I
4
OPINION
Page 4
Friday, February 20, 1987
The Michigan Daily
Sanhe e tchigan
Edited and managed by students at The University of Michigan
LETTERS:-t
Meese egg-throwing controversy rages
Editor's note:
Vol. XCVII, No. 101
420 Maynard St.
Ann Arbor, MI 48109
I
Unsigned editorials represent a majority of the Daily's Editorial Board
All other cartoons, signed articles, and letters do not necessarily represent the opinion of the Daily.
A w ce e g t
WelCOm--e resignation
T HE RESIGNATION OF Pat
Buchanan as White House
Communications Director comes as
a welcome relief to those who feel
that messages emanating from the
executive branch under his
stewardship have served neither the
country nor the president very
,well.
It is no secret that Buchanan's
personal political views are far to
the right of the majority of his own
party and that of the U.S.
mainstream. In his eagerness to
color White House commun-
ications with his own opinions,
Buchanan has been a source of
divisiveness within the govern-
ment. The biggest problem with
Buchanan has been his repeated
attempts to portray events of
national concern as mere partisan
bickering or communist duplicity.
In early January, Buchanan led a
pro-Reagan rally in Washington at
which he defended Reagan's Iran-
contra initiatives. Stating that the
president wanted to get to the
bottom of the scandal and get the
answers out to the American
public, he then went on to lash out
at the legislators involved in the
investigative process, labeling them
"that liberal claque on the. hill"
whose sole interest was in bringing
down the Reagan presidency rather
than ascertaining the cause and
perpetrators of this foreign policy
debacle. Realizing that among the
harshest critics of Reagan's
"iniative" have been such
Republican legislators as Rep.
William Broomfield (R-Mich) and
Sen. David Durenburger (R-Min.),
it seems that Buchanan is to the
political right of the Republican
platform.
During last years Congressional
debate on aid to the contras,
Buchanan wrote a column carried
by several major newspapers in
which he berated those opposed to
aiding the CIA-backed guerillas as
being far more than "soft on
communism." According to
Buchanan, those who differed with
the hardline stance were actually
"co-guarantors of the Brezhnev
Doctrine," insinuating that a large
proportion of America's elected
representatives were active
communist sympathizers. "Whose
side are you on?" he railed. To
him it was simple, either one
stands with "Ronald Reagan and
the resistance, or with Daniel
Ortega and the communists." Such
demagoguery stunned even
Republican legislators, who angrily
denounced Buchanan's red-baiting
as pure McCarthyism.
In a free country, everyone is
entitled to hold and freely espouse
their own beliefs, even beliefs as
extreme as Pat Buchanan's. But in
a democracy, it is dangerous to
allow a person of such extreme and
marginal opinions to occupy a
position of high prominence and
influence when that person insists
on coloring important national
debates or concerns with their own
peculiar bias. Hence the
resignation of Pat Buchanan
warrants commendation. It has
been long overdue.
The anonymous letters in the
Daily ("Egg-throwers: It
worked! 2/13/87) were by
authors who originally
requested anonymity. The
editor on duty insisted on
actual names for the letters and
the two authors complied and
left. Subsequently, the editor
read the letters and decided to
honor the authors' original
request for anonymity. It is
therefore the editor's
responsibility that the two
letters appeared without names.
The Daily accepts anonymous
letters in exceptional circum -
stances in which publication of
a letter would bring substantial
harm to the author.
Free speech for
a
To the Daily:
I am responding to the
letters printed in the Daily on
February 13 concerning the
Meese rally and the throwing
of eggs by anti-Meese
demonstrators. Marcus Eli
Kalderon calls the organizers of
the silent vigil which protested
Attorney General Edwin Meese
hypocrites. It is Marcus
Kalderon who is the true
hypocrite! He justifiably feels
that Mr. Meese's ideas are
misguided and do not uphold
the constitution of the United
States. To get his views heard
Kalderon feels that he must
trample upon the First
Amendment rights of Edwin
Meese and Gerald Ford to walk
along a public sidewalk at a
public university. Even though
Mr. Ford is not a member of
the present administration and
has nothing to do with Meese's
ides, he is still subject to a
verbal assault and' a
bombardment of snowballs.
These protesters that you
defend Mr. Kalderon will not
even let a private citizen enjoy
a night at his alma mater. They
demand that everyone's civil
rights must be upheld, but they
refuse to allow Meese and Ford
to exercise their civil rights. Is
this fair? Is this the justice that
you want, or is this the
hypocrisy that you really
believe in? Mr. Kalderon needs
to remember that our country
is based upon the ideals of
liberty and equality. Among
those ideals are freedom of
speech and freedom of
assembly. We have a Bill of
Rights to the Constitution
upholding these and other free -
doms. As a citizen of this
country Mr. Kalderon agrees to
abide by this constitution and
the laws that it provides. He
should not think that he and
the groups which he agrees
with have the right to deny
others which he agrees with
have the right to deny others
their basic civil rights. Let Mr.
Meese say whatever he wants
and let him assemble wherever
he wants. Go ahead and protest
his visit. Go ahead and march
and chant, but don't take away
the rights he is entitled to as a
citizen of the United States. If
you try to take away his rights
then you are no better than he
is!
In response to "it's
justified" written by
Anonymous, I simply have to
say that he needs to quicky find
a better way to express his
views before he severely
injures someone at one of his
rallies and ends up in jail.
Maybe ending up in jail is
Anonymous's goal. Maybe he
thinks that his jailing will help
advance "the cause" which he
speaks so irascibly about. It is
highly doubtful that
Anonymous will be able to
make good on his (or quite
possibly her) threat of stealing
others why should anyone or
any government respect your
opinion? Anonymous sounds
very bitter about the present
situation in the he world. I am
sorry he feels that way, but he
has to realize that violently
expressing his ideas will not
work. Remember Martin
Luther King said "hate the
ideas,'love the person."Do not
be bitter but be thankful that
you live in a country where
your right to protest exits. Be
thankful you live in a country
where protesters, no matter
how abhorrent their views, are
not systematically shot. If this
was the policy in our country
Anonymous would have long
since been murdered for the
views that he so fashionably
holds. Think of how many
other countries would have
thrown you in a dark, dank
prison wants to change things
in this country I feel he should
channel his violent anger into a
more peaceful and productive
form of protest.
--James Perry
February 13
Eggers: get a job
To the Daily:
I read your letters defending
the heroic (though why
anonymous?) egg-throwers
with great amusement. I was
unaware of how humorous the
defense of McCarthyite actions
could be.
"I-threw snow." If that bold
a proclamation doesn't inspire
hero worship then the concept
has no meaning. I also greatly
enjoyed the Ramboesque boast
"I personally have thrown away
thousands of Michigan
Reviews." I stand in utter awe
of you. Your mommy must be
very proud. How many do you
have to throwaay to become
an "ace"? I am sorry that you
"detest beingcalled a leftist," if
it is any solace to you Howard
Cosell probably detests being
called "loudmouth". I was also
distraught torlearn that you
"cannot afford to compete in
this 'open' free information
society." Maybe you should
petition for a negative checkoff
on next year's SVF. By the
way, this is not "the nineties."
It can't have taken you that
long to write your letter, after
all you "excel academically."
Even if you do "excel
academically," I doubt that you
will "take" my job someday,
since it is improbable that
McDonnell Douglas Corp.
would hire you. .
If the only difference that
Anonymous February 12 can
think, of between his/her
"institution" and that of the
Nazis in Germany is their
relative influence, then he/she
had better attempt to rethink
his/ her political views. You
can do better than that, I know
you can.
-Bernard Anthony
Mann
February 14
Self-breeding'
violence
To the Daily:
For the second time in less
than two weeks we are appalled
at the behavior of our fellow
students. Regarding the
anonymous letter of Feb. 13
entitled "It's justified," we are
shocked and offended to read the
hypocrisy of this faceless
member of our community.
Perhaps the most revolting
fact about this letter is the
association of Martin Luther
King with this group of egg
throwers who believe that
changecan only occur through
violence. The thought of
violence as a means of
initiating change destroys any
possibility of a bright future.
violent attitude, the author
virtually becomes a part of the
hate and violence that per -
sonifies the KKK. This
barbaric attitude cannot and
must not be tolerated.
In the future, the Daily
should more closely consider
the publishing of anonymous
and inflammatory material.
This undermines the
newspaper's credibility.
-Janna M. Boiten
Robert Choi
Cathleen A.
Cunningham
Michael Foster
Daniel J. Herr
Michelle Hertzberg
Richard S. Hull
James A. Ottevaere II
Vineet Sahgal
Nicholas P. Scavone
Jr.
Frank Serrapere
Stacy E. Singer
Jason H. Winocour
Susan Zweig
February 16
Silence doesn' t
work
To the Daily:
I don't usually write letters,
but your February 9 editorial,
"Don't Egg Him On," was so
phenomenally stupid that I
must react. You claim "The
actions of a few people who
threw eggs and snowballs
prevented the students of the
University from adequately
conveying their message to the
nation." What kind of
backwards logic are you using?
Ford and Meese getting pelted
made CNN national news.
Without valid active protest
there wouldn't even have been a
paragraph in the Free Press, let
alone national coverage. Riots
get the coverage and force the
changes.
Ed Meese and his cronies
want to extinguish free speech
(among other things) through
prohibitions and pornography
and unrestrained police
surveillance. How ironic that
Steve Korliss tried to take over
the protest and silence its
members. "In any crowd of 400
people, you can't control every -
body," Steve lamented. _I
protested Meese for my own
reasons and resent this clown's
efforts to control and channel
my anger. Steve had the
protesters march ineffectually
around the block while the
enemies snuck in through the
back; he detained hundreds in
the Law Quad while Ed and
Jerry brazenly smiled and
sauntered into the Museum of
Art. What the students need to
get their point across is more
confrontation and fewer
self-righteous self-appointed
spokesmen and cowards who
protest to make themselves feel
good and advance their political
careers. While Korliss and him
impotent horde celebrated
powerlessness in their
educational forum, another
group of protesters received a
truly valuable education. They
learned that a crowd of students
has power. They can strike fear
into the hearts of federal
agents. They can rescue a
captured fellow demonstrator
unjustifiably detained by
Meese's thugs. They can bean
an ex-presidentt (It seems they
actually did not hit Ford, see
"Scrambled Stories," Daily, 11
February - ed.), who once
was one of the most powerful
men in the world (and gets a
pretty good pension) with
garbage, making him scurry
like a shit-encrustedd rat to
safety and dinner. And for all
this we get on TV. What did
Korliss's friends learn that they
didn't already know? Nothing.
Except that they are not as
universally adored and respected
policies, fight them. Or fuck
off.
Letters published on
February 11 called us juvenile
etc. C'mon -sticks and stone
can break my bones, and eggs
can ruin Ford's suit, but your
words just make us laugh, the
same way silent protests amuse
cynical professional
politicians. Nanny Nanny.
-Benjamin Sowers
February 11
Expel
egg-throwers
4
Ailing school system
To the Daily-
I was appalled, but
particularly surprised, by the
letters in the Daily of February
13 attempting to justify the
attacks on President Ford and
Edwin Meese. I was equally
appalled by the attitude of ishe
campus security official who
during the incident, sought
only to protect the dignitaries,
giving no consideration ,to
trying to arrest the perpetrators.
The thugs who hurled eggs and
snowballs at Ford and Meese
have no place in the University
community. Indeed, any
student, or faculty or staff
member, who initiates violence
(to be distinguished frn4
self-defense) for any reason,
personal or political, should be
promptly expelled or fired.
Violence is deplorable in any
social milieu, but it is com -
pletely intolerable at an
institution' dedicated tp
intellectual activity. How can
scholars and students lie
expected to formulate and
evaluate ideas, knowing tht
self-appointed censors ae
waiting to physically attack
anyone who reaches t'e
"wrong" conclusions?
If the University
Administration intends tb
tolerate ideologically motivated
violence, it may as well e
fully consistent. Why not urgp
Ulrich's and Barnes & Noble p
take all the books, computr
disks, etc. off the shelves ankl
replace them with weapons anji
ammunition? In the course qf
an afternoon, academic debates
that have raged for years coulI
be "settled," once and for all. ih
the Psychology Department,
for example, the Behaviorists
and the Freudians could shodt
it out, while over in thu
Evolutionary Biology, thp
Gradualists could square offi
against the Punctuated
Equilibrium advocates. Many
students and faculty would1
undoubtedly prefer this to the
tedious process of writing and
grading exams and term papers.
After all, why struggle to
develop a quick mind, when a
quick trigger finger could do
just as well?
-Joseph H. Manson
February 15
Eggers: grow up
To the Daily:
I just hope all you guys
who wrote in about how proud
you are that stupid, cowardty
crap like egg throwingg took
place at a protest at the Law
School are happy. Everybody
who condones such dis-
respectful, immature, any
violent actions is no bettr
than the men throughout
history who assassinated
presidents and started wars all
in the name of making a state' -
ment and voicing ther
opinions. It disgusts me tht
supposedly intelligent,
educated,rprivileged students t
a major university who
gathered to protest in the name
of justice and peace expressed
themselves by most
oppressive, unjust, violent
means. Your hypocrisy is just
another example of the isi:-
dious aspect of our society.
And to you, Mr. Anonymous
so nroud of Yourself for hiirline
ACCORDING TO THE NEW YORK
Times, in a recent study of the
fourth-largest public school district
in America (Houston, Texas), 25
percent of school dropouts are
among the top quarter of their
classes in reading and mathematics
scores. Something is obviously
wrong with the education system.
In the United States, not enough
emphasis is put on education.
Many of these "gifted kids" are
dropping out for reasons that can
easily be corrected.
Maybe the educators should
listen to the students. Then, the
educators might understand why
the students dropout.
One obvious problem is that
good teachers are a scarce
commodity in the public school
systems. Due to the low salaries
they receive, the best educators
(especially in mathematics and
science) are taking their skills
elsewhere in the business market
where there is better pay. The low
salaries of teachers are an insult to
many of these people who have
spent years studying. In addition,
teaching is a talent that not
everyone has. Being able to
communicate with and teach people
is not a learned characteristic. The
best teachers are those that care
about their students and are able to
transfer their understanding of a
topic to these-students.
In addition, the school districts
should test the ability of their
teachers. Incompetent teachers
should not be able to continue
boring students to the point that
they dropout.
Special programs that involve
students in areas that interest them
or in areas different from those
regularly taught to them could help
keep their interest in school. These
programs should involve students
in activities outside class with
projects and activities.
These special programs need not
segregate so-called gifted children
from other children to succeed.
The new programs need only
interest the students.
The alienation of youth in the
school system has a profound
effect on society as a whole
because America is wasting it's
greatest resource, the brilliant
minds of the future. The fact that
these children are dropping out
because they are bored is
absolutely unforgivable. If citizens
put a minimal amount of concern
into the education of children and
finally pay fair wages to the
teachers, the education system will
finally show some long needed
improvement.
The Daily welcomes letters from its