Black on the bus

[Re: “Tap, tap, tap,” People, Aug. 7] I generally enjoy your paper but I wanted to take a moment to register my disappointment with one of Chris Barry’s characterizations in the piece on Emotional Freedom practitioner Claudia Schecter.

I get it. I understand. I know that the reference to a black person getting on a bus is an attempt at humour. I just need to know if I’m one of the people who should be laughing or not.

I’m a black person who gets on the bus all the time. Believe me when I say that I’ve endured more than my share of dirty looks, muttered comments and much more, for absolutely nothing.

So when Barry asks the subject if her holistic healing method will cure people of anxiety from a black person getting on the bus, am I supposed to chuckle at the absurdity of the question, the fact that Schecter gave a serious response, or both?

I know I’m supposed to laugh, but given what I face in real life in this city, all this line does is make me frustrated. Not only because of the people who really feel that way when I get on the bus, but also because one of Montreal’s major weeklies thinks the issue trivial enough to use as a humour device.

>>C.R.

China not so beautiful

[Re: “A podium for human rights,” News, Aug. 7] The timely article documents the fight to improve China’s human rights record, especially with regard to Tibet. But besides the abuses in Tibet and the suppression of many journalistic freedoms, China also executes more people than any other country, including Saudi Arabia. Capital punishment must stop in China.

The most glaring injustice in the run-up to the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games is that thousands upon thousands of Beijing residents have had their homes illegally demolished, often with little or no financial compensation. All in the name of the Olympics and city beautification. After the Olympic Games are over, unscrupulous developers will gobble up the unused, illegally annexed land and plant more luxury real estate developments.

Demolition of homes without due process of law, appropriate notice and adequate compensation is an egregious violation of human rights. The IOC and human rights groups must ensure that in the future, host cities of Olympic Games do not illegally demolish so many homes. Host cities that do not comply with basic human rights codes must be subject to sanctions.

>>Manish Patwari.

Free will fallacy

[Re: “God lives,” Letters, Aug. 7] When asked why their supposedly omnipotent and benevolent creator permits horrible suffering, Believers inevitably respond that God gave man a free will.

Would they accept the logic of a father who watches his son kill his baby sister and then justifies his inaction by claiming he gave his children “free will”? Neither would I.

>>Shirley Groves

Elvis’s left testicle

[Re: “Distorting the truth,” Letters, July 24] We’re not easily offended, but John Dirlik’s insensitive, insulting and downright blasphemous reference to Elvis’s left testicle as an object of worship truly outraged us.

As every student of Elvis Presley’s testicles knows, his left testicle was and is a false subject of reverence. 

As everything else on the left, it was unrealistic, utopian and idealistically misleading. It stood, for instance, for such far-left, pie-in-the-sky propositions as “all men are created equal” and similar nonsense.  An absurd concept easily dismissed by a simple question: If all men were created equal, how come some men have larger testicles than others? 

We rest our case.

His right testicle, on the other hand, is awesome and worthy of worship.  While it acknowledges that testicles come in a variety of sizes, it nevertheless, like all logical thinkers of the right, proclaims and preaches to the world that by individual effort, diligence, hard work and the will to succeed, the discrepancies in testicle size can be overcome.

Most of our provincial and federal leaders, for instance, have small or non-existing testicles, which did not impede their rise to positions of power and prominence. Why? Because their pragmatic and clear-thinking right testicles urged them to reach for the stars in spite of their testicularly challenged status.

We have formed a circle of Elvis Presley’s Right Testicle worshippers and have dedicated our energy and devotion to the only true testicle—the right one. 

We invite all inquiring minds to stay tuned for our future Web site: www.therighttesticle.com. Individuals of all creeds and denominations, including atheists, are welcome!

>>Ed Binder

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