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WHJTBY FREE P!RESS, WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 13,-1991, PAGE 7 PAGE SEVEN& Let's study the, cause Another young maxi bas been shot by Toronto police. Anid, once again, activists cry fou1i amid charges of racism. It bas become an oftrepeated story. It will, uxfortunately, b. repeated many more limes. Not just, in Toronto. One has only to follow weekend, headlines to lcxow that heinous crimes happen .here, too. Not always will charges of racism erupt. That will happen when the young maxi shot belongs to a mnxority group. And that will b. frighteningly often." But even without the charges. of racism, the. police will. b. uxider pressure. Critics will accuse (are accusing?) police of being out of control. Of course, that's Toronto, axid Whitby's ber.. In Oshawa Iast Sunday, a -75-year-old maxi was beaten to. death i an apartment parking lot. That incident does show that 'our society -- ber. in good oid borixig Ontario -- bas cbanged. Violent crimes have become too frequent. So today, a young maxi lies on life support at Suxinybrook Medical Centre, undoubedy suffering braixi damage. Prom media reports, -h. could have been anyone's pride: personable, hard-workçing, ambitiaus. One could easly become embittered with police action i this case. Turn the case around, however. You are a police oficer investigatixig a theft. You surprise three young men in the. act of committing a crime. They fiee. You follow -- down a dark alley an a dark night. We are a violent society. You could reasonably expect to get hurt. Who would proceed without drawixig a sidearzn?. I would -- axid I arn a peace-loving wimp. To expect axiy other action of any police officer i similar situations would be ludicrous. That an accident happenied, then, is lamentable -- but predictable. We are not talking here about a sehool officiai stopping children in scbool hallways for being late for class. We are talkng aouta situation in which an -officer might reasanbl f0ear for bis life. Remember June Rowlands? The new mayor of Toronto? Remember the. fuss raised when she claimed that black young people are involved in a disproportionate amiount of crime? Oh, the. ruckus she raised. The same outcry happoned in recent months when a Toronto police officer mnade the saine basic dlaim about Asiaxi youths. This was based on bis own version of crime statistics. Enter, then, the argument: should- police keep crime statistics based on race? Forget for a moment the. cries of racisin. We live in a multicultural society. That pluralismn is fostered by the federal governinent. Whether you agre. or not is irrelevant. What matters is the rea]ity. Axid if we encourage people to maixitain their root cultures, if we encourage différences, if we aim to be a harmonious country, if we would do more than tolerate minorities, then we must also have a clear picture of how each minority develops. For if black youths are more involved li crime, we should know. If Asiaxi gangs are out of control, we better identify the problein. If middie-class white kcids swarm others i a crowded mal with impunity, we should study the. problem. If police officers are more likely ta shoot members of minorities, w. should know. Ini other words, ceain x the social scientists. Let'sfind out if minorities are more involved in crime. Letes find out if police officers are racist. If so, then let's study the cause. Let's examine the supports we cai provide. But let's also involve the whole community li combatting the problein. Then we can use aur resources appropriately. On. last thought: given the violence of our society, there has ta b. a message involved i police shootings. Mind you, I amn not, advocating unfettered polioe actions. A thorough investigation la always necessary every time a police officer fires a shot. But we are invalved in a war on crime. If we don't win it -- anid we 'have no reasan ta, believe that we will -- aur society will break down into lawless anarchy withixi axither two generations. That's yaur graxidcbldren, people. Sa ifits war, we need military rules. This is no longer -- if it ever was - a boys-will-be-boys; gaine. Rule one: when a cap says stop, then stop. P.riod. MI \-IELLO e- f/fl f MULE TRAIN WBECK ON THE CANADIAN PACLFC RA]ILWAY, NOV. 2, 1916-." A switchman who fell asleep at his post derailed a train of mules headed ta Montreal'for thii Firet World War. The wreck occurred where' the Whitby and Port Perry "Railway.crossedti~ CPR tracks, east of Brock Street. >Whltby Arddve. phià 10 TZARS ADO froin the Wednesday, November 11, 1981 edition of the WB FB YREE PRESS " Otter Cre.k subdiviion will get a new public school by 1983. " Town council bas passed a bylaw ta regulate pigeons kept i Whitby. " Len Cullen of Cullen Gardens bas anxiouxiced he will establish a religiaus park on the old: Camp oo roperty. " One huxid.dwork.rs were laid off at Sklar Furniture last weekL 25 YEARS AGO from the Thursday, Noveniber 10, 1966 ecition of the rnit hveben sWHITY WEEIKLY NEWS *Buildingprishv enisued for tbree new industrial plants in Whitby. *Lieut.-Cl William Paynter of the Ontario Regiment 18 the. guest speaker ait Whitby Roya Canadian Legion's Remembrance Day banquet. .-1ý1ý *Rev. James Hord, secretary of the Board of Evangelisin of the United Church of Canada will speak at the l4Oth anniversary of St. Mark's United Cburch. * he Whitby Retail Merchantsd Association and the iàons Club are SponsoLgthe. antai Claus parade on December 3. 75 YEARS ADO froin the Thursday, November 9,.1916 edition of the WIITBY GAZETTE AND CHIU)NICLE " A trainload of mules was derailed on the Canadian Paciflc Bailway,aýt Whitby. on Navember 2 wben a switchmaxi fell asleep at bis post. " Witbiy's rteay willvt on wh.ther ta establish a tractor industry li the town. " lh. n.w WhtbyHoptal for the Insane is b.ing featured in 'Construction' magazine,, e montbly tradejoral. " lb. Brokiipubic scbool bas organized a literary society. .V2W $W ~n; ru' 4~<j;I11W ~ ,bIcE> '~vuTh~ .i~I? ~flcT 4 'iI fl I J', îm -, ý 1 1 1 ti 1 L ý -l, éj,ý .,j , j-4, ý -- .1. ý,-. . .1 - - -- Z,7