Dear Republic:
Michael Nenonen is usually brilliant, but he has let himself become unnecessarily discouraged. ("Mathematical wars", issue 165).
Suppose we could teach a newborn bison that there is a 68% chance (I'm just guessing) that she will be eaten by a cougar or die of disease before reaching puberty, etc.
Would she then say to herself, "Anything I do is irrelevant! The probabilities are against me! What's the use in trying?"?
No, she'd say, "I want to live! I will do everything I can to live as a bison, which includes co-operating with the other bison, and thus aiding my own survival and/or the survival of my species."
Apparently random events are affected by a multitude of factors, including animals' will to live and decisions.
If her species didn't try to be fit and survive, they wouldn't have done so.
We are like bison. If we are fit enough to survive under the laws of evolution, we will. Your fitness includes co-operating and accepting encouragement from me.
As far as I know, all species except army ants have evolved to live much more peacefully with others of their own kind than have humans. Creating more peace now will increase our evolutionary fitness, I'm confident. Policy IS relevant. Keep striving.
—Korky Day, Vancouver
Dear Republic:
Much has been written about young people's low participation in voting and in political parties. Across Canada, political parties are trying to figure out how to engage young people. It is therefore strange that when a group of young people do decide to get involved in a political party, Republic writer Reed Eurchuk portrays it as ominous.
So just who were these scary "Group of Seven" elected to the COPE executive (along with five others) at the recent COPE AGM?
They were: Nathan Lusignan, a graduate of Van Tech where he initiated the campaign for seismic upgrading of Vancouver schools, and who has been active in community building and advocacy, primarily with youth in East Van for the past six years.
David Ages, who has a long history as an activist and as a rank and file worker in factories, shipbuilding and construction and went on to become a Regional Manager for the Employment Standards Branch until he denounced the Liberals' 2002 legislative attacks on workers' rights and resigned.
Rachel Marcuse, a coordinator and facilitator active in a wide range of youth, arts, anti-oppression and global justice organizations, implemented the first ethical purchasing policy for a student union in Canada and was recently in Argentina working in the occupied factory movement.
Donalda Greenwell-Baker is a community and trade union activist involved in COPE since the '70s, including serving on the COPE executive.
Carlo Bodrigi was previously employed as a COPE events coordinator and organized the Playdium Metrotown for the CAW when he was 18. His parents are immigrants from the Philippines and Hungary and he was a key organizer for the World Urban Forum.
Ellen Woodsworth is a former COPE city councilor, a "COPE Classic” who voted against the Olympics, the RAV line and expanded gambling. She worked to organize the World Peace Forum and a number of important initiatives around women's equality, ethical purchasing, LGBT, and seniors rights.
Lucas Schuller is a former student activist as BC Chair and coordinator for the Canadian Federation of Students, a musician and VP for development for Festival Distributions (a Vancouver-based national distributor of independent music).
All have worked for COPE in the past.
These seven people ran on a platform of bringing together progressive people from both outside and inside COPE to start organizing to defeat the NPA in 2008. For the vast majority of Vancouverites, the 2005 elections were a disaster. Division between COPE and Vision resulted in the right-wing NPA's victory. That "victory" has brought increased homelessness and poverty, cuts to our schools and community centres, and drastically cut back community participation in decision making. Clearly a priority should be to build a coalition that includes COPE, Vision, and other progressive people, in order to beat the NPA and build the kind of city we dream of.
Also elected to the COPE executive were Tim Louis, Derrik Okeefe, Charlie Demers, Angelica Gutierrez and Sid Tan. Together these twelve make up a strong, diverse, energetic, and knowledgeable executive—an executive that will be able to move past divisiveness and work together to take the city back.
—Al Blakey, COPE School Trustee, Vancouver
Dear Republic:
I read Kevin Potvin’s 9/11 article that got Elizabeth May worked up into terror alert-status red when it was first published and again when bites of it came (free of the burdens of context) to national attention.
In sharing your feelings you spoke to how many people felt. The piece resonated with me. On September 11, a Globe and Mail reporter called me for my reaction. I told him it was a case of the chickens of Western imperialism coming home to roost. He told me that he wouldn't print that, that I was heartless and that as of 9:45 that morning, we had all entered a new day where such comments would not be tolerated. Click.
You did not celebrate the feelings you copped to, but were honest about where they came from. This resonated with me and many others. Ms May did not consider the context, but quickly bowed to terrorist hysteria.
I find her own "honest" and "personal" views on abortion much more concerning: “So I respect people who say, ‘I'm against abortion because there is a right to life, and the fetus is sacred.’”
I am glad you spoke up in the Orwellian post 9/11 period (one from which we have yet to depart) and am glad you stood by it. Those offering death threats and insults are the cowards (published in the recent Republic). Trying to scare people out of publishing their opinions is real terrorism.
Having received a number of threats over the years myself, I really empathize with you. It can undermine your confidence and be truly scary. What bothered me the most was those that my sister received on my behalf.
I generally kept quiet about them, telling only a few close comrades and not wanting to spread fear among activists. This was not always the right decision. I support your publishing some of the nastier responses you received for that 9/11 article, for your own healing but also to underline that there is a cost to standing up at such times. Speech is never really free. Publications like the Republic are weapons in the war of ideas, not talk shop fodder.
—Garth Mullins, Vancouver
|
Read more by this author
The Republic
print version is generously supported by the following regular advertisers:
Storm Brewing
604-255-9119
Dan's Homebrewing
692 E Hastings
Co-operative Auto Network
604-685-1393
Turk's Coffee
1276 Commercial Drive
Dutch Girl Chocolates
1002 Commercial Drive
Magpie Books and Magazines
1319 Commercial Drive
Artrageous Pictures & Framing
1256 Commercial Drive
Bouzyos Greek Taverna
1815 Commercial Drive
Magnet Hardware
1575 Commercial Drive
Uprising Breads
1697 Venables
Highlife World Music
1317 Commercial Drive
Mark's Pet Stop
1875 Commercial Drive
Abruzzo Cafe
1321 Commercial Drive
Our Community Bikes
3283 Main Street
Does Your Mother Know
Magazines Etc
2139 West 4th Ave
Kali
1000 Commercial Drive
Uncle Don
Freelance Curmudgen
on CFUR Radio, Prince George
Receptive Earth
Hemp & other Earthly delights
4168 Main Street
Geist
Magazine of Canadian ideas & culture
Momentum
Bike magazine
West Coast Seeds
Where to find the print version of The Republic:
Vancouver
Aboriginal Friendship
1607 E Hastings
Bean Around the World
10th & Trimble
Benny’s Bagels
Broadway & Larch
Big News Coffee Bar
2447 Granville
Black Dog Video
Cambie & 19th
Book Warehouse
550 Granville
632 W Broadway
2388 W 4th
Cambie Hostel
300 Cambie St
Capers Community Markets
2285 W 4th
1675 Robson
Carnegie Comm. Centre
Hastings & Main
City Square Mall
Cambie & 12th
Cuppa Joe 189-175
E Broadway
Dadabase
Broadway & Main
Danny’s Coffee
Denman & Pendrell
Denman Community Ctr
Denman & Nelson
Denman Mall
Denman & Nelson
Drive Organics
Commerical & Napier
Does Your Mother Know?
2139 W 4th
Duthie Books
2239 W 4th
East End Food Co-Op
1034 Commercial
Elysian Room
1778 W 5th
Food Stop
Commerical & Venables
Gemeral Store
312 Cambie St
Gold Coin Laundry
B-way & Waterloo
Granville Island
Public Market
Grind
4124 Main
Higher Ground
Broadway & Vine
Il Mercato
1641 Commercial
Joe's Café
1150 Commercial
Laughing Bean
Hastings & Penticton
Lugz
2525 Main Street
Magpie Magazines
1319 Commercial
Our Town Cafe
245 E Broadway
Pacific Central Station
Bus Depot
People's Co-op Books
1391 Commercial
Polonia Sausage
Nanaimo &Hastings
Rebound Health
Hastings & Kamloops
Receptive Earth
Main & King Edward
Rhizome Cafe
317 East Broadway
Simon Fraser
Downtown Foodfair
Soma
2528 Main Street
Sweet Tooth Cafe
Nanaimo & Hastings
Turk's Coffee
1276 Commercial
UBC
Student Union Building
Union Food Market
810 Union
Uprising Breads Bakery
1697 Venables
Vancouver Community College
250 W Pender
Vancouver Public Library
350 W Georgia
1661 Napier
2425 MacDonald
370 E Broadway
West Vancouver
Capers
2496 Marine Dr
West Vancouver Library
1950 Marine
Duncan
Community Farm Store
330 Duncan St
Victoria
Bean Around the World
533 Fisgard
Munro’s Books
1108 Government
University of Victoria
Graduate L0unge
Victoria Public Library
735 Broughton
Powell River
River City Coffee
4801 Joyce
Local Loco’s Music & Arts Cafe
Flying Yellow Breadbowl
4698 Ewing
Powell River Library
4411 Michigan
Kaslo
Blue Belle Bistro
302 Fourth
SunnySide Naturals
404 Front
Nanaimo
Nanaimo Public Library
Harbourfront Br
Port Place Shopping Ctr
650 S Terminal
The Green Store
Port Place
Mermaid’s Mug
357 Wesley St
Nelson
Mountain Pass Imports
402 Baker
Toronto
Moonbean Cafe
30 St. Andrew St
Future Bakery
483 Bloor St West
Oakville Peace &Ecology Centre
148 Kerr
|
