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PAGE 6 - WATERLOO CHROMCLE. WEDNESDAY. MARCH 27. 1986 Second Cuss Mail mutation Number sun It is clearly I Ease: of our system not working - not working well at, all: . Oh sure, neo-Nazi propagandist Ernst Zundel, the Toronto publisher of the despicable trash Did Six Million Really Die, was sentenced to 15 months in jail Monday for knowingly publishing false information harmful to racial and social tolerance. And placed on three years probation, then set free pending appeal. Big deal. A token punishment at best for this wart on humanity who trotted out the Holocaust - one of the sorriest skeletons of our modern-day world -- and mocked it through a deliberate false questioning of historical account. It defies reasoning why anyone would engage in such inexcusable activity. But everything about Zundel and this travesty defies reasoning, especially the fact that we as Canadians suffer such not well persons with even the slightest degree of tolerance. A "puhiisher" of a deceitful diatribe that scoffs at known fact, makes light of maniacal despotism and dares to question the very existence of the Holocaust, knowing full well, as sentencing judge Hugh Locke described, that the document "would likely foment the evil of racial unrest." That it did, to the point where one Sabina Citron brought charges against Zundel. And that is where our system, through no attributable fault, blew up right in our faces. """fi'iiiireiJi" 1'iiGt-ddr%G citizen, has lived most of his life in this country, reaping the benefits of our society. What do we get in return? One reason for that is that in bringing action against Zundel, Citron and the Jewish community unwillingly and ironically lent some twisted degree of credibility to Zundel’s angle. Naturally we aren't suggesting that inaction would have been the better route, that would have but enhanced Zundel's farcical claim to freedom of speech. But for whatever reason, confrontation and credibility far too often, as happened in this case, go hand in hand. Once in court, the sham brought the accused gobs and gobs of undeserving publicity. There our journalistic system failed us. The trial had to be covered, after all, its ramifications were for months the top story of the day. But what is the definition of news? The media, falling all over themselves to get the story, played right into Zundel's conniving hands. Beautiful. The smile on his face, underneath the hideous hard hat he and his henchmen fashioned each day, was a mile wide. Meanwhile, through the very nature of having to "prove" proven fact, the peoples of the Jewish community had the nightmarish moment in history brought to the present day to be twisted like a knife in their backs once again. On many occasions during the trial, the pain for witnesses was only slightly less than that experienced by those slaughtered during the Holocaust. In fact for many, to have to live after it was and is, a hell far greater than perishing in the Holocaust itself. The JeWish community was not the only one victimized by Zundel’s scheming. Many Germans living among us, honest, hard-working citizens who have gone above the call of duty to smooth our troubled cultural waters and breed harmony among all ethnic communities, feel tarred by the brush that should have been reserved solely for Zundel. Sadly, many Canadians do not comprehend that Zuntiel's neo-Nazi inclinations are independent of his native background, yet his West German ancestry put that entire community unfairly on trial by association. Again, the system failed. So what we have here is a man who has taken much but given little to his adopted country, made a sham of our belief in freedom of speech, incited racial unrest by knowingly publishing false information about one of the most sordid events in history, recreated nightmares for thousands who have now twice lived the"horrible pain,and made utter fools of our media and our pursuit of justice. And, when all was said and settled, showed zero remorse, and laughed in the face of the law. Why did any of this have to be? (l, 2n published every Wednesday by Fairway Press. a division of Kitctterter-Watertoo Record Ltd., owner 225 Fairway Rd. s., Kitchener, Ont. It l address correspondence to Waterloo omee: " an: St. E., Waterfoo, tMt, NN 1L7, teUrttame was» - wa-oct-c-c-car-ttrt-reenter?,",'.'., _‘/. BuiMtoq (reel menu. woo! ttttor) Parking I! no no: ot the ttulhttlrtg Open My to Friday 9:00 am to 5.00 p m Publisher: Paul Winkler Manager: Bill Karges ~A_.__.-.__.. Editor: Rick Campbell How sad r mstaBlhstterd, 1 854 If you have never been involved in municipal politics, you should have a go. Run for anything from dog-catcher to mayor. It you lose, it will be good for your ego. If you win, it will be good for your humility. J iirieail, ass-always. from personal experience. For two years I served on a town council. It was illuminating, if not very enlightening. I was elected, of course, by acclamation. As was everybody else on the council. So keen were the citizens to serve that some years, on nomination eve. we had to go down to the pub. drag a couple of characters out. and guide their hands while they signed up. When I was elected, I was present as a reporter. There were only five other people in the council chambers, so it was decided that I would be elected as the necessary sixth. Since I had already served on the executives of various moribund organizations which had died forth- with, I agreed. It didn't die. as I'd hoped. The next year we were all re-elected. By aeclama- tion. It was pretty heady stuff, at first. As a partner in a printing plant, and a newspttperman, l was immediately appointed Chairman of the Print- ing. Advertising, and Public Relations Commit- Ills. anCIlID|IIE. - 1 “VII\ I.\.|u‘l‘ll-AV V.......... tee of council. This meant that our firm automatically received the contract for the town's printing and advertising, which we already had. The public relations part meant that 1 had to stop suggesting in the paper that the town council was made up of nitwit,s, nicompoops and nerds. r-lm is written Another chap. with a pretty good heating and plumbing business. was named Chairman of the Interior Municipal Modification Committee. Heating and plumbing. A third, who had a tractor, a back-hoe and a snowplow. was appointed Chairman of the Public Works Department. He immediately introduced a by-law raising the rates per hour of such equipment. It passed, four to two. The opposition was from another councillor, a retired farmer, who also had a tractor and a threshing-machine, which he thought could be converted to plowing snow. His brother-in-law voted with him. - But these moments of power and glory' soon faded. The conflict of interest became apparent, and there was no way tur, a man of honour except to resign. It took e only tom years to iiiGiiuiGG'iiusGt. You may think that a fair time, but it's not easy to walk away from a $75.00 "In the world of business. you are what you wear. Dressing incorrectly can jeopa rdiie financial and even job security. Would you wear hockey equipment to play basketball?" Ed Portlllo, area supervisor for Big Steel Man, discussing messing for the occasion at. WIA seminar Bill Smiley Garble Syndicated columnist a year stipened. The mayor made 8.15000. As a reporter, I had been more interested in the conflicts than the interests. I had delightedly heard. and printed, one councillor call another councillor a "gibbering old baboon." And watched the victim of the pejorative, a stripling of 78. invite the name-caller outside, stripping off his Jackerduring the exchange. Cooler heads prevailed. It was thirty-four below outside; " Well, as you can see, as a member of that august body, the Town Council, I couldn't print that sort of thing. 1 had to report that the two councillors "had a difference of opinion." When I wrote that phrase and had to omit that one of the councillors was obviously in his cups, I knew I had to quit. All of this is a preamble to a thickish document I got in the mail the other day. It is a by-law printed and dispersed (at what enormous cost I shudder) by our local town council. There are 39 numbered pages of legal inanities, and about an equal number of pages of maps of the town, equally unintelligible. For most of the document, the by-law dwells in metres, squared and decimaled. I know very few people over thirty who would know a metre from a maskinonge. Somebody on council must have cornered the market on metre sticks. As I said. the mailman delivered it. regardless of expense A dozen kids could have covered the town in two hours, or stuffed them in the sewer. _ Then this baffling by-Iaw moves into “hec tares". What the heck is a hectare? To me, it's an ancient French (Canadian) piece of land about as accurate'as an acre. which nobody understands either. Here's an example: "RM2 uses are permitted as specified to a maximum of 550 persons per hectare." Is it a square mile? is it a “macro" wit' an accent? This is crazy. When I was a councillor. we could knock off three or four bylaws in a meeting. and everybody understood them. "Moved and seconded that there shall be no loitering in the cemetery, except by those who are among the dead, not the quick." This big fat by-law is for the birds. Or the lawyers. Not for us old municipal politicians. Remember what I suggested at the beginning of this column? Forget it. Otherwise you might end up in a "Detached dwelling unit", which allows "3.2 persons per unit standard." Not two. Not tour. 3.2. )1,ii,e,igt.e - SEE PAGE ll