Can't say I'm too surprised NOW magazine printed an e-mail I sent them. Although I was drunk with passion and anger at the time of writing, what's done is done, although in retrospect I may have opted not to send it.
(BTW, I edited my e-mail in MS Word and the total came to just over 2 pages!!! I'm somewhat impressed that they could edit it down while still maintaining most of what I said. They must have lots of practice with editing angry expansive letters).
www.nowtoronto.com/issues/2003-11-13/letters.php
Flyer wasn't racist
I understand your paper is left- leaning, and as such you don't like to endorse Conservative candidates. However, what you wrote about Mike Del Grande in your ward picks (NOW, November 6-12) lacks fairness. A few weekends ago we had a big push to put up lawn signs. In haste, we made a flyer to go along with the signs. Originally, the bolded part at the bottom read, "After 15 years of foreign representation, it's time to elect a local resident with a proven track record to represent you." Clearly, the comment was not meant in a racist way, but to point out that incumbent Sherene Shaw doesn't live in the ward.
Even if it were, then to whom was the comment meant to appeal? Was it the Chinese voters? The East Indians? Would the Sri Lankans be swayed by this allegedly racist flyer that points out that the other candidate is not white?
The flyer itself was not even written by my father, but by a Chinese friend (and former candidate). The friend was trying to spruce up the literature and was using a dictionary/MS Word to replace certain words, so "non-local" became the fully appropriate substitute "foreign." The first draft was admittedly a bit rough, but when the possible problem of the different interpretations was discovered, the flyer was reworked to read unambiguously: "After 15 years of non-local representation, it's time to elect a local resident with a proven track record to represent you." I anxiously await your scolding of David Miller, whose "Looks like a mayor" poster is an obvious slag against minorities.
David Del Grande, Toronto
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Even though I know I'll be able to move past this, and forgive and forget - the fact is that accusation will continue to live on and can easily be resurrected by those who would use it to gain a political advantage. Shame really... I'll say it again - guilty until proven no one cares anymore.
rolleyes ).