6 ~ Wednesday, November 2, 1994 ~ North Shdié News Neat EO Gore ne Ne ft a! q Mears Vievewaiyet lock violence IOLENCE HAS no single father, but its seed is spread through countless unwitting carriers. It is the offspring of poverty, ignorance and apathy. Countering violence has become a major challenge for society, because, via television, films and other mass media sources, it has become an almost accepted part of life in the modern world. Almost. People still: capable of being appalled by violence are taking to the ramparts. Demands for changes to the Young Offenders Act and for the justice system to mete out sentences that exact some real penalties on criminals can no longer be ignored. But we need more — much more. Violence is a formidabie foe. On the North Shore an effective anti-vio- . lence tradition is taking root in the form of Peter Speck Publisher 985-2131 (101} Boug Foot Comptroller 985-2134 (433) Chris Johnson Operations Manager 985-2131 (141) Together Against Violence (TAV) month. It was launched last November as a grass- roots reaction to a disturbing number of vio- lent incidents involving youth on the North Shore, It attracted over 1,400 people and helped vent public concerns on the issue of lecal violence. It also focused much media attention on the chailenges the North Shore faces. Much good came of it. ‘This year the TAV campaign has tzpped over 50 local groups to help organize and contribute to its series of free public commu- nity events aimed at educating the public on all aspects of community and family violence. The campaign kicks off tonight at the William Griffin Recreation Centre at 7:30 p.m. and continues through November at various North Shore locations. Get involved. Get educated. And help get rid of violence. Timothy Renshaw Managing Editor 985-2131 (116) Linda Stewart Sales & Marketing Director 980-0514 (319) WE COLUMN-SCRIB- BLERS are not in the habit of taking in one another’s laundry — being fully capa- ble of doing our own, But once in a while we're faced with an item of laundry that belongs to all of us. Like the report last week that the B.C. Human Rights Council is pro- ceeding with a complaint against colleague Doug Collins and the North Shore News by the Canadian Jewish Congress (CJC). The CIC claims that Doug's col- umn last spring about the movie Schindler's List “exposed the Jewish community to hatred or gon- tempt.” Precisely what this means is far from clear. Every daily paper and every major newscast carries items likely to inspire “hatred or con- tempt” against SOMEBODY. Like cabinet ministers with (lagrant con- Hicts of interest. Or government social workers whose screw-ups cause the deaths of helpless young children. Or unrepentant bosses of resottrce companies that recklessly pollute the environment. Isn't such exposure — and accompanying comment within the laws of libel and defamation — exactly what the public demunds of its media, regardless of whose feel- ings get hurt in the process? New powers recently bestowed on the Human Rights Council by the Harcourt government, however, go well beyond the laws of libel and defamation. They enable the politi- cally appointed council! to punish freedom of speech simply because it* aggrieves some person oT group, Vigorously applied, these new powers — like any form of censor- ship — can deny the public the right it has so far enjoyed to make up its own mind on issues after examining ALL points of view. In effect, the council can now insult the public by saying to it: “We don't think you capable of reaching a fair opinion based on ALL the relevant facts and com- ment. So because we do not trust your judgment, we are limiting the facts and comment available to you.” You may love or loathe Doug, but that’s not what this particular piece of laundry is about. It’s about freé speech which, like everything Petor Kvarnstrom Display Manager 980-0544 (103) Valerie Stephenson Classified Manager 986-6222 (202) HITHER AND YON of value, has its price. The price being occasional excesses, injustice, distortion and poor taste. But pro- vided EVERYONE has freedom of speech, the public — being neither dumb nor unfair — eventually bal- ances it all up to reach a reasonable conclusion. The price is well worth paying. Warts and all, free speech remains democracy’ s most depend- able bulwark against (tyranny. Which lends a bitter irony to this latest bid by the CJC to silence Doug Collins: how come the Jewish Congress has forgotten one key rea- son why its people — along with countless thousands of non-Jews —~ suffered such atrocities at Hitler’s hands? If the freedom of speech which they would now deny Collins had flourished as strongly in the . Germany of the 1930s-1940s, the ,Nazi reign of terror could never “have taken over. : And the Holocaust could never have happened. SIGN-OFF: Find the perfect gift Sunday, Nov. 6, at St. Thomas Aquinas Christmas Craft Fair, 10 - a.m. to 4 p.m, at 541 West Keith — with pottery, jewelry, woodcarving, toys, stained glass, basketry, art- work and floral art by 80 talented professionals ... And many happy returns of today, Nov. 2, to our gra- cious Vintage Years tady, Eleanor Godley. eee WRIGHT OR WRONG: Life is full of great opportunities ... bril- liantly disguised as impossible situ- ations. Trixi Agrios Promotions Manager 985-2131 (137) MEMBER 1 _¥ 6 9 THE VOICE OF NORTH ANO WEST VANCOUVER tae 3 aU DAY © WEDNE DAY “FRIDAY 1139 Lonsdale Avenue North Vancouver B.C. V7M 2H4 North Shere Managed North Shore News, founded in 1969 as an independent suburban newspaper and qualified under Schedule 111. Paragraph 111 of the Excise Tax Act, is publisned each Wednesday, Friday and Sunday by North Shore Free Press Ltd. and distributed to every door on the North Shore Canada Post Canadian Publications Mail Sales Product Agreement No. 0087238. Mailing rates available on request. Submissions are welcome bul we cannot accept responsibility for unsolicited material including manuscripts and pictures, which should be accompanied by a Administration Display Advertising Real Estate Advertising Classified Advertising Newsroom Olatribution Display & Real Estate Fax Newsroom Fax Ciassified, Accounting & Main Office Fax vaucouwan anae SDA DIVISION aa 61,582 (average circulation, Wednesday, Friday & Sunday) Entire coritents © 1994 North Shore Free Press Ltd. All rights reserved.