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October 02, 1974 - Image 4

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Publication:
The Michigan Daily, 1974-10-02

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-1

giw 3wIea an DUiy
Eighty-four years of editorial freedom
Edited and managed by students at the University of Michigan

Racism and liberal delusion

Wednesday, October 2, 1974

News Phone: 764-0552

420 Maynard St., Ann Arbor, Mi. 48104

Registration, student vOte

CTORER 7 is the deadline for reg-
istering to vote in Ann Arbor in
the November elections. The city has
organized a voter registration drive
which commenced this week and will
continue through next Monday. In
conjunction with this drive addition-
al registration locations have been
set up which are more convenient to
many residents than going to city
hall.
It appears that Mayor Stephenson
and the rest of the Republicans on
city council do not want Michigan
students to vote. Last week the Re-
publicans voted in a resolution which
eliminated registration locations ten-
tatively established in the Fishbowl
and the School of Public Health.
Many students pass through the Fish-
bowl daily and near the School of
Public Health; both are very conven-
ient places for students to register.
THE COUNCIL DID allow one lo-
cation on campus for registra-
tion, the Union, which is not as con-
venient for most students. Also, the
hours for registration at the Union
will be much shorter than at the oth-
er locations. All the other locations
will be operating eight to twelve
hours a day. The registration table
at the Union will only be operating
from 1 to 4 p.m. ,
It seems that the Republicans on
City Council want to make it as in-
convenient as possible for students
to register. Mayor Stephenson has
publicly stated that he doesn't like
students to vote because they do not
have the same interests as the rest
of the community since they do not
establish themselves in the Ann Ar-
bor community. Considering that
many people in the country today

move once in a four year period, stu-
dents live here as long as many resi-
dents do.
A CTUALLY WHAT the Republicans
fear is that most students will
not vote Republican. They have a
bare majority through which they
control city politics and if this deli-
cate balance is tipped against them,
they will be out of power.
There are two important referen-
dums on the ballot. One is a local
issue concerning preferential voting.
If passed, the winner of the mayoral
election will have to have a majority
of the vote. Voters will put down
their first and second choices for
mayor. If there is no candidate with
at least fifty percent of the vote, the
two candidates receiving the most
votes will contest for mayor. Instead
of having a run-off election, the can-
didate with the greatest number of
second choice votes from the people
who voted for the other candidates
will win. This will save money.
THE OTHER REFERENDUM is a
state-wide measure to repeal the
sales tax on food and prescription
drugs. The Republicans are warning
if it is passed another method will
have to be found to replace the $200
million annually which will be lost. It
is unfair to low-income people to
pay sales tax on necessities such as
food and prescription drugs.
It is important for students to reg-
ister to vote in Ann Arbor. We spend
at least eight months of the year
here, so we are affected more by local
decisions made here than those in
ouir hometowns. Our vote could
change the balance of power in local
politics.
-STEVE ROSS

Demonstrating our concern

IN MY "EDITORIAL DIRECTOR"
mail today was a thoughtful
memo from Senator Gilbert Bursley
(R-Ann Arbor), "for my informa-
tion," to the effect that the State
Senate had unanimously passed the
resolution that was stapled to the
memo.
Since we get literally baskets of
mail from various government offices
and dignitaries every day, everyone's
first impulse is to toss official mail.
But for some inscrutable reason, I
waded through the "whereases" and
"be it resolveds" and found some
very lurid purple prose..
The Senate resolution (the House
concurring) called upon the U. S.
government to obtain from North
Vietnam "an accurate accounting of
all American servicemen missing in
action": a noble and high-minded di-
rective, albeit a probably pointless
TODAY'S STAFF:
News: Dan Blugerman, Cindy H i I I ,
Claudia Kraus, Jeff Sorensen, Sue
Stephenson
Editorial Page: Bill Heenan, Marnie
Heyn, Steve Ross
Food/Arts Page: Ken Fink, Doug Zer-
now
Photo Technician: Karen Kasmouski

By CLIFFORD BROWN
RACIST. The mere utterance of the
word strikes fear into the hearts of
people in the University administration.
Secretaries, kitchen workers, and direc-
tors have all cowered at the accusation,
it being appaling to them to think of
themselves as racist. It offends their
sense of liberalism. Though many of
them may be of the last generation, I
find that this generation deals much
the same way with racism: with a false
sense of liberalism that, when adequately
challenged, quickly exposes the false
egalitarians, to their shock and surprise.
False liberals are dangerous: danger-
ous to themselves and to those around
them. It is the element of racism in-
visible within them that makes their
embittered outbursts all the more start-
ling. To their own surprise their racial
bigotry leaps out with a shocking an-
ger, an unknown anger that is all the
more uncontrollable. An intense, insid-
ious anger that has been building up in-
side them, ingrained within them from
the many elements of institutional rac-
ism in our society.
WHEN THE anger builds up, what
happens then? What is there to help
defeat that anger, to slow it to a halt?
Where does the solution lie and how
can it be found?
The solution to the problem is one
that is not easily realized owning to
the way our society and our patterns of
Chbile:i
By DAN MARKSEL (Popul
WJATERGATE IS FAR from stood
over. The fact is, govern- Chiler
ment corruption of democratic lar re
principles has been incorpor- to pre
ated into routine dealings. It is based
the norm; and not only in radica
American domestic affairs. Revolu
There are Watergates in U. S. ALT
international affairs as well. many
An example of this institution- at buil
alized disregard for democracy Chile,
comes to us in the revelations initiate
of the American involvement his im
in the Chilean coup of 1973. cared
Last week, President Ford accom
made a startling statement in The U.
response to a reporter's ques- ing to
tion. He openly admitted that tically
the United States indulged in lendev
secret operations leading to the push fe
overthrow of the democratical- ment r
ly elected government of Sal- anothe
vadore AllendemGssens. This part" c
was the first time in American But
history that a president had ac- ertones
knowledged active, subversive, (again
U. S. meddling in the domestic Union,
activitieshof another countr. ideolog
Allende had made no recuest Union
that our government intervene in the
in Chile's internal develonment. Chile a
The Nixon administration's CIA democ
counter - insurgency oerations lende v
in Chile were self-initiated and to the
self-serving, condoned by Ford Amer
as, ". . . in the best interest of posedt
the oeonle of Chile, and certain- a quas
ly in our best interest." wanted
THE ADMINTSTRATION BE- liance
CAME embroiled sin Chilean ands
politics for two reasons: one,Chl'
the traditional fear of com- mocrac
munist footholds in the Ameri- Simp
cas ("We don't want another democ
Cub," Secretary of State Kis- cause t
singer exclaimed.): and the compro
other, the threat to big business geoisie,
exploitation in Chile with the wish to
ascension of the social-democra- to pron
tic aovernment of Allende. antry a
Militant fear of the spread- you th
ing "red menace" has been a ruling
major preoccupation of Amei- their d
can international affairs, ever takenf
since John Foster Dulles helped compro
initiate the Cold War in the Thee
1950's. Any ally or neighbor of Alle
that has been subject to "Red tion ne

influence" (a concept never parties
really defined, yet one which, mented
through indoctrination, induces the pa
I gut-level panic in the minds of elemen
Americans, even after so-called like the
detente) has been a target for well as
American manipulation. onpositl
Without any concern for the Congre,
idealogy that ponularly brought spread
Salvadore Allende to power in governs
Chile, the U. S. reacted in the on his
same way. Kissinger became move t
obsessed with the impact of litical f
Chile's new presence in the NOW
western hemisphere. Nixon and importc
the CTA were resolutely in fav- the Ar
or of extracting this new lende
"threat to U. S. national secur- dence,
ity" by forceful means. vestigal
THEY UNDERSTOOD OUITE unrelen
precisely what the socialist Al- proven
lende meant to his people. He an imp
meant progress toward eco- and c
nomic liberation for underprivi- downfal
leged, exploited Chileans from militarS
the stranglehold of Big Busi- capitali
ness. He meant a step toward thev wi
the self-fulfillment of his peo- able s
ple, especially for the downtrod- Chilean
den 'poor and working class in sources
Chile. The American mononolv felt the
capitalists and their friends, protecte
those same neople who brought only be
the original Watergate mess and tonnled
other horror stories, could not Amer
let this happen. Their profits involves
and privilege would surely substan
dwindle with a man like Allen- Chile's

xA
"False liberals are dangerous: dangerous to themselves
and to those around them. It is the element of racism
invisible within them that makes their embittered out-
bursts all the more startling."

interaction are set up. To deal with
the racism in one's own self can solve
the problem, but how do you deal with
the problem when no one talks about it.
When no one challenges you and you
don't even bother to challenge yourself,
how then is the problem dealt with?
Denying yourself access to a potential
remedy to the problem only contributes
to intensify that problem. And so the
anger builds up. Fuel is added to the
fire, a fire you're not even aware of.

If it can be said that all persons are
prejudiced, tending to judge people on
the basis of class or race, then we
must realize that what makes a racist
is something different. A belief that some
races are naturally superior to others
and practicing discrimination on the
basis of that belief makes a racist. Then
too, the false liberal must be made up
from something different.
THE FALSE liberal comes fram a land
that is made up almost exclusively of
their own kind. A land where green grass

With fears and animosity inside them,
the student comes to a college that is
practically, but not quite, all white. But
the animosity is not acceptable and is
therefore hidden. But the anger at mem-
bers of those other races doesn' go away
by itself. The rude stink of color won't
go away. Insecurities are masked by
hatred, a protective shield to keep the
students from exposing their fears. And
that hatred builds up; the fire keeps
burning even though you can't see it.
THE ANIMOSITY that creates the an-

r terna tiona

Wa te rga te

one, since so much of Vietnam and{
so many of the people there were
blown apart.
This would still be a worthy reso-
lution, except for its solitary nature.
Not once has Gil Bursley sent me a
memo because the Senate called upon
the U. S. government to cease its vio-
lation of the Paris Peace Agreement,
MISSING FROM THE resolution's
language of "brave men" and
"families (who) suffer in weakened
spirits as the seasons pass" is some'
understanding that the war in Indo-
china continues and that Michigan
citizens, along with folks from every
other state and territory, are paying
for it as it goes.
Here in Ann Arbor, the Indochina
Peace Campaign has set up a week of
concern for Indochina so that people
who care about how the world func-
tions can circumvent the silence of
the State Department.
Every student on this campus
ought to contribute a few hours this
week to a bit of realistic extracurric-
ular education. There is no alterna-
tive course in becoming responsible
citizens.
-MARNIE HEYN

ar Unity) government
for a unification of the
nr people through popu-
form and was responsive
ssures from such widely-
proletarian groups as the
1 MIR (Movement of the
tionary Left).
'OUGHI ALLENDE made
mistakes in his attempts
ding a socialist nation in
his progressive reforms
d programs for helping
derdeveloped people. He
about them and tried to
pish gains for them.
S. didn't. Instead of try-
understand the humanis-
oriented reforms that Al-
was attempting to accom-
or his people, our govern-
reacted to what it saw as
r gain for Russia in "our
of the world.
Allende never made ov-
of fraternal collusion
st the U. S.) to the Soviet
mainly because their
ies clashed. The Soviet
was a bureaucratic state
eyes of Allende, while
aspired to develop into a
ratic state. In fact, Al-
wanted to strengthen ties
remaining aspects of
can democracy. Chile
no threat to America as
i - socialist country. It
to maintain its close al-
with the United States
ought aid from it in
transition to a social de-
y
ly explained, a social
racy never works, be-
the reformers believe in
mising with the bour-
, the very sector they
reduce in their attempt
note the rise of the peas-
nd the working class. Do
ink that the bourgeois
class would ever allow
lomninant position to be
from them by peaceful
)mise?)
excuse that Ford intoned
nde suppressing opposi-
ws media and political
was a lie. It is docu-
that Allende welcomed
rticipation of opposition
ts in his administration,
e right-wing military, as
making concessions to
ion elements in Chile's
ss, to maintain wide-
representation in his
ment; a crucial mistake
part, but far from a
o suppress opposition po-
actions.
TO THE EQUALLY
ant economic aspects of
nerican engineered Al-
coup. Irrefutable evi-
gathered by Senate in-
tions and beautifully
ting newspapers, has
that big business played
ortant role in planning
arrying out Allende's
11 into the hands of a
y dictatorship. Monopoly
sts were so afraid that
ould lose their comfort-
etup of exploiting the
people and their re-
for big profits that they
ir interests had to be
ed. These interests could
secured if Allende was
ican e c o no m i c
ment in Chile has been
tial for many decades.
rich copper, iron, and

is as abundant as the fr rnt lawa And
the rolling green of the, countryside
stretches to almost a quarter of a milel
away - to the next door neighbor's
house. In the case of the vast majority
of University of Michigan freshpeople,
an all white suburb. From here the stu-
dent naturally continues the chain and
attends the nearest high school to them
which by sheer coincidence happens to
be all white. After attending this high
school, the student comes to college.

ger is built up by the racist institutions
and by the racist media. Some news
sources slant the news to create ani-
mosity. Institutions perpetuate myths
to keep minorities down, to keep the
upper classes unaware of the abuses they
heap onto the middle and 1ower class
minorities. Universities imply that the
increased admittance of minorities are
taking away spaces from whites with-
out mentioning the fact that the high
porportion of out-of-state students that
they admit take up more spaces than the
minorities that are admitted. (This es-
pecially applies to state supported in-
stitutions tha are supposed o be exclus-
ively for in-state students. The Univer-
sity or Michigan is a state-supported in-
stitution.)
Question the animosity and the fears
that you feel, challenge them. The prob-
lem of racism is one that does not go
away by hiding it. It only multiples in
most cases. Covering up a sere with
a band-aid doesn't make that sore go
away.
THE RACIST institutions and people of
this society are poisoning the minds of
many of us. This poison must be faced
and dealt with before the animosity and
the anger can be eradicated, in at least
a little degree. But first we must all
deal with the poison in ourselves, the re-
sentment and hatred we may feel.

MAL NJ SiV 4AVE BMaJ 44LLSP/ WE W.tS SP)vE'
-Try t aJp G c r o. , o f /

TES SC~j,OOL. Bu%' SAt" E ccN'< 1 Sf 6 5aN 6&I;*6A&' CeMI,&1

Pacific Steel, Kennecott, and
Chase Manhattan had a firm
stake in maintaining the op-
pression of the Chileans. And
this is why ITT offered to give
the U. S. government $1 million
to help finance the violent over-
throw of the Allende govern-
ment. It also explains why it
colluded with other American
companies involved in South
American exploitation to fund
and execute disruption plans of
their own. (All documented in
Senate investigations into ITT.)
U. S. big business, with its
control of the purse-strings of
traditional American political
parties and therefore its great
influence into the lines of Amer-
ican political power, gained an
attentive ear in administration
circles. The important presence
of business leaders at high gov-
ernment levels also aided the
monopoly capitalists in their
drive to obtain U. S. interven-
tion in Chilean politics. Finan-
cial and personal ties with big
business were too pervasive in
the administration (as it still is)
to warrant anything else but
direct collusion between big
business and big politics to
crush Allende's reforms. Big
business interests were the in-
terests of the government.
ALL THIS WILL N E V E R
change. The self-serving, anti-
humanist interests of big capi-
talists will forever be accom-
modated by their lackeys in
government. And don't say to
yourself that it doesn't really
matter, beca:se you are safe.
You aren't. Who is to prevent
the same type of reasoning from
promoting anti-democratic re-
pression of onnosition attitudes
in the United States? Now ask

A N ESSAY in a recent Time
magazine claimed that
American college students once
again have become preoccupied
with performing pranks and
getting good, high-paying jobs.
Students are returning to those
wonderful days when t h e y
fought over who could swallow
the most telephone booths and
who could stuff the most gold-
fish into a Volkswagen.
These same students, we are
told, are serious about t h e i r
careers. Unfortunately, o n I y
two fields offer riches and se-
curity - law and medicine. We
can rest assured that in 'he
future there will be plenty of
lawyers around to sue doctors
for malpractice.
The essay implies that the
prospect of a nation full of
J.D.'s and M.D.'s who like to
have a little fun is a sign
of societal regression, from the
days when it appeared that
there would be an oversupply
of hippies, English majors and
psychology students wao liked
to protest man's desire to kill
his fellow man.
SOCIETY is regressing be-
cause students supposelly have
just learned to look out for
nunber one instead of for the
rost of the world.
But much of the ide-li',m of
college students in 'he 60's was

comfortable rather than worry
about saving their hides. T h e
only change is in the manifesta-
tion of the selfishness of the
lucky.
AND NOW with the nation in
an economic situation where the
silver platters have been re-
placed by stainless steel cues,
college students have panicked.
The burning issue is now can
students hope to support them-
selves in the manner in which
their parents supported them.
So, students have become ser-
ious in their schooling - and
hedonistic in their outside pur-
suits to try to forget their bleak
futures.
Time Magazine would have us
believe that cynicism has turn-
ed the students as selfish as
any other member of society.
Why waste energy trying tc re-
form a world that obviously de-
fies reformation?
BUT TIME has failed to con-
sider that self-interest rather
than cynicism has di tated the
actions of current college stu-
dents as much as self-interest
rather than idealism dictated
the azticons of the previous corps
of collegians.
In the meantime, vwmld some-
body please pass tie goldfish
over here?

-sideswiipes
Students' setlf-interest
swallows phone booths
By BOB SEIDENSTEIN ------

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