Letters, June 13

Annoying alert sound doing its job

There are few sounds more universally unpopular than the emergency alert tone.

It arrives without asking. It interrupts dinner. It makes every phone in the room scream at once. It may also explain why the neighbour’s dog suddenly sounds like it has joined the public safety system.

The sound is annoying.

Very annoying.

Most of us have learned to react in the same way. We sigh. We look at the screen. Then, within seconds, we decide whether this is really about us.

Often, it does not feel like it is. The alert may be for a wider region. The storm may pass north. The danger may feel distant. The sky outside our own window may not yet look dramatic enough to justify the noise.

So we get used to dismissing it.

Tuesday evening was a reminder that maybe we should not.

With heavy rain, hail, powerful winds and tornado warnings moving through Winnipeg and southern Manitoba, that loud, irritating sound suddenly looked less like an interruption and more like a public system doing exactly what it was built to do.

Emergency alerts are not random panic buttons. They are issued by authorized agencies when there is a serious and immediate risk. In Canada, the Alert Ready system sends those warnings through compatible cellphones, radio and television so people can act quickly.

That is the point.

To give us time.

Time to move away from windows. Time to get to a safer place. Time to stop driving into dangerous weather. Time to check on someone who may not have seen the warning.

A few minutes can matter.

We will learn more in the coming days about the damage from Tuesday’s storms. But even before the full picture is clear, there is something worth recognizing: warning systems matter.

They are not glamorous. They are not perfect. They are easy to complain about until we need them.

And increasingly, we may need them.

Climate emergencies are no longer abstract events happening somewhere else. They are arriving in familiar places, on ordinary afternoons, in neighbourhoods where people were just trying to get home, make dinner or finish the workday.

That makes public alerts more important, not less.

Of course, there is such a thing as alert fatigue. If people feel over-warned, they may stop paying attention. Accuracy matters. Clear geography matters. Trust matters.

But so does our own response.

The alert tone is designed to be hard to ignore because some moments should be hard to ignore.

Maybe the sound is annoying.

Maybe it is supposed to be.

It cuts through habit. It cuts through distraction. It cuts through the very human belief that serious things usually happen to other people.

On Tuesday, June 9, it asked us to pay attention.

And on days like that, paying attention may be the safest thing we do.

Marwa Suraj

Winnipeg

Personality accountability should count

Re: “Long-term solutions required” (Letters, June 11)

I totally agree that the many increasingly distressing problems we are facing “are rooted in complex poverty, the growth of which governments have paid too little attention to for the past half-century” and that the growing number among us with “particularly high incomes and wealth need to be contributing more.” We do indeed need to return to a much more progressive tax system to be able to pay (in an equitable way) for what governments can and should be doing to help those in need.

I also, though, think that we need to bring another perspective to the discussion, which is that we no longer seem to want to hold everyone individually accountable for their actions. It seems like we have, in a well-intentioned attempt to be understanding and fair to everyone that has gone awry, created a culture of excuses and permissiveness, where some have come to feel that regardless of how well they behave and try (or don’t) they should expect the same degree and level of regard as those who behave better and try harder.

I certainly don’t want us to adopt an overly harsh and non-nuanced approach to dealing with misbehaving individuals, especially when we could collectively be doing more to help those struggling with poverty and other forms of marginalization. That said, I simply cannot be OK with not holding individuals fully accountable regardless of their past or present difficult circumstances.

Gerald Farthing

Winnipeg

Cubans need our help

It is sad and sickening to see Trump tightening the noose around the necks of the Cuban people.

Before the revolution, Havana was a cesspool: the streets were full of gambling and cock fights, hungry people were begging for food. Single women existed by sex work or being maids to wealthy Americans

When Fidel Castro entered the city and declared a revolution, people were joyful and exuberant.

After the revolution, education became free right through university and thousands became literate for the first time. The medical system, also free, trained enough doctors to assist countries all over the world with their health-care needs. The huge houses of the rich became daycare centres or homes for the homeless. Women were offered training and employment and given respect. Castro and Che Guevera became revered around the world

Thousands of Canadians travel to Cuba every year. They love its clean beaches, vibrant culture and friendly people. For women, it is rated as one of the safest countries in the world. After the revolution, the U.S. government slapped an embargo on trade with Cuba and tried to force other countries to go along with it. Canada under Prime Minster John Diefenbaker refused and we have continued to trade ever since.

Let the federal government know that you want Canada to stand up like Diefenbaker did and to support the Cuban people in their time of need.

Linda Taylor

Winnipeg

School-zone lights?

On a recent trip, I saw an excellent addition to school zones.

Signs warned of a “30 km/h zone when lights flashing.” The lights flashed when students were let out of school and drivers ignoring the flashing lights (operated by the school) were subject to a hefty fine. At other times, normal local speed applied. Maybe that is something Winnipeg could investigate.

Gerry Ward

Winnipeg

Keep parks hospitable

For about 19 years my wife and I have enjoyed picnics at St. Vital Park. However, over the last few years we have noticed a decline in the number of picnic tables, garbage receptacles and fire pits at each location.

This beautiful park needs to address these issues for it to continue to be enjoyed by our senior citizens and young families.

Fred Larkins

Winnipeg