The Province

Narcissism at root of desire to ban some costumes

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Re: Costume rules are now the scariest thing going, Column, Oct. 31

Someone being offended by a Halloween costume is a small-potato issue compared to the number of times each day we are offended by the narcissist­ic attitudes and behaviours of those who believe their beliefs and opinions are the only ones that are valid, who try to impose their self-righteous agendas on society. Their narcissism prevents them from having respect for beliefs that differ from their own, and they are driven by a need to be recognized as the final arbiters of what our societal values and standards should be. They often like to proclaim that they are offended by the insensitiv­ities of others, but are unconcerne­d about the rights and sensibilit­ies of the people they are trying to impose their will on.

This issue of banning certain Halloween costumes is just one more example of these obsessives finding yet another pulpit from which to spread their self-aggrandizi­ng gospels. If any costume should be banned, it should be the one that these fixated narcissist­s cloak themselves in every day. Ray Arnold, Richmond

Open up trade within Canada

Re: Belgian politics stand in way of trade pact, Oct. 26

How is that Canada can manage to make a free-trade agreement with the European Union, a 28-nation group of 500 million souls, yet not have free trade between the 10 Canadian provinces on many products?

French wine may get cheaper with less import duty, but we will remain more or less barred from purchasing Ontario wine in B.C. Suppose this is good news to most — cheers. Al Siddons, Vancouver

We must draw line on respect

Re: Indians’ logo isn’t a matter of political correctnes­s — it’s a matter of racism, Column, Oct. 27

The Cleveland Indians aren’t the only sports team with an offensive logo. What about the Minnesota Vikings? They have an offensive logo that looks like Hulk Hogan in braids and a horny hat. Scandinavi­ans the world over must be outraged. And don’t get me started on Hagar the Horrible. Again, why are Vikings OK?

Hopefully, civilizati­on has reached the point where making fun of anybody is wrong. Without laughter, the world will finally be the respectful and boring place we all strive for. Then again, maybe not. S.I. Petersen, Nanaimo

Bike lane proposals attacked

Re: Battle over bike lanes shifting to next gear, Oct. 30

As a Vancouveri­te who cycles, drives and walks, I don’t get the latest trend of putting bike lanes on major commercial arteries. The approach of using adjacent roads as preferred bike routes, using roundabout­s and traffic calming, has worked fine for decades.

The idea that impeding car usage will somehow force people to cycle is wrong-headed. In a growing city, there will always be lots of car users no matter what.

Also, some of the new bike routes, like the one on Commercial Drive, are to be on streets used by buses, which is nonsensica­l and counter-intuitive since the main way to get people out of their cars is via transit. Seems like another ill-thought-out, supposedly progressiv­e project by the “lack of vision” City of Vancouver administra­tion. Charles Leduc, Vancouver

 ?? — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS FILES ?? Letter writer Ray Arnold says banning certain Halloween costumes is an example of narcissist­s finding another pulpit from which to spread their selfaggran­dizing gospels.
— THE ASSOCIATED PRESS FILES Letter writer Ray Arnold says banning certain Halloween costumes is an example of narcissist­s finding another pulpit from which to spread their selfaggran­dizing gospels.

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