Cha-rest! Cha-rest!

With regards to the letter which insisted that Bouchard is the traitor, not Charest ["Bouchard more disloyal than Charest," (e)Mail, April 9]: I totally agree. Anyway, we all know that Charest is going to be targeted by the opposition and certain media no matter what he does. That's how basic and immature this whole political system is. It's all about who can beat up the other guy most. Ah, how juvenile.

I've never been a fan of Jean Charest. However, I respect his position and now believe that he is the man for the job of keeping us Canadians (French & English) together.

--Andrea Rudolph

Angel descends on Mont Royal, picks up trash

I was walking with my wife on Mont Royal the other day when we came across a young woman named Shannon who was picking up trash. She had a big black garbage bag and a smaller one. In the smaller one she was collecting recyclables and, in the larger one, detritus of the landfill type. We talked to her for a while and she said she often picked up a bit of trash, that she liked being on the mountain and liked it better when it was clean. She said it wasn't much of a nuisance to pick up the garbage, instead of just walking by and being disappointed to see it there.

The mountain can be pretty disappointing, with its coating of condoms, soda cans, burger boxes and plastic bags. It sometimes seems as though every person who goes there must bring at least one item to throw on the ground. But if you watch people on the mountain, you see that most are responsible. The majority bring nothing with them to consume and, as for the ones who do bring something, nine out of 10 take the remains with them.

It's my guess that for every jerk who litters, there are 99 who don't. Of those who don't litter, a small number don't notice the difference and a large number are enraged by the junk. Most people direct the energy in this rage at the offenders, and most are probably galled by the idea of picking up after others. But the truth is that rage directed at the offenders is unproductive, while the efforts made by someone like Shannon have immediate and directly favourable results for her and for us all. And if it takes one in 99 to produce the clutter, an even smaller number of people can undo the damage. I think there is an annual cleanup day when people get organized and pick things up. This is fine as far as it goes but a far better thing would be for everyone who cares to take a shopping bag along and fill it each time he or she takes a walk on Mont Royal.

If even one in 10 of the people who take advantage of the park would spend 10 minutes picking up, the place would be clean year round instead of once a year. If the city would put in a couple of recycling bins, Shannon and others like her wouldn't have to haul their metal garbage home. And finally, if the police on horseback would spend as much time pursuing litterers as they do chasing unleashed dogs, maybe there would be less plastic to pick up in the first place. Thanks, Shannon.

--Sid Gulick

Yet another letter in defence of Titanic

I didn't enjoy that little article on James Cameron [Angels & Insects, March 26]. Why must everybody criticize the "poor" man for what he has said and what he has failed to say? First of all, he is not the only one to have made money off dead people's backs: D-Day, Apocalypse Now, Schindler's List and the list goes on. Second of all: "I am the King of the world" is an expression used for extreme happiness. The last time I checked, winning an Academy Award fills a man with joy. Also, "I am the King of the world" is a quote from Jack Dawson (Leonardo DiCaprio's character) in the film.

Finally, everyone is always complaining about how musicians, actors, and other award winners always thank the same people (that is, Mama, Papa, God the creator, and so on). Cameron decided to express his joy a little differently. It is the Academy Awards, so give political messages a rest. Anyways, give the guy credit, he is Canadian.

--Manny