Bad taste

While I wholeheartedly agree that Cody Carlsbad's bosses at EXPO 2000's Canada Pavilion are abusive, negligent and downright contemptible, likening them to Nazis would be a stretch for even the most ardent poutine-lovers.

Though Carlsbad makes no such claim in his article, your headline ["Arbeit macht fry!" Sept. 21] was tasteless, to say the least. I do understand that the words Arbeit, Macht and Frei cannot be deleted from the German vernacular simply because of their dubious and deplorable usage during the Holocaust.

However, your pun, besides having little relation to Carlsbad's piece, was both tasteless and offensive. I am truly sorry that Carlsbad's otherwise amusing piece was ruined by your insensitive title. But, your headline left a worse taste in my mouth than past-date sausage ever could.

--Sarah Lazarovic

Queer disabled rights

Can you remember a time when that elusive three-point-something rainbow per cent of the population was actively excluded from participating in community events because of our sexual identities? These days, we call that exclusion discrimination, whether it takes subtle or violent forms. We are beginning, as communities, as a country, to develop laws and awareness to counteract such discrimination.

Every year in Montreal, queers march by the thousands to celebrate the freedom of embracing our sexual choices. Imagine! And every year in Montreal, queers march to a film festival that celebrates the freedom of embracing our sexual choices: Image&Nation.

Then try to imagine marching to that film festival in a wheelchair. You won't get that far. In fact, you'll get about as far as the door. The organizers of Image&Nation have once again chosen to exclude our disabled sisters and brothers by their choice of inaccessible venues, despite last year's protests and picketing by activist members of our queer communities who march in chairs.

While the organizers hand out the familiar excuses this year, I ask that they try to remember the times, not too long ago and even today, when they have been turned away at doors because of their sexual choices--when they as queers, have not accepted feeble administrative excuses for their exclusion. The organizers should swallow their own feeble excuses and become response-able to the queer communities they are under the illusion they represent. I demand that they elect an organizing member whose job it would be to prevent this discrimination from happening next year and in the years to come.

As our community passes through those doors into the theatre, we should remember that each and every hallowed step we take up those stairs is paid at the cost of the exclusion of a large queer disabled community who, because of this discrimination, must celebrate their freedom of sexual choice at the threshold of Montreal's gay and lesbian film festival.

--Colette Sparkes

All-Canadian racism

Your article about the nanny who got pregnant and ended up having a Canadian-born son ["Domestic deportation," Sept. 7] only to be told to get out shocked and saddened me. As Canadians, we often think of ourselves as less racist than Americans--what a joke. The fact that Ms. Salvadore's son is Canadian and yet has been refused Medicare, is appalling. It is a shining example of a sneaky type of racism that Northern, developed nations practice against poorer countries.

Our government encourages Filipino women to come here and provide cheap domestic labour for well-off families, but when it comes to these women's health and well-being, they refuse to follow through. What does that say about our thoughts on human rights for non-Canadians?

--Karen Bridken

Correction

The dates for the Projet Williams' dance performances to be held at L'Agora de la danse are Nov. 1-4 and Nov. 8-11 (not Nov. 1-8). Also, they will be performing the three duets each evening (Holy Body Tattoo, Par B.Leux and Heather Mah with Sarah Williams) not one duet per show, as was stated. We apologize for the errors.