.Y. ., -~ .......m.......,. ._.w.. _.... ..., .. ,.... ..,.-n .. , ., .....,w 4 OPINION Page 4 Monday, October 10, 1988 The Michigan Daily Edited and managed by students at The University of Michigan 4 The Greek Alternative? Vol. IC, No. 23 420 Maynard St. Ann Arbor, MI 48109 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. Columbus Day justifies genocide of native Americans: Day of mourning TODAY IS COLUMBUS DAY, a national holiday that rewrites the history of America to exclude indigenous peoples and their ties to the land. As historian Howard Zinn has noted, "To emphasize the heroism of Colum- bus and his successors as navigators and discoverers, and to de-emphasize their genocide, is not a technical nec- essity but an ideological choice. It serves - unwittingly - to justify what was done." Christopher Columbus in no way "discovered" the Americas; rather he began the processes of conquest and colonization by the European powers, particularly England. Columbus first reached the Bahama Islands and there encountered the Arawak Indians. Of the Arawaks he wrote: "They have no iron. Their spears are made of cane.... They would make fine servants.... With fifty men we could subjugate them all and make them do whatever we want." On their first meeting with Europeans the Arawaks were hospitable and brought them gifts and food. In ex- change, Columbus took some of them hostage hoping to get gold. In his di- ary, Columbus wrote: "As soon as I arrived in the Indies, on the first Island which I found, I took some of the na- tives byforce in order that they might learn and might give me information of whatever there is in these parts." More importantly, the celebration of Columbus Day whitewashes the geno- cide of the indigenous Americans. According to J. Sakai, "from the 10 million Indians that once inhabited North America, after four centuries of settler invasion and rule there were in 1900 perhaps 200,000-300,000 sur- viving descendants in the U.S.A." Zinn puts the acknowledgement of genocide in the conquest of the Am- ericas in context. "My point is not that we must, in telling history, accuse, judge, condemn Columbus in ab- sentia..... But the easy acceptance of at- rocities as a deplorable but necessary price to pay for progress (Hiroshima and Vietnam, to save Western civil- ization...) - that is still with us." Columbus Day should not go un- noticed. Rather, it should become 'a day of mourning for the millions of native Americans who were killed and enslaved in the process of nation- building. Columbus Day should be a day to acknowledge the real history of the United States and the terrible blood- shed, slavery and repression that went into its founding. By Rollie Hudson In a general letter to the several thou- sand recent rushees, I would like to raise a few unresolved questions about the Greek system. A week ago I read in an article that it purports the ideals of "scholarship, leadership, and friendship." Indeed, I can see that from within the Greek system one can build a social and academic network and meet people who will not only make college fun, but who can expand opportunities in the future as well. Michigan can be intimidating for many young men and women, with its thirty- five thousand faces, academic pressures, and the pangs of homesickness which can be felt even into the second year. And with the University's inability to create a hospitable housing environment (i.e. overcrowded, highly restricted, and relatively uneventful dorms) the Greek system offers an attractive alternative. Yet despite its lofty ideals, the Greek system falls short of what it aspires to be. Upon closer inspection, those Greek "traditions" grow increasingly less re- spectable. For instance, a gender analysis shows that fraternities have had, and con- tinue to have, what is known as a "Rape Culture." Even Time Magazine (3/23/87) noted that "Men are encouraged to treat women aggressively and women are encouraged to submit." A 1987 study by the Project on the Status and Education of Women demonstrated that over 50 gang rapes oc- curred in the nation-wide Greek system in less than a two year period. Women are given too much alcohol and drugs and are then abused. Of the thousands of men in fraternities who have raped or been abusive towards women, it is doubtful they would have done so without an institution which tacitly sanctions such actions. Excess alcohol consumption and the objectification of woman as sex objects are integral aspects of the Greek system. To blame the victim - to accuse the woman of agreeing to the conditions which lead to her abuse - is fallacious. A seventeen year-old woman, often without the most developed sense of self-esteem and eager for peer acceptance, pumped full of chemical stimulants, is unlikely to be- in any condition to give informed consent. A lesson to be learned is that "Real Men Don't Rape " or abuse women. Fraternities deny this lesson. The insecurities and character Rollie Hudson is an Opinion page staff writer. deficiencies regarding gender divisions of most adolescents are only increased when women are constantly referred to in degrading, deumanizing, and tasteless terms. And we are all familiar with the derogatory words and actions used to turn women into things- to- be- conquered. But when speaking of the Greek system we recognize two; a Black Greek system and a white Greek system. Thus it is a segregated Greek system. Why? One needs only to look at relatively recent history of American fraternities (and, of course the larger racism which has shaped America) and to today's continued exclusionary policies. Crude proscriptions of Blacks and Jews are out. "Occasional Black members are let in, showcased to counter charges of racism. But nothing, in fact, has changed." (M.G. Lord Nation 5/87) This absence of people of color in the Greek system is a racist fact. it comes to public relations. Concerning philanthropy, estimates show that nationally the half million people in the Greek system give only $29.00 on average, to charity. When compared with tens of thousands of dollars in tuition money, an average of $750.00 paid in yearly dues, and millions spent collectively on consumer goods, drugs, alcohol, and food, that amount is contemptuous at best. More to the point, the University's privileged well-fed children have little compassion or awareness of the reality, or the causes of hunger, drug addicts, starving Black children in the third world enclaves that are our county's non-white ghettos. Even if they gave more, doling trifles to the poor is no solution. The youths who have never known pain however, are often incapable of real pity, or real concern for society. They would be questoining an establishment which 4 "Michigan can be intimidating for many young men and women, with its thirty-five thousand faces, academic pressures, and the pangs of homesickness which can be felt even into the second year." The following excerpt from an opening letter from the President of Kappa Alpha Theta (the oldest women's sorority) to its members recently read, "We still have alumnae who are reluctant to recommend anyone else other than the traditional white, Anglo-Saxon Protestant. And this is their right... the purpose of the recommendation system is... not to pro- vide a 'ticket' for everyone." (Shades of Dean Steiner). Many of today's Greek organizations have done away with such direct language but when they refer to maintaining the "tradition," the results are the same. One needs only to have watched the dozens of would-be sorority women walking from Hill Street the last few weeks. To para- phrase Lord, "statistics said that among the women there should have been several Blacks, Hispanics, and Native Americans, but I didn't see any." Historically, Jews and Blacks have formed their own groups in order to sur- vive white Protestant exclusion. Thus to say that because the "other groups" have been allowed to form their own organiza- tions, white exclusiveness is acceptable, smacks of the old refrain; "Separate but Equal." A few Blacks in the white Greek system as tokens are a virtual coup when maintains their comfortable existence. The Greek system also perpetuates an anti-intellectual existence which champi- ons apathy. It does not nurture progressive individuals who are concerned with maxi- mizing their full ethical potential. Rather, it anesthetizes people into one-dimen- sional human beings who are so tied up in their own cold self-interest who, as Tol- stoy said, claim that that their privileges "exist in themselves, without connections." It is a kind of ethical asphyxiation. Don't rationalize your involvement in an inherently racist, sexist, elitist, and hypocritical system. "I'm just trying it out," or "I'm not really into it" does not merit one's involvement. It is up to you, it is up to all of us, to take it upon our- selves to have the courage and conviction to live within a racially and culturally in- tegrated environment. We live in an unjust social order and must stop thinking of ourselves as ethical exceptions. We do not exist in isolation; we can make a difference. By its own definition, the Greek system works against this kind of society. The key is to begin with our own actions. Your potential is great, and the Greek system will only deny you the chance to realize it. { t f Native American Month highlights ironies and injustices: Month of awareness *OCTOBER IS NATIVE American month. Ironically, October is also the month in which Christopher Columbus - conqueror and enslaver of native Americans - is celebrated as a national Hero. Native American issues are shot through with ironies. Native Americans have been mythologized in popular culture as proud and indomitable. However, rates of alcoholism, drug abuse and suicide among the inhabi-. tints of Indian reservations are among tie highest in the world. Native American The majority of "Americans" (the white, European variety) know little about native American issues. Soviet citizens seem to be more aware. At last June's summit meeting in Moscow, Soviet college students asked Ronald Reagan - self-proclaimed champion of human rights - to explain the miser- able conditions found in Indian reser- vations. Reagan's response: "maybe we made a mistake" to have "humored" American Indians "wanting to stay in that primitive lifestyle." Such offensive ignorance is unfor- tunately typical. Ongoing issues of grave concern to native Americans in- clude: -The continuing imprisonment of Leonard Peltier, native American ac- tivist. Tried for the murder of FBI agents and found guilty, Peltier claims he was framed by the U.S. government. In 1985, Amnesty International and the American Indian Movement (AIM) urged that Peltier be retried in light of glaring weaknesses in the prosecu- tion's case. The U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals denied this request. It has since surfaced that the FBI fabricated dence in order to extradite Peltier from Canada. -The nuclear bombing of native Am- erican lands. According to Cultural Survival, a Harvard-based human rights group, the United States has exploded 651 nuclear weapons on New Sogobia, the West- ern Shoshone Nation. Thus, a native American nation has the dubious honor of being the most bombed nation in the world. AIM has also brought to light the fact that mining for nuclear raw materials and burial of nuclear wastes occurs on Indian reservations as frequently as on unoccupied wastelands- but not at all in areas of our country populated by whites. *The use of sacred emblems and names by professional and amateur sports teams. Of particular offense to many native Americans is the Washington Redskins pro football team. The Redskins' mas- cot wears a "war bonnet" during the games. To members of the Dakota Sioux, this gesture is highly offensive and racist. Said one member of the Dakota Sioux, "for a Christian that would be like.., running down the football field dragging a big cross." Fans Against Indian Racism (FAIR) is lobbying in Washington D.C. for the Redskins to change its name. Perhaps by emphasizing awareness of native American issues, future injustices to this group can be avoided. A month of awareness is a small step toward recognition of the ironies and present and past abuses of native American rights. ;xil lit to t-1,..... . : . .....: Zionism is not racism To the Daily: While it is true, as Prof. Mazrui claims, that both Israel and South Africa have been globally isolated, the circum- stances behind their isolation are vastly different. In the case of South Africa, the apartheid regime has found itself isolated out of a general repugnance for its racist policies. Israel, on the other hand, has found itself isolated by the "petro-major- ity". It has only been in the 1980s, during the oil glut, that such African nations as Liberia, Zaire, the Ivory Coast, Cameroon and Togo, have felt free to reopen diplomatic rela- tions with Israel, and that Israel has felt free to distance itself from the South African regime. However, Mazrui's speech, and his comments to the Daily, very quickly digressed from the subject he was to discuss. For example, during his interview with Daily(9/22/88), Mazrui was quick to find an excuse for PLO terrorism, stating that "the term terrorism is usually used to denounce people who are fighting for a cause that one does not agree with; it's not really the methods," and that, "every time the Israelis bomb Lebanon they kill a lot of civilians and I'm sure the Is- raeli government does not lose tionalism. You are talking about the same nation that, in the last 40 years, has' taken in over 700,000 refugees from all parts of the globe. You are talking about the same nation that, in the first half of this decade, risked its own sons and resources to rescue 15,000 Ethiopian Jews, and bring them home to the land of their forefathers. Zionism is racism? Zionism the expression of the Jewish national dream, as em- bodied in the State of Israel, that no Jewish community, anywhere in the world, will ever again be without an advo- cate. I suggest that you think more carefully next time, Mazrui. -John Blow October 5 PLO still supports charter To the Daily: In your editorial "Coveting a Covenant" (Daily, 9/28/88), you call for Israel to overlook the PLO's "outdated" covenant, the document which calls for the 'armed liberation of Pales- tine' (i.e. the destruction of Is- rael). This demand is prepos- terous! Is it Israel's or the PLO's responsibility to de- nounce this charter? Clearly, it is the PLO's duty to amend "the establishment of an inde- pendent Palestinian state on the West Bank and the Gaza Strip does not contradict our ultimate strategic aim, which is the es- tablishment of a ... state in the entire territory of Palestine, but rather is a step in that direc- tion."(Al Safir) Furthermore, a young Pales- tinian demonstrates how the majority of the Palestinians feel. "The day he (Arafat) rec- ognizes Israel is the day I will oppose him. I will win my [Palestinian] state by fighting, not by recognition," (Wall Street Journal,9/29/88). Do these sound like words from peace seeking people? Other incidents which serve to raise the Israeli's suspicion are numerous. The most vio- lent is the hijacking of an Is- raeli bus in February ,1988, and the murder of its nine in- habitants. The PLO claimed responsibilityfor this!! -Alan Woronoff Ari Blumenthal September 29 Vote No on Proposal A To the Daily: I am writing in response to Mogbo's analogy of reproduc- tive rights to buying a house. Basic health care is not analo- gous to buying material goods, and an ethical state provides basic health care to the poor. Ms. Mogbo argues that Medicaid funding is not the same issue as abortion legality, but she has only examined that issue superficially. How "free" is a poor woman to obtain an abortion, when by definition she has no money to do so? A poor woman who knows she wants an abortion but lives in a state without Medicaid funds has few options, all of them unattractive, all of them with serious repercussions - ask Rosie Jimenez. Ms. Mogbo states that women should have absolute responsibility for their actions concerning reproduction. This is a particularly harsh and self- righteous stance, especially when we consider the reality that there is no 100 percent ef- fective means of birth control. Even if there were, poor women have less access and education than the middle and upper classes. In any case, I was under the impression that it took two people to repro- duce. When will men be held responsible, Ms. Mogbo? Furthermore, Ms. Mogbo completely ignores the fact that if Public 59 takes effect, vic- tims of rape and incest will also be denied Medicaid funds for abortion. Is she implying .,:.:a-,...., ....+,....t........ +.. : .ti...fi."?.".":.:. 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