel!’ This month North Van Youth Band was in Vienna at the International Youth and Music Festival. Hot on its heels, the Summer Pops Youth Orchestra (one-third from the North Shore) leaves for 4 concert tour in France _ soon after its 7 p.m. performance . tonight in Ambleside Park. Way to go for kids who want to see the world — get thera into music ... Holiday fun still around for the ~ young set includes ‘‘Arts in Ac- *. tion”’ every Saturday in August, 10:30 a.m. to noon, at West Van's: John Lawson Park (info 925-" 3605) ... And add to the list the weekly Ail Star Sports Camp ses- sions through August — basket-: ball and volleyball for boys and girls, Grades 5-12, plus Ped-Wee Plus for Grades 24, Call $25- 3759 for details. WRIGHT oR WRONG: Never a despise ignorance — without it, what on earth would we do for . interesting arguments? a %y * i we “6 la oy vs by ee cea