opinions // 20

theotherpress.ca

Say yes to the transit

» Why you should vote for a better-run city and infrastructure

Cazzy Lewchuk
Staff Writer

 

TransLink referendum
cross Greater Vancouver

is in the works. The voting
will commence on March
16 through a mail-in ballot
available until May 29. The
vote itself is on whether we
should implement a 0.5 per
cent increase to the PST in
order to fund an $8-billion, 10-
year transit plan.

There are several upgrades
and additions that will be put
in place if this plan passes. This
includes a subway line to UBC,
light-rail transit in Surrey,
increased bus services and
routes, and a replacement for
the Pattullo Bridge.

Upgrading transit options
does not benefit just those
who use transit regularly,
but vastly improves the city’s
infrastructure as a whole.
Traffic will be decreased
by 20-30 per cent. The
carbon emissions and other
environmental wear-and-tear
issues will also be reduced.
Vancouver will be easier to
navigate, look nicer, and have a

: better organized infrastructure :
: overall.

TransLink is not without

: its problems—in fact, it has

: many. It’s disappointed us

: many times. While itisn’tthe :
: best-run transit provider in the :
: country, it certainly isn’t the
: worst. But more importantly,

: it is our only viable option for
: transit growth. They run the

: public transportation systems
: and voting for less funding

: will only serve to increase

: the problems. As Vancouver’s

: metro area population and

: needs grow, TransLink will be
: forced to rely on much greater
: fees for stagnant or declining

: services.

Like it or not, TransLink

: will be in charge of upgrading

: the system. But it'll have

: a lot of help from the city.

: Are we so selfish as to deny

: the benefits of a better run

: transportation system because
: of the bureaucracy behind it?

: If it wasn’t TransLink, it’d be

: another company—perhaps

: an even more incompetent

: one. The voting ballot does

: not say TransLink on it. We

: are voting for optimum transit
: overall, and some of the

: implementations will not even
: be TransLink-run.

invested through the 0.5 per

: cent sales tax increase will be

: barely noticeable. It will cost

: the average person a couple

: dollars a month, if that. If this
: referendum doesn’t go through, : and it’s especially true when
: we'll have nothing invested for
: the city’s future. Vancouver in
: five years will have increased

: traffic, pollution, and failing

: transit.

It’s important to vote and
: make yourself heard. General
: resentment and an opposition
: to slight price increases lead to
: a lack of change and failure to
: grow. This is true in general,

The amount of money

: planning our city’s longterm

: future. Better funded transit

: affects and benefits everybody,
: and a failing transit system

: with no longterm strategy

 

Image from Thinkstock

: makes things worse.

I’m voting “Yes” on the

: transit referendum, because

: I believe in and feel strongly

: about the viable future of

: Vancouver’s infrastructure. It’s
: time to decrease the number

: of cars on the road, increase

: the accessibility of public

: transportation, and make our

: city a greener and proper one

: to commute in. You should too.

 

Friendly fire

» When do friendly insults become hurtful?

Elliot Chan
Opinions Editor
M opinions
@theotherpress.ca

Wwe some dub it asa
masculine trait, others
label it as immaturity. I’m
speaking of the act of friendly
insults: when we call our friends
“losers,” “bitches,” or “idiots” for
fun. Even though this type of
interaction varies from friend
circle to friend circle, and each
cultural group reacts differently
to name-callings and put-
downs, we all have experienced
friendly fire at one point or
another. The question isn’t if
it exists, but when too much is
too much.

How fine is the line
between bullying and simply
being vulgar for the sake of fun?

 

a term of agreement, saying
that X amount of name-calling
can be accepted. Usually, this
type of behaviour evolves over
time as comfort levels go up and

: social barriers go down.

I’ve worked in a restaurant

: with an all-male back-of-

: house staff, and that shaped

: the dynamic of the working

: environment greatly. I saw

: how men behaved with each

: other both as team members,

: friends, and leaders. At some

: point in the whole interaction,
: an individual is highlighted as
: both easy-going and resilient.

: That is the one who will become !
: the butt of the joke, the one

: member of the team everyone
: is okay calling out without any
: repercussion.

You want to feel sorry for

: that lonely individual as others
: gang up on him. You want to

: help him or do what the anti-

: bullying ads advise and step in.
: But not when it’s friendly fire,

: not when the dude actually

: enjoys the attention.
No friendship begins by signing :

If you find yourself as the

: guy who everyone is making

: fun of, know this: nobody

: will help you, because you're

: laughing along with them.

: You are not in distress. You are

: not harassed. The interaction

: between you and your friends

: from the outside appears to be
: perfectly normal. If it bugs you,
: you'll need to step up and say

: something.

: insults yourself. This type of
: interaction is not one-sided.
: More often than not, people
: only continue this trend

: because you are knocking it

: Recognize that you are dishing
: as much as you are receiving

: and stop. Otherwise, it

: continues to be one vicious

: cycle.

: now and then. It’s a perfectly

: normal masculine expression

: of appreciation and tough love.

: But at some point, we do need

: to grow up. We need to treat our
: friends and peers with respect.

: We cannot go out in public and

: continue calling out our friends
: for their shortcomings when

: we are 40, 50, or 60 years old.

: At some point, too much is, in

: fact, too much.

Or you can stop the

back into their court. Stop.

I enjoy busting balls

 

Image from Thinkstock