A great chance to deal with deer
Rutting bucks are unpredictable and dangerous. Humans have been attacked and dogs killed.
If we were talking about a unpredictable and dangerous dog, or a cougar, they would be euthanized or shot.
Eliminating the bucks would be the most logical and efficient way to reduce the deer population. It boggles the mind why the conservation officers don’t take the opportunity to euthanize the buck when they find one entangled.
Instead, it is released to go out and terrorize the neighbourhood and mate.
J. C. Siemens
Victoria
How not to wear safety gear
For the longest time I though the ultimate in stupidity was the sight of cyclists riding bikes with their safety helmets dangling from the handlebar of their machines.
That has been replaced by the people who wear anti-COVID masks but have them pulled down under their chin, leaving mouth and nose exposed. For goodness sake people, give your head a shake.
John H. Râtel
Victoria
All cops are brave; jackasses are noble
Depending on your disposition, the acronym ACAB can also mean “all cops are brave.”
The best way to deal with people who use verbal abuse to get your goat, is not to let them determine how you are going to behave. It gives them too much power over you.
Over the years this approach has worked for me. When someone calls me a jackass, I thank them for the compliment and remind them the jackass is a noble beast. It is hard working and has a mind of its own. It is also very well endowed.
Doug Poole
Courtenay
No place for hate speech
Re: “When city council no longer respects the police force,” Lawrie McFarlane, Nov. 8.
How refreshing it is to finally see somebody support our Victoria Police Department with regards to the ACAB acronym that appeared within the street art in Bastion Square.
Hate speech of this nature has no place in our city and the anarchists who promote it should be ashamed of themselves.
The City of Victoria continues to alienate the silent majority of taxpayers who are showing increasing consternation about the overall state of affairs in our once fair city.
The fact that taxpayer-funded street art was used to incite hatred towards our local police force is simply offside. It is further concerning that Victoria council did not take a stronger stand on this issue and unequivocally denounce the intent of the ACAB acronym.
At a time when local crime rates are seen by many residents to be out of control, we need a strong police presence and more importantly we need to fervently support our local police members. Perhaps it is time for a major overhaul of Victoria council to install some common sense in dealing with these matters.
Chuck Palmer
Oak Bay
Another option to relieve congestion
I noticed that the V2V ferry is up for sale for $ 6 million or so.
To avoid the usual Colwood commuter congestion and to improve links with a rapidly developing new urban area, could the city enter into a partnership to buy or lease the ferry for a passenger/commuter ferry service?
I wonder how viable this might be as a daily year-round transit option.
Keith Milton
Victoria
Helping renters by hurting landlords
It is critical that those in need of financial support in these unprecedented times are assisted by all levels of government. When the government puts a ban on rental increases, it itself, is doing nothing whatsoever to help.
It is, however, making every landlord, rich or poor, subsidize every renter, rich or poor.
The governments act as if they own these rental units, they do not!
They don’t help me with the expenses of renovations, utilities, taxes, maintenance, repairs, damages, wear and tear, etc.
Get your hands out of our pockets until you determine which renters need help and which landlords can afford to help.
Robin Hood figured out who the haves and the have-nots were BEFORE he acted.
Mark Henry
Saanich
Why they do whatever they want
In the Nov. 8 Times Colonist, Geoff Johnson asked what we can do to convince people in their 20s and 30s to be more socially responsible.
He referenced provincial curriculum from the early 1980s directing that, “Socially responsible individuals show ‘community-mindedness’ in their responses to school, local, national, and global issues and events,” and that, “this attitude is the basis of a functioning and flourishing democratic society. Human and social development is one of the goals of the B.C. school system.”
He then went on to say, “the B.C. Ministry of Education curriculum writers in the early 80s, as innovative as their thinking was at the time, never envisaged anything as socially, economically, politically divisive or just plain nationally destructive as a virus with immediate and long-term consequences both we and the science community are still struggling to comprehend.”
I wrote the statements Johnson quoted, and he is quite correct: Neither I nor my colleagues foresaw the COVID-19 pandemic. But that’s not what led to the problem with the 20- to 30-somethings today.
That problem is the result of the curriculum revisions that came about a scant six years later, when the Ministry of Education, and many of our teachers (especially in the early grades) bought into the notion that children should be made to feel that each and every one was special, leading to the Year 2000 disaster, and “can-do” reporting, and an avoidance of competition and ribbons for everyone, as opposed to those who placed in the top three.
“You are special,” those students were told by teachers and their parents, and guess what? They believed it. And they still do.
And that is why, today, in the midst of a pandemic, they do what they want to do: because they are special, and each of them is more important than anyone else.
So, Mr. Johnson, don’t blame the curriculum developers of the early 80s: blame the proponents of Year 2000.
Ian Cameron
Brentwood Bay
Great work on the trail, and a reminder
The City of Victoria deserves to be commended on the development (and imminent completion) of the pedestrian/cycle track along Dallas Road. Kudos!
In addition to the wonderful revitalization of the seawall section near Ogden Point, pedestrians and cyclists can now enjoy more than two kilometres of fresh pavement (and incredible ocean views) all the way to Clover Point.
However, I do note that many of the pedestrians using the new shared lane beyond the seawall clearly need to be reminded that for safety reasons they should always walk on the left facing oncoming cyclists, who must otherwise guess whether a pedestrian approached from behind may suddenly dart out in front of them.
This is one of those “everything I ever needed to know I learned in kindergarten” rules that deserves to be reinforced with some appropriate signage!
Tom Edwards
Victoria
A call for safety on the Goose trail
I echo a previous letter-writer’s sentiments regarding visibility on the Galloping Goose Trail.
My concern primarily is the pedestrian traffic, dressed in black, walking the trail at night. They are truly invisible until you are right on them.
I had a hard stop recently to avoid hitting a couple and they were oblivious to the danger. The next couple, also fully in black, with a baby stroller, same issue!
On a side note, there is a lack of signage on the Goose, warning all traffic to keep right. Seems an issue regardless of the municipality.
One thought, if pedestrian traffic is to keep right on the trail, what happens when one goes from the Goose to, for example, Lochside Drive and then it turns back into the Goose. Pedestrians walk on the left on Lochside and then many continue on the same wrong side, once back on the trail.
I also find it amusing the many “dirty looks” I receive I when ring my bell before passing a pedestrian on the trail. Perhaps it annoys them?
Bob Ianson
Saanich
SEND US YOUR LETTERS
• Email letters to:
[email protected]
• Mail: Letters to the editor,
Times Colonist,
201-655 Tyee Rd.
Victoria, B.C. V9A 6X5
• Submissions should be no more than 250 words; subject to editing for length and clarity. Provide your contact information; it will not be published. Avoid sending your letter as an email attachment.
