WI-ITBY FREE PRESS, WEDNESDAY JULY 23, 1986, PAGE 5 "have sworn upon the altar of God eternal hostility against every form of tyranny over the mind of man." - Thomas Jefferson E- Advise and Dissen THE CROW'S NEST, by Michael Knell My luat columan appears ta bave lncurred the ire.0f at least two residenta of the Bluegrass Meadows subdivision. In that epistle, 1 lieaped scorn on them, and their neiglibours, for their opposition ta a proposai from the Durhiam Reglon Non-Profit tfouslng Corporation whicb wants ta construct a tawnhouse complex in the area. -The letters lnterested me greatly, not just for wbat they said, but for wbat they dldn't say. Wtuile there was a more than justifiable amount of comptalning about the tax system In this country, the letters appeared to ha yet another at- tempt ta place property rights ahead of human rigbts. While one of the tetter writers paid at teast ip service ta the concept of subsidlzed houslng for those who need lt -bis attitude appears to ha one of "if we bave to have it, don't put it in my neghbourhood". Perbaps wbat angered me the most a bout one of the letters was a statement that seemed ta tadicate that 1 seem to ha under the influence of Whitby Town Council and write only wbat they want me ta. He said: "This issue is a motlierhood issue and.the sad part is that your paper as weil as ail others only jump on the band wagon when' primed by councits or their representative groups. The probtem, as 1 see it, is that you neyer pay any attention to the probtem except when it la of advantage to a town councl." Whfle politica is my hobby and sometimes ail-consuming Interest, I am flot a lackey for Whltby Town Council or for any memhar of that council. I bave *frequently used this space and the editarial page of this newspaper (wlien 1 was editar) to criticise, ridicule and attack council and its individual memhars for iwbat 1 perceived tohaeacta of blatant stupldity. Besides whlch, if we were coun- dil's voice, surely coundil woutd ha foilowing the advlse we bave given it. But sinceit appears that councll's administrative committee la backtracking on the issue under pressure from the letter writers and their neighbours, the <stateznent lanot onty unfactual but somewbat misleading. The reason wly Ibhave written about this issue ls a simple one. I care about it. I am deeply lnterested in IL. I am aware of one simple fact: Whitby does not ..bave a sufficlent supply of rentai accommodation of ait klnds (including sub- :sldlzed) to meet the needs of its current and future population. When an »organlzatlon brings forward a plan that is viable, workable and meets the needa of thiecommunlty - it sboutdheailowed taproceed in order to meet those needs. The other letter writer sruggested that I learn fromn other more experienced and learned journallâts and note two recent reports - one from the CBC and the *other from the Canadian Press - whlcli bave detailed many of the recorded abuses ta the welfare system. I grant you that there are abuses and that they must ha combatted. But do we throw out the baby with the bathwýater and scrap an entire system because of the abuses of a mlnority of welfare recipients? Do these abuses wipe out some very real needs in this community? This wrlter quoted some of the statistics fromn the CP report that noted that one in seven welfare recipienta bave a VCR, 48 percent bave freezers, 60 per- cent bave one car and 87 percent bave color televisions. I don't find that very surprising mince the vast majority of wetfare recipients weren't always on welfare. Most of these people held jobs and paid taxes until they found. them- selves the unwitting victiais of our economic upheaval. They too, worked to en- joy of theirtlabors, so wly shouid they ha penalized on that score? As for democracy - 1 agree that it embodies majority mile. However, the majority raies while respecting the riglita and the intereats of the minority. People-in elected offices serve the will of the majority but they also have a positive responslbillty to ensure that the rights and needs of the minority are not trampled upon. The wrlter aiso indicated that th~e majority in bis neighbourhood were fed up wlth belng dictated to by the politicians and the civit servants "who have little. regard for the tegitimate concerns of those wbo bave worked for wbat they have and now wish ta simply enjoy the fruits of their labour." Weil, fromn what I can gather, this certainly isn't the case here. By postponing a decision on the Bluegrass proposai unit councl reconvenes In the fail, the plan may ha per- manently quashed because the provincial government grants that wWl finance lt may ha glven taanother communlty thatisa ready to build now. The resîdents of Bluegrass Meadows bave effectively exerclsed their democratic rlgbt of opposition and bave convinced the politicians - who bave so tittie regard for what they say - ta postpone a decision until a time when that mame decision may not ha necessary ta make. So, the majority has ruled. The majority bas made its decision. But it la the minority that wlipay for it. Ini my tat colunm, 1Iaccused the opponents of the DRNPHC proposai of haing bigoted, stupid and insipid. The lat meeting of the administrative committee seemed ta provide at least some justification for comment. Officiais attempting to explain the proposai in-depth wbile seeking community input were barraged wlth cat calls, boos and constant Interuptions. One man went so far as to say that If the tawnbouses were buitt, be would not ha able to take his dog for a wailk In the park and that they were "takdng the last years of his tife away from me". What plous hogwasli. 1 live in a townhouse development, occupied by renters, and I am more than able to tive a quiet, peacefut life unplagued by vandais and other sorts of criminats. My children can play in the park without fear and 1 can leave my door untocked if 1choose. Another resident also wantea to xnow if lie and lis neigaoours could screen the future residents of the development and when reminded that lie didn't have to ha screened by bis neighbours ta buy lis bouse and that sucli thlngs were SEE PAGE 11 -/T~JU~T1//<~ 7WE6OODo~'aq>,%/ WITH -OUR FEET UP By Bill Swan So many years ago that it could have been on another planet, the Third Grade reader contained a story about a couple who cbanged jobs for the day. The farm wife thus went out to the fields to toil under the broiiing sun. The busband, who had derided the wife's job of keeplng house, stayed home to look after baby, milk the cow, do laundry, and get meais for any others who were out and about. ItMis a story without doulit rural in origin - hence that part about miiking the cow. It is also a story whlch could flot appear in today's Third Grade reader. Femimists would not allow It. For one thing, the role reversai essential to the plot depends entirely on role stereotyping. Put the story in an urban setting, with a working mother, and portions of the plot just don't get up a full head of steam. I mention the story here not to take on a flock of feminists, god forbid, nor to pine for the good old days. Nor dolI seek to reverse anyone's roles. (Incidentally, In the original story, the husband bumbled hits job, ending up with the cow on the roof and the baby suspended up the chimney while lie tried In vain to sweep the chickens from the table before dinner.) 1 I have thougbt of that story once or twice during the past few weeks while performing chores which another age would havetlabeiled distaff duties. That is:- cooking, laundry, cleaning, minding baby. I have thus amassed a few hints which 1 wiiling pass on to anyone, maie or female, who becomes embroiled in such role. To begin witb, I was happy to find that no longer does the housekeeper need to scrub, pofisb and shine. One soon learns that the drudgery bas been taken out of most household cleaning jobs. Ail one bas now to do is spray magical goo over wbatever is grimy and voilai1 cteanliness reigns. 1Ilearned ail that from television commnercials. Now every housemnate loves to bave, sparkting floors and dazzling wails to greet the mate retur- nhng to the castie after a long bard day. (This, too, I learned from television.) But let's face it, sometimes the timing is difficuit. Say if company arrives. 0f if Jack Abbott is going to jait (or to Jiil). and we just can't miss today's episode. So sometimes there just isn't time to do ful justice to every chore. When you find yourself in this position, a few tricks might suffice. 1) Leave a pail of water, with a mop'stlcking into it, promninently positioned in the front bail. This says, "I slaved away ait day and scrubbed and scrubbed but I didn't get tîme to put away the mess."t (Please note that the water must ha dirty, even If you bave to pinch bits of soil from the geranlum pots.) 2) Fifty feet of vacuumn cleaner hose, properly positioned, paints a wonderfut picture of domestic slavery. It serves the same purpose as the bucket and mop, and can ha used alternately with It. 3) When in a plnch, fold towels. Not, of course, in the laundry room. Who would notice? Bring themn up to the coffee table. This makes the chore a) handy ta the television, so you don't miss eitlier Jack Ai> bott's next affair, nor a Star Trek re-run; and b) no one can wailk in the house and miss It. 4) For emergencies, pack garbage. Real garbage is not necessarv: anvthina that will f111 a big izrepn or brown garbage bag witt do. Stuff tbemn fuit, tie the tops tîghtly, and pile them near the front door. Even if you baven't done a tap ail day; even if the sink Is full of dirty dishes, tbe baby bas been wearing the same diaper ail day, and thre friends dropped by a lunch with beer and pizza - and they are still there, right smack in the middle of the living room, the sixth six-pack and the Young and the Restless - the garbage bag does It. It says, "Boy, are you lucky you were at work and didn'tlivae togo through this with me." I bave a few other hints, but these can only ha found in my new book, "Housemaid's Foot and Athletes Knee: a new look at sex rote confusion. "