Tobacco ads suck

I noted that the editor of the Mirror declined to be interviewed on CBC radio this week, and I have not received a response to a letter I wrote to him about the appearance of tobacco ad’s in the Mirror.

I guess if one has the moral vacuity to allow tobacco advertising, others can’t expect one to respond to questions about why death would be sold in your mag.

>> George Keith Young

[Ed’s reply: The editor and the editorial department are not in charge of the ads that run in the paper. Editorial and advertising are separate divisions. Those who are concerned about the return of tobacco ads to this and other publications can write the publishers or petition the government to have the law changed.]

Mirror opposes
Bolivarian revolution!??

[Re: “Anti-Chavez?” Letters, Dec. 13] I am compelled to respond to the editor’s reply regarding my concern about the photo taken during the rally in front of the Venezuelan Consulate on Dec 2; where about 30 supporters of the Bolivarian Revolution in Venezuela gathered in support of the constitution reforms.

The photo that the editor chose to publish was the picture of the counter-demo, which only numbered three people. The editor tried to justify this choice by saying that it was “chosen because it reflected the opposite sides in the debate.”

Okay, let us have a reality check here! In all the major mainstream media, the only side that has been covered is the opposition side, not the supporters’ side. It is exactly why we (the 30 people) decided to hold a rally in order to raise the issue to the public. The Mirror claimed that they “did not support either side, but rather chose to portray the divergent views.” But the opposition is not the divergent view, it is the major view that has been represented in the media—more then its fair share.

Clearly, the editor of the Mirror has never bothered to read news from other media outlets. The editor’s pathetic attempt to justify their choice just shows the Mirror’s political inclination toward the opposition of the Bolivarian Revolution, just like all the major mainstream media.

All media merely hide behind the cloak of objectivity and truth to further a certain political interest, that is the interest of the counter-revolutionary oligarchy in Venezuela who are tied to the interest of North American big businesses and imperialism.

>> Hariyanto Darmawan

Don’t promote
promiscuity

[Re: “Safe sex is sexy,” Letters, Dec. 6] There is a definite difference between getting accessible and accurate information regarding sexually transmitted diseases (which letter writer Emily Sheppard emphasized) and being formally educated about them. How we promote safe sex without promoting promiscuity is a question of tactics.

For the school system to provoke sexual desire, or to reflect the alleged prevalence of it, amounts to an interference with each student’s moral choices, which must be made independently of any “status quo”—be it peer pressure, religious doctrine or even Board of Education theory.

To assume explicit precautionary advice can be routinely dispersed to anyone under 18 is to stupidly imagine a conscientious consent and a sexual maturity in all students. How can that be expected in such a diverse, dynamic and confused audience? Have we forgotten the instability of adolescence, that those going through it deserve tailor-made rather than agenda-made information?

Generic spoon feeding is tantamount to undue influence. Let it be known that sex can be deadly—let everyone be very afraid—but let the student get all the pertinent details when he or she decides, rather than in accordance with some artificial master plan. There’s moral difference between making sexual knowledge available and imposing it. Our school authorities should always have the sensitivity to respect intimacy before they enlighten it.

>> L.S. Cattarini

Quebec values
valueless

[Re: “Speak out or keep quiet,” Dec. 6] I am totally disgusted at the covert racism expressed at the “reasonable accommodation” hearings. Dumont and Duceppe are pushing Quebec Catholic values to the forefront.

From recent polls, it shows that most Québécois couples are shacking up or are in other adulterous relationships. Also, out of these unions, they are having illegitimate children. So much for their Catholic values. Obviously, adultery is not regarded as a sin even though the Catholic Church says it is.

What is astonishing is that these people who push for “Quebec values” did not think twice about the values of my ancestors who were here before the white man settled. Until they acknowledge their ancestors’ actions of killing and stealing our land, these same people have no lessons to give.

>> Esmie Moo

CORRECTION: An image printed in the Nov. 29 Artsweek page was mistakenly titled “Alvaro Nightmare.” The correct title is “Nightmare #47.”

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