Assailing Arabs

Dominique Ritter's article ["Assailing Zionism," Mar. 18], in which I assume she truthfully stated that the audience was full of Arab people (the event, after all, was organized by a Palestinian rights association), is slammed as being slanted by two people with the very names of Omar and Beydoun ["Israel should own up," Letters, Mar. 25]. Were they trying to prove she was indeed factual?

Would these two letter writers ever complain about the torture of Palestinians by their own police (well documented); or rebuke suicide bomber murderers; or come out against throat-slashing in Algeria and Indonesia; the gassing of the Kurds by Iraq, slavery in Sudan, etc., etc., etc. Or about people being stoned to death, the cutting off of hands and legs, female mutilation, ordering death sentences on Rushdie and others who merely said something they didn't want to hear, honour killings, etc., etc., etc.

Why don't those two letter writers leave their old world baggage over there and become Canadians, instead of trying to bring that hatred and fighting over here? The same way previous immigrants were glad and enthused to become, and have their families become, Canadians?

Canada is now starting to pay for this disease of promoting "multiculturalism." Instead of a Canadian melting pot, it's "Yeah right, you don't have to become Canadian, just come on in and bring your 2000-year-old cultures, prejudices and fights over here with you."

--Bill Carlson

Send Scott C to ellementary school

When we read Scott C's article in the Mirror we were shocked ["These are the breaks," Mar. 18]. We couldn't understand how Scott was able to directly quote us after asking us a few vague questions about what we were up to. No paper. No pen. No dictaphone. Scott quoted Short Circuit as saying, "We really sucked a year ago," which were not the words she used. He even went on to put in quotes: "We've put in a lot of time, though, and with help from members of Tactical and Flow Rock, we're a lot better now." This was not a misquote in the article but a complete fabrication.

Yes, B-Boy Shockwave is the instructor of our classes. But the reason why we're better is not only because we've got a good instructor, but also because we support each other and work hard to earn our skills. How could we be affiliated with Flow Rock when we've just met a few members in the last three weeks? We give a lot props to both these legendary Montreal crews, but we are not affiliated with either of them. Since our beginning, we have been an independent crew; in fact, we feel this is one of the most important parts of our story--a part which Scott overlooked.

In choosing not to speak about our independence and hard work, Scott replicated many of the narrow-minded attitudes we've experienced and seen in hip hop. It seems to be a trend that female artists have to be affiliated with an "influential" male counterpart to validate their presence. Scott wrote, "...some very talented b-girls dancing and practicing with their male counterparts on the regular," after meeting us at a rehearsal of strictly b-girls. He also failed to realize that the majority of people who we dance with "on the regular" are women.

One of the main reasons we're writing is because we're disappointed. Maybe expecting to have someone write an article with enthusiasm, clarity and respect instead of negligence and laziness is too much to ask for.

--Ellementale B-girls
Short Circuit & Lynx

[Scott C responds: It's unfortunate that we must disagree about how your crew was depicted in my article. It was obviously a favourable piece, and we both know that Ellementale 5 is quite capable of standing on their own, regardless of male counterparts/affiliation or whatever. Good luck on the floor.]

Highway heroics

Dominique Ritter's article "Covering traffic" [Mar. 25] accurately reflected and respected my comments, with the exception of the attribution of the last sentence.

I would appreciate it if you would inform your readers that the phrase "Anyone who realizes this project will be a hero" is not from me, but originally said to me by a representative of the city of Montreal.

--Luc Durand

Corrections

The following Web site addresses were misprinted in the article titled "Virtually you" in the Mar. 25 issue. My Virtual Model can be found at www.ptm.ca and www.bsf.ca. And the correct address for Hockey Knight/Puckhead is 9-385 Édouard-Charles, Montreal H2V 2N1.