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Thursday, N ovem ber 19, 2015 - The IFP - H alton H ills - w w w .theifp.ca Page 11 COMMENT Don't let them win "Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that." These wise words spoken by Martin Luther King Jr. have been echoing through my mind since the horrific attacks in Paris last weekend, and were spoken by Mayor Rick Bonnette be- fore we observed a moment of silence at Mon- day night's council meeting. It's this sentiment that I and many others have been holding onto this week as we try to make sense of it all and cope with a vast array of emotions, ranging from sadness to anger to a sense of helplessness and fear. Many of us are scared. But what's scaring me even more is the hate that's being spewed so freely via social media and elsewhere. It's shocking and quite frankly making me feel ill. How can so many "#prayforparis" and the innocent people who were devastated there, but be so quick to turn a blind eye to the inno- cent refugees in the name of fear? Have we already forgotten about little Aylan Kurdi, the three-year-old Syrian refugee whose lifeless body washed up on shore? There are so, so many more innocent children like Aylan and their parents that desperately need our help. Imagine-- really stop and imagine-- for a moment that you and your family are fleeing certain death, but you're turned away from ev- ery safe place because they're scared of what you might be. Of course, I completely support proper screening of all refugees, just as I would for any- one coming to this country. Our federal govern- ment has committed to do that, and I have no reason to believe they won't follow through. In one of the many horrific social media debates that I read on the topic, a man asked, "Why is this our responsibility?" I can tell you why. Because we are supposed to care about and help our fellow man. Plain and simple. We were designed to be creatures of empathy and compassion who love our neigh- bours as ourselves, whether they're near or far. If we allow the people committing unspeak- able acts to erase these qualities and replace them with fear and hate, then they've already won. By Melanie Hennessey mel_hennessey@hotmail.com The View From Here NEWS From left, local residents Wayne MacPhee, Richard Demille and Kyle Termini have been finely grooming their moustaches in preparation for a Movember fundraising pubcrawl around Georgetown on Saturday, Nov. 28 beginning at Georgetown Bowl with a game on the five-pin lanes. Anyone interested in joining the pubcrawl can contact movembertallboy- tour@gmail.com Photo by Eamonn Maher A group of friends are getting together for a pubcrawl of Georgetown later this month as a Movember fundraiser and welcome others to join the fun for a good cause. Organizers have had a couple of weeks to grow their moustaches and hope to raise at least $1,000 for prostate cancer research and care on Saturday, Nov. 28 and make it into an annual event. Cost to register is $100 and includes a Movember toque, bus transportation to each of the venues, a game of five-pin of Georgetown Bowl and discounted adult beverages. Participating establishments are: Georgetown Bowl, Pickled Piper, Georgetown Legion Branch #120, Shep- herd's Crook, Hungry Hollow, Boston Pizza, Wild Wings and Royal Pizza. Anyone interested in joining the pub- crawl can contact movembertallboytour@ gmail.com Pubcrawl will support Movember cause By Eamonn Maher emaher@theifp.ca Visit us at www.wagjag.com In partnership withWant to feature your business onWagJag? email us at wjinfo@metroland.com .com Buy Online: $20 for a 9" Custom Cake or a Small Seasonal Festive Cake (a $35 Value) Baskin Robbins43% off $20