OPINION
Page 4 Saturday, March 20, 1982 The Michigan Daily
By D
The other d
O'Neill (D-M
Detroit to eva
American auto
to his conclu
Japanese aui
blame for Detr4
His solution
were presiden
like they've ne
Just when I th
deciaring war
mean on Hiro
the Japanese
memory-he sa
on Japanese
novative.
AND HOW
man acting lik
he won't have
own mistakes,
both simple e
the empirical
dustry's troub
Trade rests
problems. and
If the Japanes
to Americansa
then they can
Americans.T
Americans wo
that export to t
Why is O'Neil
Blaming t
happen? These other workers will be
avid Stewart scattered over the economy; since they,
are not organized as a political force, as
lay, House Speaker Tip the United Auto Workers Union, is, they
Massachusetts)was in cannot afford to buy themselves
a ets politicians. O'Neill can ignore them, so
Iuate the situation of the he does.
) industry. Boldly coming Trade restrictions are also sure to
sion, he said that the bring retaliatory measures from the
to companies were to Japanese, and these will put even more
oit's problems. Americans out of work. What is clear is
? O'Neill said that if he that O'Neill thinks these people are not
t, he'd "fix the Japanese as important as rich unions.
ever been fixed before." NOR ARE consumers, apparently.
hought he would suggest Restrictions would raise the prices of
and dropping something all cars by $450 to $1000 per car. O'Neill
ishima-as well-fixed as is telling Americans that their freedom
have been in recent of choice doesn't matter, and they must
aid he'd put a moratorium settle for something-a price or a
auto imports. How in- car-they don't want and would not
tiring. . Here-is a grown freely choose.
:e a spoiled child. So that So much for the economics lesson.
to admit decades of his Let's now have a look at history. O'Neill
O'Neill wants to avoid blames the Japanese for the crisis in
economic principles and Detroit. Do the facts back him up?
econmic rincplesand In 1978, American companies sold 9.3
facts about the auto in- million cars in the United States;
ricis. awy as Japanese companies sold 1.4 million, or
:ricionsalwys cuse about 12 percent of the U.S. market. In
O'Neill should know this. the next two years, Japanese sales in-
e don't sell as many cars creased, and their market share jum-
as a result of restrictions, ped to 21 percent.
inot buy as much from THIS INCREASE made good
This is likely to throw headlines, but it hid more than it
irking in other industries revealed. In 1980, the year of "the
the Japanese out of work. takeover," the Japanese sold only
1 willing to allow this to 500,000 more cars in the United
e
auto slump on
not say, 'Made in Japan.' It reads,
'Made in Washington, D.C.' "
- O'NEILL HAS supported a massive
welfare state and huge tax increases,
while the Japanese have been cutting
taxes since the end of World War II. And
they have supported oil price controls
and auto regulations, subjecting the
U.S. auto companies to chaotic shifts in
.~ ~.. ~demand for small and large cars and
tremendous expenses for all kinds of
Naderesque additions to cars. These
additions, like heavy crash bumpers,
. side-door beams, etc., did little for
safety, but added hundreds of dollars to
the pricesof American cars.
The list of political impediments in
the way of the U.S. auto industry is
much longer than this. Bringing the
new X-car to market required three
years of planning and retooling, and
about $2 million investment, by Gener-
al Motors. The last thing American
AP Photo . companies needed was O'Neill and his
accomplices-who were busy playing
ait shipment to America. politics while the companies tried to
make long-range plans. Yet does
market, to be sure-but it was a much O'Neill take any responsibility for his
smaller market, and that is not the fault Japanese.
of the Japanese.Jane.
oe aultnes tWlForgive me for my lack of com-
Whose fault was it? Well, take Tip munity spirit, but I am an inter-
O'Neill-please. As Jack Shafer writes nationalist before I am a nationalist.
in Libertarian Review, "When you turn This business of trade restrictions hides
the wreck of the American car industry behind a cloak of concern for American
upside down and read the bottom it does workers-only certain . politically
Japan
powerful workers, to be sure-but it-
leaves me wondering: When did the
Japanese workers suddenly become
less important in the world? Why,
should I not feel any concern for them?
IT WILL NOT do to say that my own:
interests are more intimately bound up
with those of my fellow Detroiters than
with the Japanese people. I believe that
my interests will best be served -by a4
cosmopolitan policy of free trade and
open borders.
Nor will I buy the fallacy of keeping
money within the community. Behind
these ethical and economic cloaks
hides a view of the Japanese as a bunch
of yellow-skinned slanty-eyed pirates;
only this will explain the vituperance
showered on the Japanese as economic
competitors. It's always easier to hate
across color barriers, and this case is,
unfortunately, no different.
Tip O'Neill should face up to his role
in destroying the auto industry in
Detroit. Neither reactionary economics
nor belligerent nationalism will solve
Detroit's problems; only a free market
will-but that would limit O'Neill's
power, so he wants the empire to strike
back.
Why not just declare war?
Japanese Datsun cars awa
States-for total sales of 1.9 million.
This is not the stuff of takeovers.
The increase in the Japanese share of
the market resulted from the collapse
of Detroit's own sales. U.S. sales fell
from 9.3 million in 1978 to 6.6 million in
1980-a drop of 2.7 million sales in two
years. Japan had a larger share of the
Stewart, a f
graduated fromi
1981.
reelance writer,
the University in
Edited and managed by students at The University of Michigan
Sinclair
AL [W&S
PRIMER oN CENTRAL AMERKCA.
.:-IL
Vol. XCII, No. 133
420 Maynard St.
Ann Arbor, MI 48109
6
w...
Editorials represent a majority opinion of the Daily's Editorial Board
The neo-Nazi march
THEY HAVE NO idea what they're
doing. They have no idea what
they actually stand for, besides a con-
fused hatred. They are marching for
attention, and little else.
They are dim-witted teenagers fin-
ding fun in the clothes and slogans of
an infamous ideology. They are atten-
tion-seeking low-life with an easy path
to notoriety.
They are not worth your time, and
yet they stand for too much to be
ignored.
The ideal response to today's neo-
Nazi rally at City Hall is to stay home.
The more attention they get, the more
media they will get, and subsequently,
the more unwarranted legitimacy they
will get. Press coverage is what groups
such as the neo-Nazis thrive on, and
confrontation will bring hoards of
press coverage. If nobody came out to
protest today's neo-Nazi rally, chances
are they'd never march here again.
But, unfortunately, there is always
the gut-wrenching disgust provoked by
any person, or any group, that
assumesrthe Nazi banner as their own.
The evil and hatred represented by the
grey uniforms and the red and white
swastikas are ever prevalant and
always oppressive. However, violent
confrontation with the neo-Nazis
should be avoided at all costs. No evil
should be opposed by more evil, no
matter how revolting.
For this reason, we suggest atten-
ding the Rally for the Affirmation of
Human Dignity and Freedom at the
Federal Building tomorrow, if one
feels a deep-seated need to express
outrage at the presence of neo-Nazis in
Ann Arbor. That outrage, if it exists, is
best expressed at a rally where the
focus of events will be toward suppor-
ting human goodness and faith, instead
of at a rally where the focus will be on
deterring the neo-Nazis. The counter-
rally at City Hall contains the potential
for an outbreak of violence, as much as
the rally's sponsors hate to admit it.
Even the hint of violence should be
considered unacceptable in this
situation.
If protest is to be expressed, it should
be expressed peacefully and with
proper intentions. The foul, repulsive
manner of neo-Nazi thought is an ob-
vious affront to the human dignity of
peace-loving citizens. Even though
these misguided teenagers have little
to do with a true expression of Nazi
hate, their presence obviously can
merit response.
If the anger you feel over their City
Hall rally is too heartfelt to allow sit-
ting at home, then go to the Federal
Building and protest against hatred
and bigotry in peace.
A DUADLY
TOTILI TAR IAN\
-RFCiME.
PRACrMATIC,
FRIENDLY
AU1T-OR I-ARIANr
1REGcIMNE.
E"RORISTS. ir
yVALEINT\WL E5:-
FI1rNTR5.
4q 6Z THE t K~iA +C0L IL
RUX
I
LETTERS TO THE DAILY
Protest Nazis at Federal
To the Daily:
The members of the Ann Arbor
New Jewish Agenda have been
stirred, as have other members
of the Jewish community and
other Ann Arbor residents, by the
prospect of Nazis marching in
Ann Arbor. In spite of our grave
concern about the possibility of a
Nazi presence here, we are en-
couraged by the way in which the
... or at City-Hall
n-I
" i f u tLl tG i0-+i .l Ly
x
To the Daily:
Last year, our campus was the
scene of a repulsively racist and
anti-Semitic mailing from an ex-
treme right-wing group called the
Liberty Lobby. At the same time,
the U.S. Labor Party, a
dangerous cult of the right, was
attempting to organize a front-
group on campus. Students joined
Students Concerned about a
Recurrence (SCAR) to expose'
these groups and express outrage
at blatant racism and anti-
Semitism.
Once again a strong response is
demanded. On March 20, the
Nazis, all dressed up in swastikas
and riot helmets, will come to
Ann Arbor to try to spread their
filth. If the Nazis march and
provoke no outcry, no repulsion,
believe that the Nazis will go
away if we ignore them-the fac-
ts say otherwise.
Whether you choose to confront
the Nazis at the counter-demon-
stration at City Hall or attend
another rally a few blocks away at
the Federal Building, you will
make an important statement
about what you think of the Nazis.
The rally away from City Hall, if
well attended, will be an effective
statement.
But if you want to prevent the
Nazis from marching as well as
making a strong statement, then
City Hall will be the place to be.
In Southfield, Plymouth, and
Detroit, the Nazis have been p-
revented from marching when
outraged persons have forced
nnie¢ t oha t ir.h. Tc
whole community has
toward coalition-bui
solidarity in response.
In its original histori
Nazism was an organic
of cruelty which cann
pared with any earlier
event. As Martin Bubex
"transposed themselv
sphere of monstrous i
inaccessible to (our)
conception." Those
themselves Nazis id(
ally themselves wi
which are not an u
detour of history, but
of human potential
Therefore, we must1
Nazis seriously, espei
time when human b
capable of total dest
earth and people.
The Rally to Affir
Dignity and Freedomv
on Saturday, March
p.m. at the Federal
Demonstrations ag
Nazis will begin at n
location of the Nazi m
Hall).'
Realities demand
response. We therefor
Building . .
struggled Coalition to Fight the Nazis and
lding and the Committee to Stop the Nazis
have announced demonstrations
cal setting, at the site of the Nazi gathering
zed system (City Hall). We support demon-
ot be com- strations at City Hall to the extent
historical that they remain disciplined and
r said, they non-violent. We must look the
ves into a Nazi evil squarely in the eye, and
nhumanity make plain to its proponents that
power of it will not gain power again. If
who call those who hold to such ideas do
entify and not see that they face determined
th events opposition, they will believe they
nfortunate can succeed, and we will all face
a warning a new, and more dangerous,
for evil. situation.
take these Unfortunately, none of the
cially at a sponsors of City Hall rallies have
beings are to date made a commitment to
truction of non-violence. It is important to
have a significant peaceful
m Human presence at the Nazi demon-
will be held stration as an assertive demon-
20, at 1:00 stration of our values in this
Building. situation.
ainst the We call on all Ann Arbor
oon at the residents to participate in public
larch (City non-violent responses to the
Nazis on March 20.
an active -Larry Berman
e rejoice in Mary Cummings
4
a