I
PINTON
Page 4
Thursday, February 23, 1989
b + idaig iaiI
Edited and managed by students at The University of Michigan
420 Maynard St.
Vol. IC, No. 103 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.
Feminists far
Pesticide is poison
T HE ENVIRONMENTAL Protection
Agency's February 16th failure to
implement a comprehensive ban on the
use of the carcinogenic fungicide cap-
tan indicates a continuation of EPA
pesticide regulation policies which
disregard public health and safety.
The EPA has been aware of links be-
tween captan and cancer since 1977. In
the ensuing twelve years, the powerful
agri-chemical and agri-business indus-
tries have manipulated the EPA to
avoid a ban on the 10 million pounds
of captan annually applied to crops.
The result of this corporate intimidation
is an EPA policy which accomplishes
virtually nothing in terms of consumer
and farm worker safety.
The EPA's ban does not cover 24
fruits and vegetables which account for
an enormous percentage of the captan
applied to products each year. The im-
pact on the production of the 42 prod-
ucts to which the ban does apply is
negligible. The agri-chemical and agri-
business industries have protected their
interests by coercing the EPA into ap-
plying the captan ban to products like
oranges (107 lbs. applied in California
in 1986) but not grapes (200,000 lbs.
applied in CA in 1986). The seven
products which account for the most
numerous captan applications are all
unaffected by the ban.
The EPA's decision represents a fur-
ther dismantling of the Delaney Clause,
part of the Food, Drug, and Cosmetics
Act which prohibits any residue of
cancer-causing substances on food.
The EPA's policy poses a senseless
risk to consumers as even EPA acting
deputy administrator Dr. John Moore
admits that there are no 'demonstrable
benefits' from the use of captan be-
cause safer alternatives are available.
Farm workers are placed in grave
danger by the EPA policy. Because
captan is not even a restricted-use
pesticide, growers can force their
workers to apply this carcinogen with-
out reporting it to the government.
Farm workers face regular exposure to
captan and other dangerous cancer-
causing pesticides and their children
are paying the price. Several "cancer
clusters" exist in California.
McFarland, a small town of farm
workers, has a child cancer rate more
than 400 percent above the norm.
The EPA seems solely concerned
with protecting corporate interests, in-
stead of protecting consumers and
workers from the ethically groundless
agri-chemical and agri-business indus-
tries.
The Bush administration must restore
credibility to the EPA and enforce
stricter pesticide regulations. All
carcinogenic pesticides must be
banned. In addition, the Bush must
reimplement President Carter's execu-
tive order prohibiting U.S. companies
from exporting banned pesticides
which was dismantled in the early
years of the Reagan/Bush administra-
tion.
Until these policy changes are en-
acted, public health will continue to be
threatened by corporate interests.
Consumers, particularly women in
their reproductive years, should be
aware that the almonds, apples, apri-
cots, blueberries, cherries, dewberries,
eggplant, grapes, green onions, lettuce,
mangoes, nectarines, peaches, pears,
peppers, pimientos, plums, prunes,
raspberries, strawberries, taro, and
tomatoes which they consume are
likely to bear the residue of cancer-
causing pesticides.
By Daniel Smith
The author of the editorial, "Porn
Illustrated" (Daily, 2/13/89) exhorts us to
"Boycott Sports Illustrated.." because it
..perpetuates the myth of women as
sexual objects who need and want to be
conquered." The conclusion that Sports
Illustrated is indirectly telling men to rape
women is an interesting conclusion, but
not a reasonable one. At the very least the
author's conclusion is an intense
exaggeration.
This type of exaggeration seems very
common among some women's groups
and I find it disturbing. I agree with the
basic premises that women are used as
sale/sex objects. I further agree that
women should have the same economic
opportunity as men. I even agree, that
certain types of porn should be outlawed,
and that their existence is an
embarrassment to humanity, but I disagree
with the tone, method, and dynamics of
many "feminists" that the author above
typifies.
The problem, according to certain
feminists, is that whenever some man
says "What a babe!" they are reducing the
object of their stare to an object, and
thinking only of that object's sex appeal.
This begins a process of psychological
breakdown which ends with the total
objectification of people (women). When
you objectify a person you cease to have
empathy for them or respect for their
boundaries. Women become a thing for
male use and enjoyment in much the same
way a bicycle is a thing. This, they
contend, is how SI assists in allowing
men to feel justified in raping women as
women have ceased to be real to men.
What disturbs me is that it isn't Sports
Illustrated that causes offenders to rape,
nor is it the use of the pronoun
Daniel Smith is an Ann Arbor resident
and a self-identified feminist.
"Mankind" or explicit telev
sociopathology within the offei
is caused by things alot deep
eight and a half by twenty two t
spread page of Christie Brinkley
bikini. Most rapists aren't habit
Illustrated readers. They are
have been victims of sexual a
child. The nature of the o
pathology isn't in what he c
read, it's in his history in th
family, among other things.
While I agree that the SI po
women surely doesn't help ther
in our society, I don't think it;
equated with causes of rape.
I have a terrible confession t
The Michigan Daily
too angry
ision, it's active in feminism, are college students.
nder. Rape They can afford to pay for school. When
er than an they receive their diploma, they will be
echnicolor able to afford many things others can't.
y in a lycra These women have managed, in many
tual Sports cases, to remain impervious to the
men who economic injustice of sexism. They have
abuse as a luckily never felt the poverty of a forty
offenders' year old secretary and never will.
hooses to The vehemence with which some
e primary "feminists" brow beat and preach would
lead us to believe that these women are
)rtrayal of these forty year old secretaries and not
m advance upper middle class 19 to 25 year olds who
should be get a check from home every month. I can
hear many of these feminists responding
now, "Isn't the fact that we are victims of
omake. I sexual harassment and violence enough to
I have a terrible confession to make. I found some of the
scantily clad models in Sports Illustrated incredibly attractive!
(I know, it's terrible, but I am trying to reform myself.)'
4
found some of the scantily clad models in
Sports Illustrated incredibly attractive! (I
know, it's terrible, but I am. trying to
reform myself.)
Often I think some "feminists" are
"angryists" and they rationalize their
misery by claiming that they are the
victims of a sexist society, instead of
looking more closely at what they are
angry about. They are looking for
something to blame, rather than
confronting their own neurosis. Societies
have blamed Jews, Blacks, and
homosexuals. When I want to blame
someone, I blame my parents. Feminists,
of this hardcore brand, blame the pronoun
mankind, and this issue of SI.
Many of the women I know who are
justify self righteous anger?"
It's horribly true that women have been
the repeated victims of rape or incest.
Rape is the most horrible and evil crime a
man can commit and it is an absolute
disgrace on our society that it happens so
frequently and is dealt with so leniently. I
am horrified and disgusted with the way
our system deals with rape. It's terribly
true that many Michigan students are
sexual assault victims.
I think men would be more willing to
use inclusive language if women would
use inclusive (as well as sensible) protest.
The "feminist" movement would
obviously benefit if it presented itself in a
way that attracted more supporters from
both genders.
(
.... ... .... ... .... ... .... ... .... .. ............. ..
..4. .e.t:}.r.11to the "::edr.itor.
Steps for Soviet Jews
LAST WEEK the first officially ap-
proved Jewish cultural center in the
Soviet Union was inaugurated. The
center, which is to house classes in
Yiddish and Hebrew, a Jewish library
with works in Yiddish and Hebrew,
and an exhibition gallery, comes as a
part of Glasnost, and, more specifi-
cally, of the easing of long held op-
pressive policies toward the Jews.
The history of oppression of Jews in
the region is far older than the Soviet
Union. For hundreds of years, almost
since the Jews first came to Eastern
Europe, hatred of Jews, oppressive
policies, and pogroms have been the
accepted norm. Long before the
founding of the Soviet state, the murder
and rape of Jews in government
sponsored pogroms was
commonplace. During the German
occupation of the Ukraine in World
War II, the local population took the
chance to turn against the Jews by
aiding the Nazis and committing
murders and atrocities of their own.
Even Ukrainian partizans resisting the
occupation turned in Jewish partizans
fighting for the same goal. During the
Stalinist purges the Jews were specifi-
cally targeted for extermination. The
entire history of the modern state is
marked by attempts to eradicate the
Jews as a culture, as a religion, and as
a people. The practice of the Jewish re-
ligion has been illegal, as has the study
of Jewish culture and language, and the
right of Jews to flee the oppression by
emigrating has been restricted. It is
illegal to own Hebrew, Yiddish, and
other Jewish books and religious
objects, such as menorahs, prayer
shawls and phylacteries. Jews who
apply for exit visas often lose their jobs
and apartments, or are branded as
dissidents, and are imprisoned. The
oppression of Jews under the modern
state is simply the continuation of the
ancient hatred of Jews in this area.
In light of history, this step is to be
commended, and the program of Glas-
nost encouraged., although it should
not be forgotten that the much publi-
cized increase in the granting of exit
visas leaves many thousands of Jews
captive in a nation that denies them
their civil rights. Though the opening
of a cultural center will not erase the
rampant oppression of Jews by the
government or hatred of Jews in the
Soviet Union, it is a step in the right
direction. The approval of this center,
and Glasnost in general, bring closer
the goal of universal human rights and,
like any such step, are to be com-
mended and encouraged.
Daily
bashes
Bush again
To the Daily:
Your article on our forty-first
President (Daily, 2/9/89) once
again proves the Daily is
incapable of producing any-
thing but editorial garbage. Not
only have you misplaced the
source of President Bush's new
accommodation of Congress,
but you have, save for being an
"editorial", slandered a man
who isn't here to defend him-
self. Let's look at the facts for
just a minute:
-Ex-President Reagan did
have Congress working on his
agenda for a better part of six
years. During this period, he
was not only a very effective
leader, but the United States
enjoyed a peacetime expansion
which continues to this day.
President Reagan, not an
intelligent Congress, achieved
this dramatic turnaround from
the Democratic nightmare left
by "Mister Peanut" Jimmy
Carter.
-Just because President Bush
is friendly to Congress does
not mean he is trying to de-
stroy the line between execu-
tive and legislative branch.
Rather President Bush has
realized what Ronald Reagan
saw too late: Congress is try-
ing to overrun the executive
branch by meddling in its af-
fairs. Speaker Wright's inter-
vention in Central America
should be punished to the
fullest extent of the law: im-
peachment. He had no author-
ity or reason to interfere in
foreign policy. That is solely
left to the executive branch.
President Bush's new open
attitude toward Congress is
merely a way to stop Congress
from doing what he is elected
to do.
-The concept that corpo-
protect their own interests
would spell doom for the
economic structure of this
nation.
Your article not only showed
your narrow-mindedness, "con-
servative-phobia", biasedness,
and shallow thinking, but your
staff should seriously consider
resigning and being replaced by
those with a large interest in
fairness and moderation. Your
trash only serves those who
want to project the University
as a place for bigots and close-
minded idiots. Think about it
carefully.
-Michael J. Corbin
February 9
Religious
furor out of
hand
To the Daily:
Fellow observers of the ve-
hement denunciations of "The
Satanic Verses" may also recall
the rage that greeted a former
April Fool's Day editorial in
the entitled, "God is dead"
(Daily, 4/1/88) and more re-
cently a movie called "The Last
Temptation of Christ." Such
similar reactions in different
culture systems are enough to
cause wonder as to what kind
of god "creator" it is that could
or would inspire competing
biographers of itself with little
humor and great fear and hatred.
Such situations demonstrate
the wisdom in Bertrand Rus-
sell's comment: "The degree of
one's emotion varies inversely
with one's knowledge of the
facts - the less you know the
hotter you get."
This observer suspects that
such forms of competition
have more to do with power
and influence than with a god
worth the exaltation of the
name, and that Voltaire was
right on the money when he
said, "People who believe ab-
surdities will commit atroci-
ties."
_i2 Fl ...linann
"Operation Rescue," a splinter
group of the "Right-To-Life"
movement, has been attacking
abortion clinics and harassing
women entering them. The
Ann Arbor Committee to
Defend Abortion Rights
(A2CDAR), along with the
Detroit Coalition to Defend
Abortion Rights (DCDAR), is
building a movement to stop
them. In Livonia on 11/12/88,
and in Detroit on 1/21/89, we
mobilized to thwart the anti-
choicers' attempts to shut down
clinics and provided escorts to
protect clients and staff from
harassment. In some cases,
"Operation Rescue" has
physically assaulted women
entering clinics.
This Saturday, February 25,
"Operation Rescue" will attack
a clinic in Lake Orion,
Michigan. Once again,
A2CDAR and DCDAR are
mobilizing to keep the doors
open and protect clients and
staff from harrassment and
abuse. A car pool will leave
from Ann Arbor early Saturday
morning to join Ypsilanti and'
Detroit abortion rights
supporters. Come to
Community High School on
Division five blocks north of
Liberty at 5:30am Saturday
morning to join our efforts.
Call 995-8958 for more
information.
-Dawn Chalker
Rhonda Laur
Andrea Bozoki
February 22
RAM JAM
follow up
To the Daily:
A big muchas gracias to ev-
eryone who helped make
"RAM JAM" such a success!
This benefit concert, sponsored
by the Rainforest Action
Movement, took place at The
Beat on Feb. 2. As a result of
on rainforests and other envi-
ronmental issues. Beautiful
slides of the Tambopata rain-
forest were shown, as well as
slides depicting rainforest dev-
astation. But certainly the tone
or "beat" of the evening was
set by The Iodine Raincoats
and Big Box of Nines - who
had the crowd of nearly 300
dancing into the morning
hours. A special thanks to the
members of the bands - for
their generosity, high energy,
and music!
An excellent follow-up to
RAM JAM is taking place on
Saturday, March 4, and I urge
everyone who wants to learn
more about the rainforest to
attend. The day-long program
of presentations, workshops
and lectures is sponsored by the
Detroit Audubon Society. A
number of environmental is-
sues will be addressed, includ-
ing an update on the Detroit
incinerator litigation, for ex-
ample. But the primary focus
will be on the tropical rainfor-
est. Experts on the Brazilian
jaguar, on conservation in
Africa and in Central America,
will give presentations.
The talks will provide a
broad perspective, and many
will include wildlife slides. The
dependence of biological diver-
sity upon economic and politi-
cal realities will be discussed.
One of the most exciting
speakers promises to be Victor
Gonzales, the President of the
Belize Audubon Society. Re-
cently, he organized the first
joint meeting of environmental
government officials from all 7
Central American countries. He
and the U of M's own James19
Birchfield will provide an
especially interesting perspec-
tive on the complex problems
of Central America.
Just $5 covers a whole day
of presentations, and all pro-
ceeds go directly towards pre-
serving the tropical rainforests
of Belize. Call the Detroit
Audubon Society for more in-
formation: 545-2929.
Daily Opinion Page letter policy
Due to the volume of mail, the Daily cannot print all the
letters and columns it receives, although an effort is made to
print the majority of the material on a wide range of views.
The Daily cuts letters and columns for space in both the edi-
torial process and in production.
The Dailv dne not nrint blatantly sexist. racist or homo-