FIGHT BACK

Reflections

by Jeff Goodall

May 5, 2003

I remember my mother telling me that the British government was aware of German concentration camps during World War II. The British people, however, refused to believe what they were told. Such inhumanity was difficult to grasp, and in any event, the British government had so exaggerated its propaganda during the Great War, that people were disinclined to believe anything they were told anyway. Lurid stories of the "Boche" throwing babies up in the air and catching them on pitchforks had destroyed confidence in the government’s truthfulness, and it was not until Allied troops entered German-occupied areas, and Germany proper, that the horrible truth was proven and accepted.

Saddam Hussein’s "weapons of mass destruction" may still be stored somewhere, awaiting the word from a dead leader. Maybe they were spirited away, or maybe there were none left to be handed over. In any event, it is a good bet that such weapons will be discovered, if only because they have to be, in order to "justify" the U.S. invasion of Iraq. Then again, they might not be discovered in order to justify an invasion of whoever the Americans may choose to accuse of having received them for safekeeping. Sadly, if any genuine discoveries are made, many people will believe them to be fabrications. In times of war, the truth is indeed the first victim. Unable to prove or disprove the government’s allegations, and with the government deliberately stirring up patriotic sentiment, most people will go with the flow, regardless of what they really think.

As I grow older, and more cynical, I find myself coming across more and more proof of my advancing age. Often now, when I go to Wendy’s, I am given a 10 percent senior’s discount. No proof of age needed, they just look at my gray hair and me and figure I’m an old guy! Burger King is even better, charging only $0.27 for a small coffee, instead of the usual $1.06. I have even been charged half-price on the GO bus. I don’t know whether to be pleased or cranky about this, but I think this is definitely one time when I should "go with the flow". When a young woman, who thought I had moved in front of her when a new cashier opened up, called me an "old man" in a derogatory manner, I burst out laughing, so I can’t be in such bad shape.

It is good that spring is finally here. I have promised myself to try to concentrate on doing the things I like, such as taking long walks around the Second Marsh, or along the Oshawa Creek. There are so many things in this world that can get us down, it’s important to think, and do, positive things. Recently, a woman who had shown me the ropes at a telephone job selling circus tickets for the police and fire associations, was found murdered in Oshawa. I didn’t like the work, and I was there less than a week, but I remember her as a pleasant and attractive person, who spoke about a man who was harassing her. I suggested she obtain a restraining order, but she said it wouldn’t help, the man would simply ignore it. Now she is dead, beaten to death at the age of 30.

Recently, I ordered a flat piece of rock covered in amethyst crystals from a company in Australia. It will cost less than $100.00 including postage, (though God only knows what the customs and excise fees will be), and it will be nice to have something beautiful to look at on those occasions when the world turns gloomy and dark.

Jeff Goodall worked for the Metro Treasury and City Finance Departments for 25 years, and served as a member of the CUPE Local 79 Executive Board for 14 of those years.