OPINION Page 4 Saturday, March 30, 1985 The Michigan Daily Edit'ed and managed by students at The University of Michigan Race riots need reanalysis I Vol. XCV, No. 142 420 Maynard St. Ann Arbor, MI 48109 Editorials represent a majority opinion of the Daily's Editorial Board Pierce over Hadler A NN ARBOR residents have a clear choice over the direction they would like to see the city turn when they go to the polls on Monday. The Republican candidate Richard Hadler claims he is pleased with the way the city has run under current mayor Lou Belcher who is not running for reelection. Ed Pierce, the Democratic can- didate, contends that the city has developed in such a way as to effec- tively shut many low to moderate in- come residents out of the housing market. He calls for city government to promote affordable housing by linking some downtown development to new housing projects and by looking into ways to shift the tax burden from property taxes. Hadler is a retired businessman and a long-time resident of the city. He served on City Council in the early '70s, but has not been particularly visible in city politics since then. Although he says there is a housing problem in the city, he says he does not feel the city should play the part of a landlord." Pierce received his M.D. from the University and ran a low-income clinic, in the city for many years. He also ser- ved on City Council in the early '70s, but went on to a distinguished career in Lansing as a state senator. In 1982, he lost to James Blanchard in his bid for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination. In view of his concern for the housing industry and his greater political ex- perience, Pierce is certainly the stronger of the two candidates. Not all of Pierce's proposals are en- tirely appropriate, however. His plan for an- entertainment tax, although supposedly directed at events that at- tract out of town patrons, could become an additional expense for the student population. Also, his plan to remove parking meters and switch to a parking permit system seems ill- advised. Parking meters encourage a high turnover of patrons that over- comes the disadvantages of their high maintenance costs. Nevertheless, Ed Pierce is clearly the better candidate for mayor. His social concerns and vast political ex- perience make him the logical choice at the polls on Monday. By Jeffery M. Paige As a former consultant to the National Ad- visory Commission on Civil Disorders and author of a doctoral dissertation on the 1967 Detroit and Newark riots, I was pleased to learn that the distinguished labor historian Sidney Fine had undertaken a history of the riot with primary source material not available at that time. Thus, I was disappoin- ted to hear Professor Fine, in his Russel Lec- ture, present a one-sided account of the riot based on a highly selective use of available evidence. After airily dismissing extensive survey data on political and social attitudes which clearly demonstrate a substantial political component to the riots he proceeded to support his own contention that Detroiters rioted largely for fun and profit with a racist anecdote which the Daily accurately reports in its story (March 29, p. 1). I am willing to wager Professor Fine $50.00 that he cannot prove that any participant in the riot actually made these remarks. My bet is that Fine heard it at an Ann Arbor cocktail party. Actually, Fine doesruse survey data, but only when it supports his own contentions. Surveys of arrested rioters were reported since they support his position even though social scientists have long believed that such records tell more about police arrest preferences than the actual distribution of deviance. Similarly, post-riot surveys showing support for more repression were described while simultaneous surveys finding massive alienation in the inner cities were not even mentioned. Accounts of the situation in Detroit in 1967 and the start of the riot were taken entirely from police and other official sources and it is worth noting that in the Detroit of 1967 all of these officials were white. If Fine had taken seriously the careful chronology of the riot contained in the National Advisory Com- mission report or had talked to any of the black people involved in the "blind pig" where the riot began he would have heard a very different story. The overwhelming issue in the inner city black community in 1967 was police brutality, and this was a particularly sensitive issue in the 12th Street area (now Rosa Parks Boulevard) where police were of- ten accused of treating all blacks as potential criminals. Indeed, the riot was started not by "pimps and prostitutes," as your article states and Professor Fine strongly implied (but did not say), but by a University of Michigan student, William Scott Jr., the son of the owner of the "blind pig." Scott became incensed at the way white police accom- plished the arrest of his father and sister. You can read Scott's in an essay which won the University's 1969 Hopwood Award and was privately published as Hurt, Baby, Hurt. Despite Professor Fine's sunny description of race relations in Detroit, the relationship between the largely white police department and the black community had been a poisonous one since the 1943 riot in which police joined white rioters in attacks on the black community. A balanced history would have drawn on evidence from the black com- munity through direct interviews, reports in the black press, or survey responses. Fine provided a whites only view of the riot. Perhaps the most disturbing element in Professor Fine's talk was his advocacy of repression as a solution for black rebellion. Detroit policemen who regarded the shooting of unarmed looters as "murder" were ridiculed and their reluctance to use letha force decried. Similar ridicule was directed at President Lyndon Johnson's reluctance to call on Federal troops for fear of being ac- cused of killing women and children. Ap- parently -such sensitivity had no place in ur- ban America. It appears that all Fine learned from this terrible riot was that lethal force, applied efficiently and rapidly, is a cure for political discontent. Since today's students are too young to remember the events of a1967 -still vivid' memories to many of my generation - it is particularly important that Fine's one-sided account not go unchallenged. In November of 1965, Judge George Edwards of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit and Commissioner of the Detroit Police Department from 1961 to 1963 presented a view neglected in the Fine talk but which is, I believe, much closer to the truth. Judge Ed- wards wrote in the Michigan Law Review that "...hostility between the Negro communitie4 in our large cities and the police departments is the major problem in law enforcement in this decade. It has been a major cause of all recent race riots. "Increased repression will, in the long run, only increase this hostility ana make future confrontations worse. Jeffery M. Paige is a professor in the Sociology Department. i 14 Wasserman oLVs -kLW o To DEMPSR2AT S CARPE[ GLEAE ~~ 1% 1 FI'RST, I Rut RW4IV A-L IE a O L I -...,1 IIV d I_ of ' II 4 Council endorsements I'JXT WEEK'S Ann Arbor City N Council elections provide voters with an excellent opportunity to elect quality legislators and put control of the council into the hands of the Democrats. Our endorsements follow: Ward One Incumbent Lowell Peterson is run- ning unopposed and will keep the seat he deserves. Although his policy suggestions occasionally border on the absurd-as in the proposal that all downtown development be tied to low- income housing-his work on the coun- cil warrants another term. Ward Two Incumbent Republican Richard Dedm has voted sensibly on the coun- cil, and he was one of the major proponents of the shelter for the homeless. Although he says he must still be convinced that the lack of af- fordable housing is serious, he seems willing to work on the city's social issues. Democratic candidate James Burchell, who has political experience in other cities, has favorable position on the issues but seems too concerned with party squabbles to work effec- tively toward the compromise votes which characterize most council ac- tions. With a plea that he study the housing issue more closely, we give our endorsement to Deem. Ward Three, Incumbent Democrat Jeff Epton has served the city well in his freshman term. Epton has distinguished himself as a hard-working council member dedicated to affordable housing, and he was largely responsible for the masterful compromise engineered last summer over the city's budget. Our nod goes to Epton over Republican challenger Max Sweet. Ward Four The Democratic challenger in Ward Four, Dave DeVarti, is a students' candidate. He has shown a great in- terest in the student vote and seems quite familiar with issues facing students on campus. He has spoken out on issues such as housing, parking, and safety, and his success as a local publisher shows his aggressiveness and ability to get things done. Incum- bent, Republican Larry Hahn is not committed to providing affordable housing in the city and voted against additional funding for the homeless shelter because of certain provisions in the plan. He has not campaigned vigorously, and the votes should go to DeVarti. Ward Five Kathy Edgren, the Democratic in- cumbent, has built herself a sound reputation by being accessible to her constituents and being responsive to their interests and concerns. She has expressed a committment to affor- dable housing and services. Her op- ponent, Republican John Burch, has said he supports increased public safety programs and privately run shelters for the homeless. He has spent much of the campaign attacking Edgren and does not seem to be well- informed about city issues and problems. W"A, DEAR~- IT DOESN'T $6SAF- a .-t O to r(IW Jzucz I.- 01 p - "T {AT'S 0614.-'WE'LL BUY IT PN~Y"lOW 4%(q So NICELY 1' .. 1:0; v I i_ -UN~ .1 Letters Daily confused by*the 'truth' 4 To the Daily: In its editorial "What is truth?," the Daily did not respond philosophically, but in- stead apologetically, to Israel's killing two Lebanese journalists (Daily, March 27). The first question one should ask is why the Daily took special notice of the deaths of these CBS em- ployees. One would have guessed the Daily, like other liberal media, implicitly or explicity assumes that journalists are privileged observers of violent conflict. Hence, regardless of the moral issue of taking a human life for whatever end, it is not OK to take a journalist's. Most jour- nalists write as though killing journalists is something more, or more newsworthy, than killing civilians, i.e. simple human beings. But, in the case of Israel's at- tack on a CBS camera crew, the Daily was faced with a dilemma: the Daily thinks it is bad to kill journalists qua journalists, yet also supports Israel's oc- cupation of Lebanon. In "What is truth?," the latter won the day, while journalistic privilege and truth lost out. Truth lost because, in endorsing Israeli occupation of Lebanese towns, mosques, and refugee camps by mistake; it is in Lebanon to kill its political foes and those unfortunate enough to live in their neighborhoods. The killing of the camera crew was thus only a mistake if Israel's very occupation of Lebanon is a mistake. The sad fact of the mat- ter is that few in the American media care whether Lebanese Moslems live or die. This relates to the Daily's un- critical and propagandistic use of the term terrorist. The editorial sets the stage by asserting that "People are victimized by terror- ism nearly everywhere." (Watch out for the Libyan hit squads!) The Daily then discusses the nature of the new terrorism: violent religious martyrs. Israel, accor- ding to the Daily, is "plagued" by this type of terrorism and must protect its soldiers from it. Just who are these true believers? Are they those. in- corrigible Palestinians? Maybe a couple. But even if there were still some of these irreputable nationalists and misguided souls sprinkled about the countryside, killing them is not a public relations problem for Israel -but its national pastime. Are they Iranian imports? There may be a few of these youngsters left over from the latest battlefield in Iraq. But remember, it is OK. Ito kill Khomenei followers and others who think that Moslems should have control over their own coun- tries. These men are crazies who do not appreciate the value of human life. Could they be Lebanese? They live there, after all. Whether Israel is fighting a rearguard ac- tion or pursuing a scorched earth policy, it is encountering light resistance from the indigenous population of the territory it oc- cupies. The local population is fighting a hit-and-run, i.e. guerilla war against foreign ar- mies occupying their country. Some might even venture to cal] them freedom-fighters, guerillas or the resistance. Make your own historical comparisons. In labelling these persons "terrorists," the Daily endorses Israel's military occupation of Lebanon. Did the Daily hesitate to think about the political im- plications of using this , jorative term? Because I cann tell, I request that the Daily write an editorial defining what it means by the word terrorist. I then challenge the Daily to use it consistently. If all a 'terrorist' is to the Daily is a person who violently opposes a nation or ar- my the Daily supports, then the Daily should have the journalistic integrity to say so. The Da' might even want to come to gri with state-terrorism, as opposed to state-sponsored terrorism. 'Eric Schnaufer March 27 by Berke Breathed BLOOM COUNTY "(I173A 7w~RRi d~ ir1LXc12,PRAS A?56W~7?ffN IikIJ VII AS ' MI . ..ii r tt , o heTrr.,ihy , i4,-lrho tvnrl. trinlP-.vnarod. and