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Page M- - ‘Terrace Standard Wednesday, November 13, 1991

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Atrio repr aervces end adirosteg agencies... Gu Edouard Credgeur ;

oe - special thanks to Pr
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es

scene et ne A a

*:DITORIAL —

eepers. It éven made the national
newscasts. The riot on Hallowe'en, that

"is, At least that’s what the dictionary
~ ¢says in describing the word as ‘‘a wild or
“turbulent disturbance created by a large

z number of people.’’
: And it-was. wild and turbulent, Shopp-

‘ing carts were used to block the 4700_
at ‘Block of Lakelse, windows were smash-
oo ‘ed i in a number of stores and one adult
~ Was roughed up by some of the estimated
o ‘200 young people more interested in
“3 tricks than in treats.

--To some people, the situation might

‘have reminded them of the. riots that

tultimately caused the Kelowna Regatta
-- jto be cancelled for several years or the
_ {street carnage in Penticton of this past

. The: RCMP have drawn a large
lamount of criticism from their inaction

- tthat evening. Despite having a larger
‘than normal complement of officers on
_. ithe streets that evening, no moves were
. “made to. break up the crowd or to make

arrests,
“In reality what the police did was pro-
-bably the only thing they could have

- “done. Once a crowd goes out of control

“there's not much any police force can do

ith fal weather taking firm hold and
promise of winter around the corner,
¢ annual experience begins. It’s the Air
: “raveller’ s Nightmare.

_ Suppose the aircraft can’t land. If you
‘are on the ground, it’s time to steady
yourself for a bus ride to Prince Rupert
- the only city in the world where a per-
son begins and ends a journey by air at a
‘shopping centre.

; Af-you are on that aircraft, you resign
yourself to a flight to Prince Rupert
_ followed by a ferry ride to that very same

Solemn Lesson.

unless it | has sufficie cient numbers and suf

ficient equipment to deal with the situa-
tion. By blocking off the avenue, the
police contained the scene to the best of
their ability.

- Of course, a little bit of prevention
might have helped. But things like this
occur rapidly. Singling out the key no-
necks involved at the very start would
have taken the steam out of the rest of
the rabble. Yet crowd behaviour is
curious and mysterious. Arrive a couple
of minutes late, and what advantage the
police might have had is gone.

That combination of ready and
available shopping carts and rocks from
the Ottawa St. construction was
something nobody could have predicted.
In a bizarre way, it shows that young
people do have some initiative, despite
whatever failings there may be in the
modern education system. (Heaven help
all of us if this Year 2000 stuff ever gets
off the ground).

Finally, the events of Oct. 31 are proof
that the veneer of civilization is thin at
best of times. Perhaps, at some future
date, it’ll prove to be a lesson when the
young people out there that evening en-
dure having their own windows broken.

“Cloudy issue ~*

Walbran Valley on Vancouver
Island,

shopping centre before the bus‘ ‘home
turns east on Hwyl6,

Sometimes you end up back in Van-

couver. You're disgorged into the busy»

terminal, in the midst of the thousands
of other people who stumble around in a
state of suspended animation.

When your destination is finally
reached, there is a reward. It’s another
war story, suitable for the dinner table
and ‘coffee shop.. Life in the north. It’s
never boring.

“Bi about byies

ey ‘admit I’m an electronic il-

_ literate.

“: Despite a 14-year secretarial
- career, I never got beyond the
gelatin’: pad copier, and still

Through
Bifocals

nes ea a

* typewrite. on a Royal manual
. that T bought in 1960, secon-

. @hand, At the mere thought of

~ Operating a photocopier, fax

machine or computer, [|

- hyperventilate..

The: only experience equally
“upsetting to me is visiting a doc-
‘tor. It isn't fear of a terminal
» diagnosis or the indignity of an

_ exam that troubles me. It's the

cold,

ag Will I: have, ‘to -wait -hours, .
“@lothed only in’ a Fletcher”

Challenge: by-product? At how
many degrees sub zero will the
“adr: ‘conditioner: be sét? Can the
_ doctor. tell the blue of oxygen

starvation . from. the. ‘pallor of
hypothermia? -

©: $o there I sat in the reception
area. last. week, distracting
myself reading Fotherinham's
Mactean’s ‘column, when : the
‘nurse approached
whispeted the fateful words. “‘

don’t. have. you. dn my

computer”. -

* Her puzzled’ tone suggested:
itd been: misplaced during the -
 pdght. Or erased from the com- .

puter’s:‘memory bank by an
unexpected power surge.

‘and

by Claudette Sandecki

tervene, Until I realized I wasn't
“in the computer” because 1
had never been put there. The
fault was a time lapse. -

Here I was, a patient who ap-
preciates my dentist’s reminder

‘of each six-month dental exam,

yet I had let so much time go by
sirice my previous medical

‘checkup, in the: meantime my

doctor's files had been transfer-
red to computer.
How much time had gone by?

‘Now the examining table's

metal stirrups wore lavender-
trimmed grey flannel mittens
with drawstring cuffs; and: the
pillow was zipped into.a Granny
Smith-green plastic case.

By listening to Mornngside,
borrowing library books and
ordering supplies from
wholesalers, I’ve become ac-
customed to the jargon of com-

_ puteresée, Printout. Megabyte,

On line.. Mouse (a small hand-

‘held device that controls move-

ment on a- computer display, .

“not:the furry kind I battle with
 trap-and Warfarin), The lingo is
'§ felt. as. dismissed asa”.

familiar to me; I Just don't

Hallowe'en hooligan when - understand It any better than I

I’ve learned when a computer
operator says, “I can’t bring
you up”, I’m not talking to a
Persian cat who thinks I'm a
pesky furball. He’s telling me
my name fails to show up on his
computer screen, If he’s a sup-
plier, chances are ['ve not plac-
ed ‘an order with hm for six
months, ...

So I bent to the job of filling

out every space on the iden-
tification form the nurse hand-
ed to me ona clipboard. -

I'm a nimcomputer, not a
faxhead,

A DIRECT RELATIONSHIP

would: suggest that, perhaps,

7 to play...

VICTORIA — This column is
dedicated to the grade 9 and
10 students of Esquimalt High
School who proved to me
beyond the shadow of a doubt
that. the younger generation
has all the promise we can
hope for to make this world a
better place than they found it.

Our paths crossed as 4 ‘result .

oF a ‘gi ‘column 1 had written‘: ee

The young protesters had .
thrown themselves into the
fray with all the fervor and
dedication of which youth is
capable, They blocked roads
and chained themselves.to
vehicles. Some even went on a
hunger strike. They continued
their protests even in the face
of Supreme Court orders to
cease and desist.

In my column, I cautioned
them, admittedly somewhat
unkindly,not to commit illegal
acts, and I accused some en-
vironmental groups of
misleading the young people
instead on counselling them to_
obey the court orders. :

Reaction to the column was
swift and not very complimen- -
tary. I still bear the scars, I
was.subsequently invited to
speak to a grade 9 class at Es-
quimalt High and defend my
column.

Last week, I received 19 let-
ters from the students. Their

. techer, Duncan Sutherland,

had asked them to give a criti-
que of my column as a class
project. It is those letters I
wish to deal with in this col-
umn. Unfortunately; space
prohibits me from mentioning
all of them.

Jill Galineau writes: ‘‘Most
teenagers know a lot about the
environment, ‘and we don’t
need ‘people like you telling us
we don’t, We have a-very ac- .
tive part to play for our future
and our earth.’’

Yes, J, you do, but 1 .

- people like me e also have ¢ a a part.

These students.
have their say

From the
Capital

by Hubert Beyer

‘themselves, ‘I assure you that

they Wert'all Very Gap

Heather Parker writes: “If
loggers pave the Kids-a ‘chuinee,

they’ ‘wouldn’t be out ‘there! give!

ing loggers a‘hard time by go-
ing on hunger strikes or jump-
ing in front of trucks. If they
listened to the kids, they would
understand why they don’t
want the valley to be logged.
The old-growth forest. means a
lot to. them because it’s the on-
ly one we've got.” -

I understand your feelings.
about the old-growth forest,

’ Heather, but you should also

consider that nature; if left to
her own devices, destroys old-
growth forest herself at regular
intervals, usually by fire.
Damien Godin writes: “I
think ‘your. ‘Youth Exploited —

By Environméntalists’ article is .

dumb and-your advice stinks, I
think if you have nothing:
worth reading to say, don’t say
it at all. I think the Walbran
Valley sk:ould not be cut down,
if it is wnat will be left for our
new generation, but quite ob-
viously you don’t give a
hoot.”

Well, Damien, I assure you I
do give a hoot, very much of a
hoot,:but [ have to tell you
honestly that I am a lot kinder
to the targets of my criticism

_ than you are,

Chris Johnston writes: a

' did not like the way you wrote

your article. You explained
that young people are in-
capable of thinking for
themselves,"

I plead guilty on that count,
Chris, ‘but if I gave the impres-
sion that I consider young peo-
ple incapable, of thitking:for

tention.I raised

thinking for themselves, and

4 ell-ares. be

OZONE. IN THE UPPER ATMOSPHERE

Genreeaead tve Se Pangien, oF REPLENISHIDCE

GETWEEA EXPANDING Duck
POPULATIONS AND DECREASING | F.
OZONE HOLES OvER THE PoLes.

IS BEING evERLOME. BY THE NA ARAL |
MIGRATING WATERFOLOL gull

T, ay Nou MEAN WE.
| COULD SAVE. |
THE EARTH. .

Chris Von writes: ‘'I ;
feb YGvally with Your opi-
aii : A it the Pirie
teenagers strongly believe in.”
what they are doing, then
that’s what counts, Most
adults don’t care about the en- -
vironment situation. The older
generation left a mess, and if
we, the future leaders, are Bet.
ting involved, I think that's
great, " : mole ’
‘], too, think that’s great
Chris, but you're wrong_on -
two counts..A lot of adults do
care about the environment,
and we should never place. -

ourselves above the law. There 7

are better ways to: bring ‘about :
change. :
Helen Urlacher writes: uy

Walbran Valley is getting out’:

of hand. Too many people are
getting put in jail and getting
hurt over a forest of trees,
{but) we should be able to pro-
tect as well as protest for

_ things our. children will want .

to see and preseve for their -
generation, Do you think we ve
are the future? Do you think ...
we have a right to preserve |:
things for our kids?

them.

Fe :

- Damned right, you.are the:
future, Helen, and it will be -
_ your turn sooner than you now:: °

think. And yes, you'do have wi
Tight to preserve, no,.a duty, :
but the key word must be com-
promise, without which all
that’s left is oppression. °
There are more letters, but
there's no more space to run °
them. Let me just add that I ‘
am impreased with the genune
» Condern:for the futsiré,
students -have ‘a “
Our brief encounter has left

ie, me with great admiration and.
’ “hope for the younger geniera-*”

tion, and for that I thank.

ort,