Newton activist Linda Tylor says civic authorities "should be ashamed of themselves" because their crackdown on prostitution and drug-dealing in Whalley has pushed many prostitutes down the King George Highway into Newton. Most telling is not that a crackdown in one area displaces the problem onto another area but that "cracking down" on destitute and forlorn people is mindless thuggery - mindless because it has no lasting effect, and thuggery because of the implication of force. Far more shameful than pushing prostitutes and drug users into Newton is the lack of concern and charity we show to such broken people, who are obviously less well served by an iron fist than a helping hand. [continues 118 words]
The Editor, Re: "Drug user takes hit for movie," the Now, Aug. 14. The documentary film Crackass: The Surrey Movie portrays victims of drug abuse and homelessness and should not be dismissed -though it is being dismissed, indeed outlawed by the Surrey school board. The board's manager of Safe Schools, Theresa Campbell, has declared: "We will be taking every measure possible to stop anyone from distributing any copies of Crackass in our schools." Since the school board spent close to $2 million defending its ban on three children's stories depicting same-sex parenting couples, its resolve is unquestioned. Yet why is the school board so determined to censor an amateur film that has not even been released? The furor prior to the release of Mel Gibson's film The Passion of the Christ only served to increase its audience. [continues 257 words]
