BATHROOM SP By Justin Miles People sure love to hate. It’s a fact of life, always has been, always will. Isuppose this is the reason why we have had an alarming increase in homophobic, sexist, and racist graffiti on the walls of the men’s washroom. Yep, the poetry that a guy reads as he’s, you know, pooping up a storm is getting more and more nasty towards homosexuals, women, and races. Personally I would usu- ally say ‘to each his own’ if I saw this in a high school washroom. I would think that usually it would be silly little adolescent minds coming up with these lines. Is this talk really necessary? Are there people out there in this college who resort to making these remarks in a toilet?? Obviously yes, but for Christ’s sake why? I thought a while about this the other day as I was doing my business and I came up with at least three types of people who would be responsible. The first thinks that making ugly remarks about minority groups and homo- sexuals while smelling his own shit is somehow funny. I guess the smell of shit, shit-looks, and shit thoughts all tie in together somehow. I could presume that if one was to view his thoughts outside of that toilet stall, things would have been taken very differently, and more than likely Planet of the Arts Volume 7 Issue 3 this person would have to answer to the people he insulted directly. The second perhaps writes this stuff to get some kind of ‘reaction’. Silliness at it’s best. The third type of person actually means what they write. Fright-fac- tors at their best. And this is where the hatecomes back into the picture. Men, women, straight or gay, in- dividuals all find a reason to hate; perhaps some less than others. Have you ever known or met someone that you have an almost instant dis- like to? There is something about this person that perhaps reminds you of someone you met before who really pissed you off? I like to think of this as ‘hating’ someone. From personal experience, when I start to hate someone, it’s usually because I know a whole lot about this person or I know very little and my imagi- nation has filled in the gaps. In this day and age it seems very easy to jump to conclusions and to bend a bit under the weight of your own hidden prejudices. Time goes by and one day, by chance, you actu- ally get to sit down with this person and you find you actually get along. Of course you feel pretty stupid. At this point] usually think to myself ‘I didn’t hate this person, I disliked this person’. They justreminded me of someone I didn’t feel quite com- fortable with, and gee-whiz cheese- whiz, is that stupid or WHAT?? Unfortunately it’s very hard for some people to seriously take a moment and think about this problem of hating one an- other. Why the hell make such a ‘big deal’ out of a few mo- ronic words sprawled on the walls of a toilet stall? That’s a good question, and I’m pretty cer- tain that there are others who would be very quick to point nyt Lan out why we should take this very seriously. Personally, when I read the walls, one part of my gut says ‘nah, it’s stupid talk, probably not meant’. But hey, it was written. What I mean is that, personally I have done this sort of thing before! But in high school!! At the time, I was feeding off the morons I wentto school with, (I was asub-moron, the one who wouldn’t say much except for ‘yeah!’ to everything said just so I would fit in. Or so I thought.) Speaking of high school, it brings to mind a lecture I actually sat through the other week. The speaker was a person by the name of Lynne Hissey, and she was chatting about women in the media. (Most guys, at least a few, would probably think ‘Oh-oh, another talk to let me know what twits men can be most of the time.’ Actually the lecture was very interesting and Lynne made quite a few good points. She was comment- ing about how the average target audience for television is at about a grade 8 intelligence level. How old was I in grade eight? thirteen or fourteen?? All right, let’s make the connection that perhaps this sprawl on the walls is the result of watching toomuch TV? When you think about it, it makes a lot of sense. (Lynne Hissey suggested that Star Trek- The Next Generation was the most open minded program on television at the moment. I’m a trekkie, are you?) So let’s hope that the persons AT by Alison Abell Sunday, October 6, 1991, ini- tially appeared to be merely an- other busy day for me: work, er- rands, etc. But this Sunday was going to be really different. In fact, it was going to be really ter- rible. It was early afternoon, around 2:30pm, and I was cycling to the College to do some work. When I arrived, I quickly locked my bike up to the CLOSEST rack and went inside. This task of locking up my bike has become so routine for me after cycling constantly for six months, that I didn’t think twice about the way in which it wassecured. I assumed it was safe. This is not to say, however, that I am normally a careless person. In fact most of.the time, I am overly careful with my possessions. But let’s say that since the beginning of school, I had become very com- fortable leaving my bicycle se- cured in a particular way for ex- tended periods of time. In the back of my mind, I knew what I was doing wasn’t safe, but I allowed myself to become lazy. Even though I knew that Granville Is- land was a prime location for bicycle theft, and I’d already heard about students’ bicycles (or partsof bicycles) being taken, I paid little attention to the real- ity of it all. It’s easy to be bold and say,” It’s not going to happen to me. That’s the kind of thing that happens to other people”. But it can happen to anyone if they’re not cautious, and it happened to me. I left the College around 5:30pm, and was walking toward the bicycle rack to unlock my bike. But when I looked for it from a distance, I couldn’t see it anywhere. “Okay, okay, wait a minute. Just calm down,” I thought, as my heart beat a little faster. “Maybe it’s behind another bi- cycle and I can’t see it. Oh shit!” My stomach dropped several feet when, upon closer examina- tion, I realised that my beloved bicycle had vanished, and all that remained was my $30.00 Kryp- tonite lock and the front tire. My hands shook and I began to feel ill as I unlocked my front tire and muttered obscenities to my- self for being so stupid. In a total daze, with my tire in my hand, I HAPPENS proceeded back inside to make the necessary phone calls. I knew then that I would never see my bike again. It was probably mak- ing its way out of the city or being stripped down for parts at that very moment. “Why is this happening to me?” I wondered, with tears beginning to well up in my eyes, after I had made my final phone call. “This is someone else’s nightmare, not mine. This hasn’t really hap- pened.” Of course, I reported my stolen property to the police, but that was all procedure. It won’t make a difference. I decided the best way to begin my recovery from the whole incident would be to buy another bike the next day. So that’s what I did, not that I could really afford it. But cycling has become a necessity for me; not only for fitness, but also as my main means of transportation. Total recovery has been slow. The first week after it had hap- pened, I kept thinking I was going tofind my bicycle somewhere, just lying there, waiting fur me to take it home. I kept trying to deny the fact that it was really gone for- ever. And riding the replacement bicycle that I bought is nowhere near as enjoyable as my old bike. It’s going to be a long time before it’s my bike; right now it’s still someone else’s. Although I’m trying to deal with the situation, and I’ve almost for- given myself for my negligence, I’mstill upset that someone would steal my bike in the first place. I know that I was careless, but eve- ryone makes mistakes once in a while. However, I feel a certain sense of violation over the whole matter. I get angry when I think about the ruthless motivation that some people possess, that makes them think they have the right to take something that belongs to someone else. This brings me to the problem of theft in the College in general. Not only are bikes disappearing, but equipment and personal be- longings. What do we have to do to prevent this from happening? Surely we can’t be watching things closely all of the time; it simply isn’t possible. And it’s not as if everyone has a steady cash flow to replace every little thing that goes missing. It’s asad commentary to think that the only way to prevent theft, is to keep everything under lock and key at all times. After all, if we can’t trust each other, who can we trust?* 4 responsible watch a lot of Star Trek re-runs, and don’t pull a Worf. Eve- rything else is doing some serious rotting of the mind. Let's keep in mind we're really all the same; small differences don’t stop us from bleeding, eating, poo- pooing any differently. This prob- ably sounds like a broken record, but it’s pretty f-ing silly to con- stantly have to go on about these things. To the guys responsible; find something better to write about. When I come across this writing I think ‘bonehead’. However I do not think ‘Wow, the word ‘fag’, what an intellectually stimulating word’. I wonder what the next line scribbled up on the wall will be? Okay, Icould guess something along the lines of ‘That guy who wrote the article in the Planet is an f-ing...’. Someone suggested putting up a chalkboard in each of the toilet stalls. This is an interesting idea, but the kind of per- sons responsible for this homophobic and/or racial crap would probably carve their prov- erbs around the edge of the chalkboard to make their comments a little more permanent. I’ve also noticed some odd things about these sprawls. For starters, mostof the writing does indeed look like grade eight writing. The next one’s a bit silly; how does one man- age to write stuff on the wall directly behind them if they’re taking a dump? Does an extra hand pop out of this persons head to write their share of sprawl? Actually, by the looks of what has been written, I would say the extra hand came out of their butt...Sorry, excuse me. This has been a very personal view of this problem, and I apologize for any shortsighted ideas. I may have missed some valid points but that’s probably because I’m just as con- fused and ignorant as the writers responsible. But I would like to say in plain English that I don’t approve of this really hateful bullshit being written. I just hope the persons re- sponsible come to grips with them- selves, because this is a scary habit to hang onto. Control this hate be- cause we've already got enough to go around, thank you. If you feel there is more to add to this issue, why not write about it and let the Planet spread the word. I could go on like this for some time, but]’m feeling a little squishy. Excuse me, I’m going to run off to the bathroom and scribble an ex- ploding bunny as I take a dump...* By Justin Miles People sure love to hate. It's a fact of life, always has been, always will. suppose this isthereason why wehave had an alarming inerease in homophobic, sexist, and racist sraffition the walls of the men’s washroom. Yep, the poetry that a guyreads she's youknow, pooping, ‘upastormis getting more and more sty towards homosexuals, women, land races. Personally I would usu ally say ‘to each his own’ if I saw this in a igh school washroom. I ‘would think tha usually it would be silly litle adolescent minds coming, ‘up with these lines. Is this alk really necessary? Are there people out therein this college who resort to making these remarks in a toilet”? Obviously yes, but for (Christ's sakewhy?Ihoughta while bout this the other day as T was doing my business and T came up with atleast three types of people ‘who wouldbe responsible. The first. thinks that making ugly remarks about minority groups and homo- sexuals while smelling his own shit is somehow funny. Iguess the smell of shit, shitlooks, and shit thoughts alti in together somehow. could resume that fone was to view his thoughts outside ofthat ole stall, things would have boen taken very diferenly, and more than likely Planet ofthe Arts Volume 7 Issue 3 BATHROOM $ this person would have to answer to the people he insulted directly "The second perhaps writs this stuff to get somekind of ‘reaction’. Silliness a it’s best. “The third typeof person actually means what they write. Fright-foc- tors at their best. And this i where the hatecomes back into the picture. ‘Men, women, straight or gay, in Aividuas all find a reason to hate perhaps somelessthan others. Have You ever known or met someone that you have an almost instant dis like to? There is something about this person that perhaps reminds youofzomeoneyoumetbefore who really pissed you off? Ike to think cof this as ‘hating’ someone. From personal experience, when I start to hae someone it's usually because know a whole lot about this person orl know very lite and my imag nation has filed inthe gaps. In this day and age it seems very easy 10 jump to conclusions and to bend a Dit under the weight of your own hidden prejudices. Time goes by and one day, by chance, you act ally gettositdown with his person and you find you actually get along. Ofcourse you fee preuy spd. At ‘his point usually think o myself didn’t hate this person, I dstked this person’. They just reminded me ‘of someone I didn’t fel quite com: fortabl with and gee-whiz cheese whiz, is that supid or WHAT? Unforwunaely it's very hard for some people 10 seriously take a moment and think about thisproblemof hating one an other. Why the hellmakesveh a‘bigdeal out of a few mo: tonic words sprawled on the walls of toilet stall? That's a good question, and Pm prety cer tain that there sxeothers who would be very quick to point pti out why we should take thisvery seriously. Personally, when Tread the walls, one part of my gut says ‘nah it's stupid alk, probably not meant. But hey, it was writen. ‘What I mean is that, personally 1 hhave done ths sort of thing before! Boutin high school! At the time, 1 was feeding off the morons] wentto ‘school with, (Iwas asub-moren, the ‘one who wouldn't say much except for yeah!" to everything said justso 1 would fit in. Orso I thought) Speaking of high school, it brings to mind a lecture I actually sat ‘through theother week. Thespeaker was person by the name of Lynne Hissey, and she was chatting about women in the media. (Most guys, at least a few, would probably think “Oh-oh another tak to letmeknow what wits men can be most ofthe time,” Actually th lecture was very inueresting and Lynne made quite a {ew good points. She was comment ing about how the average target audience for television sat about {grade 8 intelligence level. How old was I in grade eight? thinwen ot fourteen?” Allright let's make the ‘connection that perhaps this sprawl onthe wallsistheresultof watching toomuch TV? Whenyouthink about it it makes a lot of sense. (Lynne Hissey suggested that Star Trek ‘The Next Generation was the most ‘open minded program on television atthe moment. I'm a tekkie, are you?) So let's hope that the persons = by Alison Abell Sunday, October 6, 1991, inl tially appeared to be merely an- ‘other busy day for me: work, er- rrands, etc, But this Sunday was ‘going to be really different. In fact, it was going tobe really ter~ ible. Tt was early afternoon, around 2:30pm, and I was eyeling to the College todo some work. When I arrived, I quickly locked my bike up to the CLOSEST rack and went inside, This task of locking Uup my bike has become soroutine forme after cyelingconstantly for ‘sb months, that I didn’t think torice about the way in which It wassecured.Tassumeditwassafe. ‘This s not tosay, however, that ‘am normally acarelessperson.In fact most ofthe time, Iam overly careful with my possessions. But Jet's say that since the beginning ‘ofschool, had become very com- fortable leaving my bleycle se- ‘cured ina particular way for ex- tended perlodsoftime.Inthe back ‘of my mind, I knew what I was doing wasn’t safe, but I allowed sw AT myself to become lazy. Even ‘though I knew that GranvileIs- land was a prime location for bicycle theft, and I'd already hheard about students’ bicycles, (orpartsofbleycles) beingtaken, [paid ite attention tothe real- lnyofitall.seasy tobebold and ‘say,” I's not golng to happen to ‘me. That's the kind of thing that ‘happens to other people”. But it ‘can happen to anyone if they're not eautious, and it happened to 1 left the College around 5:30pm,and was walking toward the bieyele rack to unlock my bike, But when I looked for it from a distance, I couldn't see it anywhere. “Okay, okay, walt @ minute, Just calm down,” I thought, as imy heart beat a little faster. “Maybe It's behind another bi cycle and Tean’t see it. Oh shit!” ‘My stomach dropped several {eet when, upon closer examina- tion, I realised that my beloved bleycle had vanished, and all that remained was my $30.00 Kryp- tonite lock and the front tre. "My hands shook and I began to {elillas I unlocked my front tre ‘and muttered obscenities to my self for belng so stupld. In total ddaze, with my thre in my hand, I HAP proceeded back Inside to make the necessary phone calls. knew then that I would never see my bike again, It was probably mak- ing its way out ofthe city or being stripped down for parts at that very moment. “Why is this happening tome?” wondered, with tears beginning {to-well up in my eyes, after Thad ‘made my final phone cal. “Thisis ‘someone else's nightmare, not imine. This hasn't really hap- pened.” ‘Of course, I reported my stolen property to the police, but that ‘was all procedure. It won't make a difference. I decided the best way to begin my recovery from the whole incident would be to buy another bike the next day.So ‘that’s what I did, not that I could really afford it. But cycling has become a necessity for me; not only for fitness, but also as my main means of transportation. ‘Total recovery has been slow. ‘The first week after it had hap- pened, kept thinking I wasgoing {ofind my bicyclesomewhere,just lying there, walting for me totake ithome.I kept trying to deny the fact that it was really gone for- ever. And riding the replacement bicycle that I bought is nowhere near as enjoyable as my old bike. ENS Tesgping bea ong tine before ttsmy Ske gut tow W's a | Pare Alsou m trying todel with ‘tedhuton ave olmoat or esa ape fry mages Frsttpsetibatsomeone woul | Sea my ike nthe Mt place aoe atl waseardny buteve: Fal ie lot cman he. However fet a certain Trae of oto over the whole teaner ge angry when | thi on hefrbies mataton tat ar pest cat aka them hk tey hav the ght take something that belongs 1 cmoneabe. Ths tring met the problem ett inthe Coleg in pnerl Notonlyare bikes dsappering, Dat gulpmen ana pena be | foninge What ope hive too eee ada ea Sureywrca'tbewatching tings Slory a ofthe te; isp tat Pond. And Ws oto trerjonhes stead cashew feplaceeveryltetlagthat ors | lee aod cometary {hina the only wayto prevent thet ste keepeveryhng under fecktndey tat tives Aterall, Ire unt rst each eer, np 4 responsible watch alot of Star Trek re-run, and don'tpull a Worf. Eve rything else is doing some serious rotting ofthe mind Let's keep in mind we'reeally all the same; small differences don’t stop us from bleeding, eating, poo: pooing any differently. This prob- ably sounds lke a broken record, bat i's prety fing silly to con stantly have to go on about these things. To the guysresponsible;find something better to write about When I come across this writing I think “bonehead, However donot think Wow, the word ag’, what an intellectually stimulating word’. I wonder what the nex line scribbled ‘upon the wall willbe? Okay, could guess something along the lines of “That guy who wrote the article in the Planet is an f.ing..”. Someone suggested putting up a chalkboard ineach of the wile stalls. This san {nueresting idea, but the kind of per sons responsible for this homophobic andor racial crap ‘would probably carve their prov ferbs around the edge of the chalkboard to make their comments A litle more permanent. I've also noticed some odd things bout these sprawls. For starters, ‘mostof the writing does indeedook like grade eight writing. The next ‘one's bit silly; how does one man ‘agetowritestffonthe waldtectly behind them if they're taking a damp? Does an extra hand pop out of this persons head to write their share of sprawl? Actually, by the looks of what has been written, I would say the extra hand came out of their butt..Somy, excuse me ‘This hasbeen avery personal view ‘ofthis problem, and spologize for any shortsighted ideas. I may have ‘missed some valid points but that's probably because I'm just as con fused and ignorant as the writers responsible. But | would like w say inplain English that Idon'tapprove ofthis realy hateful bullshit being ‘written, I just hope the persons re sponsible come to grips with them: selves, because this a scary habit tw hang onto. Control this hate be ‘cause we've already got enough to go around, thank you. If you feel there is more to add to this ise, why not write about it and let the Planet spread the word. T could go on like this for some time, butF'm feeling alte squishy. Excuse me, I'm going to runoff to the bathroom and scribble an ex ploding bunny as I take a dump.