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6- The Oakville Beaver, Wednesday March 19, 2008 www.oakvillebeaver.com OPINION & LETTERS The Oakville Beaver 467 Speers Rd., Oakville Ont. L6K 3S4 (905) 845-3824 Fax: 337-5567 Classified Advertising: 905-632-4440 Circulation: 845-9742 Editorial and advertising content of the Oakville Beaver is protected by copyright. Unauthorized use is prohibited. THE OAKVILLE BEAVER IS PROUD OFFICIAL MEDIA SPONSOR FOR: The Oakville Beaver is a division of IAN OLIVER Group Publisher Media Group Ltd. NEIL OLIVER Publisher DAVID HARVEY General Manager JILL DAVIS Editor in Chief ROD JERRED Managing Editor DANIEL BAIRD Advertising Director RIZIERO VERTOLLI Photography Director SANDY PARE Business Manager MARK DILLS Director of Production MANUEL GARCIA Production Manager CHARLENE HALL Director of Distribution ALEXANDRIA ANCHOR Circ. Manager Something to think about Imagine living each day of your life feeling you can't be yourself without being ridiculed, hated and ostracized. As Canadians, we consider ourselves to have an exceptionally tolerant society -- a place accepting of all people regardless of age, race, colour, cultural background, physical ability or religious belief. In schools, we have come to recognize the value of assimilating physically and intellectually-challenged children with their peers in the hope that all will be enriched by the experience. Our nation's Charter of Rights and Freedoms guarantees the equality of all Canadians "without discrimination based on race, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, sex, age or mental or physical disability." It's blatantly hypocritical to call Canada all-inclusive as long as even one group of people is made to feel inferior or ashamed of who they are. Last week, The Oakville Beaver presented a three-part series portraying the struggles of local gay teens, many of whom are afraid to come out in our largely homophobic culture. These young people -- and, in one case, their supportive parents -- talked about the inherent anti-gay sentiment that permeates our community. They noted how the word `gay' carries an exclusively negative connotation in the lexicon of society -- as in "that book is totally gay." In the world of high school athletics hurling anti-gay insults at opponents -- gay or straight -- is commonplace. So, too, are coaches who refer to under-performing male players as `ladies.' How is it that a society that shuns those who toss around racial slurs and makes it illegal to openly promote hatred toward identifiable groups, still tolerates the open mocking, ridiculing and demonstrations of intolerance toward people who are gay? It's absurd that in a country that has legalized same-sex marriage it remains virtually impossible for gay people to be themselves at school, work or in society in general. In extreme cases of racism and sexism we threaten expulsion of students and dismissal of employees. Why, then, do we give a free pass to those who openly bash gay culture? Something to think about. The Oakville Beaver welcomes letters from its readers. Letters will be edited for clarity, length, legal considerations and grammar. In order to be published all letters must contain the name, address and phone number of the author. Letters should be addressed to The Editor, Oakville Beaver, 467 Speers Rd., Oakville, ON, L6K 3S4, or via e-mail to editor@oakvillebeaver.com. The Beaver reserves the right to refuse to publish a letter. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Former GO passenger fondly remembers time spent on train I have been following the ordeals of Ms. Eales and I commend her for what she has been doing over the last couple of weeks (The Oakville Beaver, Feb. 20.) I also was somewhat surprised to learn she only started to take the train last November. I kind of smiled at that, as I took the train from 1972 to 2001. I can remember the old cattle cars before the opulent double deckers were introduced. I also can remember standing on the Oakville platform many a winter's morning, waiting at 7 a.m., shivering with ear muffs, big gloves and stamping my feet before the train arrived. I can recall many a winter as we entered Union Station watching the CN workers pouring oil over flaming switches and wondering why they couldn't think of something better to keep the switches from freezing. But it worked and I was not going to complain because we did enter Union, albeit a didn't have a cell phone! How did I cope? I have been on numerous trains east and west, which have stopped for no apparent reason in clear summer weather, only to be told there was a freight train coming by. Why they cannot schedule a freight train after the rush hour is out of my control, however, I would rather GO stop the train, than it hitting the freight train. I would BY STEVE NEASE snease@haltonsearch.com just read a few more pages of my interesting book until the train passed. I obviously don't take the train now and haven't done so since 2001, but I do realize many more people are taking it today. There has been so much growth in Oakville, I can remember green fields in Glen Abbey, so I am cognizant of the stress. little late, and I was keeping warm on the train. I can remember the explosion in Mississauga when we were subsequently rerouted northwest via Milton to Oakville. Sure, I was late getting home, I think around 9 p.m., but I wasn't upset. It was an adventure and, my God, I However, GO is one of the safest transit systems around. GO, I understand, is spending money to improve the system. Have you seen the new span over SixteenMile Creek? The supports are identical, architecturally, to the ones they built in the early 19th century. They are magnificent and they increase the rail lines for better service. I took the train because it was the best way to go. It was safe, warm or cool, usually on time and I could find I had an option to read, sleep, just daydream or any of those options all at once. Ms. Eales also has options at her disposal such as driving, taking the bus, using a taxi, moving closer to work Pud See Grateful page 10 The Oakville Beaver is a member of the Ontario Press Council. The council is located at 80 Gould St., Suite 206, Toronto, Ont., M5B 2M7. Phone 416340-1981. Advertising is accepted on the condition that, in the event of a typographical error, that portion of advertising space occupied by the erroneous item, together with a reasonable allowance for signature, will not be charged for, but the balance of the advertisement will be paid for at the applicable rate. The publisher reserves the right to categorize advertisements or decline.