I'm not normally one to respond to this sort of idiocy, but I felt compelled to send him my $.02
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Mr. Fiorito.
I read with considerable dismay your column advocating the banning of the
CNE airshow. Disregarding the fact that I fundamentally disagree with your
premise, I found your lack of accuracy and facts quite disturbing.
Firstly, it is highly unlikely that 'fighter planes rattle windows and set off
car alarms'. I was staying in Toronto this past weekend, and came specifically
to see the show, and was staying in the Cabbagetown area. I spent a lot of time
walking down Parliament Street, and along Front and Queen, all of which are staging areas
for all of the high-performance military aircraft. Several times over the weekend, the F-22 Raptor, the F-16 and the F-18 displays passed overhead, and not once did any car alarms get set off by their flight.
Further, your assertion that 'it is a waste of human life' is completely ridiculous. The CNE airshow has had an exemplary safety record. The Canadian Warplane Heritage lost its Fairey Firefly in 1977, the Snowbirds lost pilot Shane Antaya in 1989, and in 1995, the RAF lost a Nimrod. That's one fatal accident *per decade*, and due to strict safety regulations, not one spectator has ever been injured during the show.
From your own paper, twelve people died over the long weekend in automobile
accidents, surpassing the number of fatalities during the last three decades of the CNE airshow.
Statistically, it is infinitely more dangerous to travel to the airshow than to actually watch it.
Further, your suggestion that 'it is a pornographic illustration of the grim utility of modern weapons of war'. Is also far from the truth. During the three-hour show, only three current combat aircraft appeared .. an F-18, an F-16 and an F-22, and while I personally didn't care for the rah-rah, jingoistic commentary provided for these performers, they were far outnumbered by many wonderful aerobatic displays such as John Mohr's Stearman, Patty Wagstaff's Extra, Manfred Radius' graceful Salto sailplane, a flypast by the Canadian Air Cadets, and by one
of Porter's Q400 aircraft. And, of course, the Snowbirds were the highlight of the show, performing a breathtaking routine in aircraft that should have been in museums years ago.
You are, of course, entitled to your opinion, but given that you have a much larger stage and audience than most, I would think it would be incumbent on you to at least attempt to back your view up with some semblance of facts or statistics. To the thousands who attended the show this past weekend, it was a lovely afternoon. I left inspired by the talents of the pilots,
in awe of the beautiful aircraft and grateful that I could spent a fine afternoon with friends watching a great airshow. Your suggestion that the airshow should be banned is, in my opinion, ill-informed, irresponsible and patronizing to those thousands who enjoy
the show year after year.
Yours,
Chris Story
Ottawa
