This letter is in response to the person who wrote "no one deserves to be killed by being struck by a train."
Granted, no one deserves this. However, the argument is fallacious because it misses the point. The debate regarding train whistles isn't a question of what people deserve.
No one deserves to die of a drug overdose, yet the law cannot prevent a person from taking drugs and overdosing. No one deserves to be homeless, yet homelessness is a societal ill that cannot be entirely eradicated. We have a responsibility to make life better for those around us provided they act within the boundaries of the law and our attempts to better the lives of some people do not make life worse for others.
The person who brought up the question of desert also questioned where the empathy of people lies. That question could be turned on its head.
Does it lie with lawbreakers or law-abiding citizens, with a few careless individuals or the many people who live near train tracks whose quality of life, including mental and possibly physical health, is being impaired by constant exposure to train whistles? I do not live near train tracks, but I sympathize with those who do and find their arguments persuasive.
Shirley Isaac
Chilliwack
