Ad - Wednesday, August 15, 1984 - North Shore News

HIS COLUMN

strictly personal

by Bob Hunter

is for readers Elizabeth
Welch and Marjorie Rambeau,

whom I owe an apology. And, actually, any

both of

other British-born folk on the North Shore.

I used the term ‘‘bloody
Limeys’’ in a column a while
ago. I’m sorry. It was in poor
form. | won’t do it again.

Mrs. Welch, who was born
in Kingsheath, Birmingham,
in 1894, wrote to say she was
‘‘simply shocked’’ to see me
using bad language like that.
She points out, having arriv-
ed in Montreal in 1923, she is
now a Canadian.

But that didn’t make my
bad manners any easier to
bear.

Likewise, Ms. Rambeau
rapped me across the
knuckles. She knows how to
hurt. She pointed out that |

even managed to. spell
‘“*‘Limeys’’ incorrectly,
something that colleague

Doug Collins, another Briush
native, also noticed.

Ms. Rambeau noted that |
was ‘‘canny enough to slant

your derisory comment
towards a well established
people whose advanced

maturity and consequent in-

nate sense of security has
long since begotten forbear-
ance and tolerance toward
those scantily possessed of
both.’’

She adds, informatively:

‘‘Perhaps you are cogni-
zant that the term ‘limie’ has
an application to English
sailors and derives from the
mandate of Captain Cook,
(one of Engiand’s legion of
prominent figures who have
blazed a global trail
throughout the centuries for,
practically speaking, the en-
tire Universe), whereby, to
counteract the incidence of
scurvy and beri-ber1 among
naval ratings on long sea
voyages in the days of
wooden ships and iron men,
they be required to daily
demolish their ration of fresh
limes as an = anuscorbutic
measure. The practice sub-
sists to the present day."

This fine representative of
English stock ends her letter
splendidly, leaving your cor-

Beware of
sneak thief

TWO NORTH Vancouver
businesses had a total of
$15,500 worth of cheques
and cash stolen over the
weekend and North Van
couver RCMP fear. others
could also be hit by a thief
no one has seen so far

The stolen money was
contained in bank deposit
bags which were stolen from
the office area of the (wo
Marine Drive businesses
while no one was looking

According to police the
umidentified thief “‘cased’’

the businesses, bided his or
her time until the office was
unattended and then made
off the bags

The first business was hit
at noon Saturday, with the
thief escaping with $500 in
cash and cheques The se-
cond incident occured mid-
afternoon Sunday, when
$1,000 in cash and = and
$14,000 in cheques was
stolen

Merchants are being urged
by police not leave the de-
posit bags outlin the open

~ RE-ELECT

CHUCK COO

“your working MP"'

PROGRESSIVE CONSERVATIVE
NORTH VANCOUVER-BURNABY

NORTH VAN. 980-2601

BURNABY

Authored by CHtl Grandison
Othgtal Agent tor Chuck Cook

Pee pare Rete ainL Gh atcy natiha nistn ehchs hh hd nein a headache

299-7464

ob says sorry

respondent laid out on the
deck:

‘*Let’s have no more snide
comments on ‘bloody
English limies.’ You surely
are cognizant that English
social structure is stringently
compartmentalized. The bar-
riers are slowly disintegrating
but the process is painful and
the old adage ‘the lower the
calibre of mind the wider the
perpetually open mouth’ ap-
plies with a vengeance.’’

Ma’am, | stand corrected. |
did have my tongue a bit in
cheek, you know. But I know
that’s not always conveyed in
print.

Sull, all of this got me
reflecting on the nature of
racism. It 1s something that
has always existed and always
will unul we evolve to a
higher level.

A triend who has travelled
to more countmies than there
are (some of them changed
names since the last time he
was there) tells me that he
sees less racism in Canada
than any other country.

You can imagine what 1t
must be like out there.

Almost every tribe thinks
of itself superior to its
neighbours. And every sect
thinks it alone possesses the

(aerobics with weights)

; La.
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truth. The modern nation-
state plays on this gut reflex
by hyping patriotism as a vir-
tue, when, in fact, it enforces

racial pride, and hence
vanity.
I’m not a fan of

patriotism. | think it ranks as
an intellectual achievement
up there with Athlete’s Foot.
As for racism, well, [’d let
my daughter marry a Mar-
uan, if that’s what she really
wanted.

I take the view that a soul
is a soul is a soul. The outer
shell is a detail.

But then, I’ve only been a
victim of racism a handful of
tumes in my life. Once was in
South Side Chicago, where a
gang of young Afro-
Americans were about to do
bad things to me because |
was a honky. (I think that’s
the correct spelling.) It was a
black cop, by the way, who
saved me.

Another time was in Lon-
don, when a potential land-
lady slammed the door in my
face. ‘‘No bloody Cana-
dians!"’ she cried.

In Australia, | was royally
insulted by an Aussie bigot
who had a derogatory word
for every race you could im-
agine. (The British were
‘‘pommies.’’ Spelling,
please?) And the rest, well,
you probably know all! the
words. Nips and wogs and
wops and Yanks and spics,
etc., etc.

What was a Canadian? |
wanted to know.

He shrugged.
Yank."’ /

1 coulda killed him!

So. My apology again.

“Oh, a

ME an Dead
AAO wo

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