Articles by Comment Editor

Comment October 27, 2015

Don’t be an idiot

One of the first articles I ever contributed to the Manitoban was an indictment of one individual who on Halloween of 2013 chose to hit Stereo Nightclub in blackface. The photo of the individual was shared hundreds of times on social media, according to the CBC. The image was posted as a part of Stereo’s promotional photography albums. Thus the establishment also came under rightful fire for allowing the individual in.

This Halloween, save everyone the grief and the media circus.

If you, as a non-black individual, want to dress up like a culturally iconic black celebrity such as Jimi Hendrix, then I’ll applaud your right to do so, but only if you leave your face the colour it is.

Comment October 27, 2015

Elections and Canadian values

Stephen Harper is no longer the driving force of Canadian politics. Though I’m less than happy with the results of the federal election, it is a relief to be able to say that.

While most Canadians seem glad to see the back of him, the usual gadflies have predictably emerged to salvage what they can of Harper’s reputation in an effort to construe him as some kind of noble, tragic hero. This simply cannot be allowed.

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Letters October 20, 2015

RE: Give us a break

In his response to Tom Ingram’s Oct. 8 article “Give us a break,” Mike Still apologized for “trying to put the bulk of the blame on students for not showing up” to Bisons Sports events. While I think Still’s Sept. 30 article was taken out of context by Ingram, Still’s editorial from last March was more critical, arguing that despite incentives encouraging students to attend, “home game attendance is still abysmal.”

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Letters October 20, 2015

RE: Give us a break

I’m also not a fan of calling attendance pathetic or voicing frustration at the student body for not attending. Using that kind of language and…

Comment October 20, 2015

Raging on Roslyn

There is predictable opposition to the erection of a new seven-storey, 78-unit condo tower on Roslyn Rd. As usual with almost any development proposal, the opposition comes mostly from local residents offended at the idea of any change, with a smattering of know-it-alls who assume that their personal opinions constitute sound urban planning polic

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Comment October 20, 2015

The reactionary Pope

The papacy has never enjoyed as glowing a reception as today, and notably among progressives. Pope Francis has been met with praise for his strong condemnations of “unbridled capitalism” and the visible inequities and environmental degradation it has produced. This focus on social justice, the pontiff’s seemingly humble, compassionate persona, has convinced many on the left that he is to be considered a “radical pope” and a force for institutional change. I think caution needs to be urged in applying this label, largely because many of the moral positions of the Catholic Church are fundamentally conservative in nature.

Comment October 6, 2015

Give us a break

When I learned that Bison Sports is dismayed that their best-attended football games draw a mere quarter of the student body out to Investors Group Field, it brought tears to my eyes. The sky became suddenly overcast, and out of nowhere I heard the plaintive strains of the slow movement from Tchaikovsky’s violin concerto ringing out from the world’s tiniest violin.

In an article in the Sept. 30 issue of the Manitoban, Mike Still wrote, “while Bison Sports is working hard to create an optimal fan experience, it’s still up to the students and fans to do their part and actually show up.”

He expressed a similar view in an editorial back in March, describing attendance at Bisons home games as “abysmal” and “pathetic.”

Comment September 28, 2015

Speak no evil

There was a time when you could call something evil and people knew what you meant. They understood that you were not speaking in hyperbole. They understood that evil is one of the central players in the human drama, a thing that will not perish from the earth. Nowadays, to call something evil is to invite scorn and a sniggering assumption of provincialism. To be labelled as “religious” or “spiritual,” words which have of late gained a patina of ironic contempt.

The slow-motion disaster that has been our culture’s embrace of post-modernism, in which no viewpoint enjoys special privilege or validity, has robbed us of the language needed to discuss even the concept of evil, which presumes certain immutable truths. What we do not discuss, we are prone to forget exists. Men who do not believe in evil cannot believe that they (or anyone) serve it. They are perhaps the most likely to do evil.

Comment September 22, 2015

The trouble with transit

Like any regular rider of buses in this city, I’ve come to hold a constant low level of loathing for the form of transit that I’m dependent on. The perennial lateness, overcrowding, and poor service to many areas of the city is just a fact of life that I’ve made my peace with.

When I heard that service was going to be reduced on several routes due to maintenance issues with the bus fleet my reaction was a study in indifference. It’s still nice out (warmest year on record, folks!), and I can still avoid buses by biking or walking. Come winter all bets for anything resembling regular service are off in a normal year, so I figured this year couldn’t possibly be worse.

But then I read that our mayor had said of the reduction in service that “The service level expectation needs to be more realistic than they were,” and my reaction was considerably more colourful than indifference.

Comment September 22, 2015

Blood politics

By highlighting MSM as an exposure category, current data collection and reporting methods support Canadian Blood Services’ screening practices. If UMSU wants screening practices to focus on specific high-risk behaviours, it needs data collection to also focus on specific high-risk behaviours.