Re: You can’t always get what you want, Feb. 8
It’s nice to see Cam Vidler is paying special attention to Black History Month this February. His downright ridiculous article in last week’s Varsity reaches impressive levels of ignorance, but comparing taxation to slavery takes the cake.
I don’t seem to recall my taxes being collected through the practice of forcefully shipping me across the ocean to be worked to death on a sugarcane plantation. I also can’t remember being shackled or whipped by Revenue Canada, regardless of my financial situation. Taxes tend to chip away at my pay cheque and add about 14 per cent to whatever I buy. Vidler’s claim distorts history, glosses over the suffering of millions, and is downright insulting and offensive. I find it amazing that he goes so far as to claim that the right to education cheapens the concept of rights in the same paragraph that he completely trivializes slavery.
The concept of accessible and affordable education (and public services in general, for that matter) is founded upon the knowledge that we are all interconnected members of society. Taxes, at least in theory, exist to serve the public good, and in a world that treats post-secondary education as a near-requirement for employment, it is fully reasonable to expect universal access to universities and colleges.
Alex Gatien
Lecture not NMC’s
Re: “Lack of voices in Israel debate,” Letters, Feb 12
An e-mail sent to members of the Department of Near and Middle Eastern Civilizations mistakenly included a public Thursday-night lecture by Gabi Piterberg as part of a departmental series. Professor Piterberg’s Thursday-night lecture is unrelated to the Department of Near and Middle Eastern Civilizations. It is part of a series of events organized by the Arab Students Collective entitled “Israel Apartheid Week.” The Department of Near and Middle Eastern Civilizations, one of the sponsors of the Middle East History and Theory Workshop, and the University of Toronto are not sponsors of those events, or related to them in any way. We apologize for any confusion the email may have caused.
Linda S. Northrup
Associate Professor and Chair of
the Department of Near and Middle Eastern Civilizations
