4 OPINION The Michigan Daily Tuesday, March 28, 1989 Page 4 4 abl£ kbigau aiij Edited and managed by students at The University of Michigan Aid for food, not for guns 420 Maynard St. Ann Arbor. MI 48109 Vol. IC, No. 121 Unsigned editorials represent a majority of the Daily's Editorial Board. All ot er cartoons, signed articles, and letters do not necessarily represent the opinion of the Daily. Participate in Awareness Week: Support gayri ghts LESBIAN AND Gay Men's Awareness Week starts today. The need for a week of awareness of issues concerning les- bians and gay men and a celebration of the gay experience is evident on this campus. There has been both an unex- pected interest in courses such as Les- bian Studies, offered for the first time by the Women's Studies program, and which prompted requests for more sections, as well as an increase in ho- mophobic incidents over the past year. The Lesbian and Gay Rights Organizing Committee (LaGROC) and the Lesbian and Gay Male Programs Office (LGMPO) have responded to the need to inform people about the gay community by sponsoring numerous films, speakers, forums, workshops, gay raps, and a rally. (see calendar) This is a week for heterosexuals to see who gay people really are; not the stereotypical limp-wristed, effeminate man or "masculine" woman, but fellow students, professors, parents, and hu- man beings. This is especially impor- tant in the light of heterosexist media depictions of gay people as deviant, dangerous or immoral. This is also a week for gay people to celebrate their experiences and identi- ties, and their fight to retain their iden- tities in the face of the fierce discrimination in the general society. When many people think of homo- phobia, they think of "gay-bashings," but homophobia, hatred and fear of gay people, manifests itself in many ways. Using the phrase "that's so gay," makes the word gay into an insult. Os- tracizing people for being too effemi- nate or too masculine, or not having an opposite-sex partner is homophobia. Heterosexism, a form of homopho- bia which presumes everyone is het- erosexual, is another'manifestation of homophobia. Many people complain that a gay couple walking down the street holding hands or Lesbian and Gay Men's Awareness Week are unacceptable "blatant displays" of homosexuality. Yet everyday the homophobic main- stream media barrages us with hetero- sexuality as the "norm." Although the issues of homophobia and heterosexism will be addressed, Lesbian and Gay Men's Awareness Week is also a week to celebrate the many gay identities and expressions that exist. By the World Hunger Edu- cation-Action Committee As the deadline for filing our taxes draws near, we should reflect how our government's $10.2 billion foreign aid budget is spent. Doing so will make us realize that it should be restructured to help countries in desperate need. U.S. foreign aid is probably one of the most important contributors to world hunger today. It actually intensifies the plight of the poor in Third World coun- tries. While 47 percent of U.S. foreign aid goes for the purchase of military hardware in recipient countries, the remainder is spent in a way that effectively prolongs world hunger. To start with, U.S. foreign aid goes primarily to two countries - Is- rael and Egypt, neither of which rank amongthe poorest countries in the world. Closely allied with the U.S., these coun- tries receive 51.9 percent of the U.S. for- eign aid budget. And a significant amount of Israel's aid is spent on weapons. Despite the tremendous amount of aid sent to Egypt, poverty continues there nevertheless. This is because too much of U.S. aid goes for militarization, and the token amount of food and developmental aid benefits the rich and the middle classes, leaving the poorest virtually untouched. Developmental assistance to Egypt, as elsewhere, funds roads, dams and commu- nications networks. The main beneficiaries of this are affluent businesspeople, rather than the poor. The remaining small portion of the for- eign aid budget actually impoverishes many countries, for example, El Salvador and Sudan. While our government claims to promote peace, democracy and eco- nomic development in El Salvador, the $500 million sent there each year does just the opposite. U.S. aid has underwritten bombing campaigns throughout the coun- tryside and death squad killings of peas- ants. Our government, again claiming to promote democracy, has involved itself in Sudan's civil war, where U.S. aid has as- sisted the Sudanese regime in waging war against its people. From 1979 to 1985, $743 million of U.S. aid contributed to 300,000 civil war deaths and the home- lessness of three million people there. The ten poorest countries in the world receive almost no U.S. aid. Furthermore, the U.S. has placed severe restrictions on private humanitarian aid to Vietnam, Kampuchea and Nicaragua, whose economies have been wrecked by U.S. policy. Vietnam, where much of the land has been ruined by Agent Orange, bomb thousand buildings, including schools, health clinics and homes, have been de- stroyed in the Contra war. Oxfam America's Tools for Peace and Justice is trying to turn this around. While almost 75 percent of U.S. aid provides weapons, police and military training, Tools for Peace focuses on helping Third World people, who need local food production, clean water, health care and schools. Ann Arbor's World Hunger Edu- cation-Action Committee (W.H.E.-A.C.) supports Oxfam America's projects and philosophy. Our philosophy is one of grass-root development efforts, where re- cipients of aid decide what they need. W.H.E.-A.C. and Oxfam are non-profit organizations focusing on people-to-peo- I 'From 1979 to 1985, $743 million of U.S. aid contributed to 300,000 civil war deaths and the homelessness of three million people there. 4 craters and unexploded munitions, has not only been subjected to a U.S.-initiated trade embargo, but has received not a dime of reconstruction aid. As in Vietnam, there is a U.S. trade embargo against and not a penny of eco- nomic assistance sent to Nicaragua. Fur- thermore, the embargo blocks any devel- opmental aid offered by private humanitarian organizations in the U.S.. While the U.S. quickly sent reconstruction aid to Nicaragua under the Samoza dicta- torship after an earthquake struck in the 1970s, none was sent after hurricane Gilbert last December. Yet other "aid" sent by the Reagan/Bush administration has had an effect. At least ten thousand Nicaraguans have been killed and three ple efforts. We give true humanitarian aid, which needs everyone's support. During the last week of March, W.H.E.- A.C. will hold activities in support of Tools for Peace and Justice. A bucket drive will be held on Tuesday, March 28 and Wednesday, March 29. Also, on Tuesday, March 28, at 7:30 in the Pond Room A & B of the Michigan Union, Sandra Steingraber will speak on U.S. "aid" to Sudan. Tuesday, April 4, at the Blind Pig, W.H.E.-A.C. will have a benefit concert featuring Frank Allison and the Odd Sox and Juice. All proceeds will support Tools for Peace and Justice. Again, W.H.E.-A.C., asks you to consider where your tax dollars are sent. 4 I Too little and very late Lesbian and Gay Men'sAwareness Week: THE U.S. House of Representatives' approval of the first increase in the minimum wage in eight years is better than nothing, but will do little to close the gap between rich and poor that has widened in this country in the 1980s.. It is something of a national disgrace that even this paltry and long overdue measure now faces a threatened Presi- dential veto and further watering down, if it is passed, by the Senate. Last week the House (with Ann Ar- bor's Representative Carl Pursell vot- ing against it) approved a bill that will raise the minimum wage from the cur- rent $3.35 an hour to $4.55, over three years, beginning with a 50 cent in- crease this October. In the last decade the minimum wage has lost about a third of its purchasing power due to inflation; it has remained at its current $3.35 throughout the Reagan presi- dency. The proposed increase will not even restore the real earnings of mini- mum wage workers to what they were ten years ago. The bill that emerges out of the Sen- ate and House compromise is likely to include not only a lower wage, but will almost definitely provide for a sub- minimum training wage for new workers. This will allow employers to pay a lower wage to newly hired workers with no previous employment. This measure could be especially dangerous to already employed adult workers, who might be laid off in favor of cheaper new laborers. It is also, in general, divisive and unfair for people to work side by side and receive different wages for the same work. Opponents of the proposed increase in the minimum wage argue that it will increase unemployment, particularly among teenagers. This argument can be found in any mainstream introductory economics textbook. It is often ad- vanced in a very propagandistic way in the introductory courses, leaving stu- dents with the impression that mini- mum wages only hurt the people they are designed to help. The argument is very simple: at higher wages, labor is more expensive, and profit-maximizing employers will therefore employ fewer workers. But there are problems with the con- be a "ripple effect" which increases the wages of workers earning above the minimum wage. The increased spend- ing that results from the higher income of both minimum wage and non-mini- mum wage earners may increase over- all employment in the economy. Secondly, the actual effect of mini- mum wage legislation on employment is a difficult empirical question that has been the subject of a good deal of study. One striking fact is that the drastic decline in the real value of the minimum wage in the 1980s did not serve to increase employment among teenagers. A recent review of the em- pirical literature by University Eco- nomics Professor Charles Brown indi- cates that the overall employment ef- fects of minimum wages are probably small. But even if one were to expect a sig- nificant negative effect on employment from increasing the minimum wage, this would not be sufficient justification to oppose it. Socially intolerable levels of unemployment, particularly among teenagers and minority workers, will not be resolved by increasing their ex- ploitation. If conservative legislators and President Bush were really con- cerned with unemployment they would support macroeconomic policies to in- crease employment, as well as in- creased training and education for the unemployed. At the very least they could support the "economists' solu- tion" of wage subsidies to low-wage employers, which would raise mini- mum wages and increase employment at the same time. But they are too con- cerned with tax breaks for the rich to consider addressing the real needs of the unemployed. The bottom line is that people who work full time, often at difficult or onerous jobs, should not be con- demned to poverty. If the minimum wage had been allowed to rise with in- flation during the 1980s, the rise in the numbers of working poor would not have been as steep as it was. Most people now recognize certain rights to health and safety on the job, and accept that government intervention is necessary to protect these rights. The right to earn an income above the Partiali Tuesday 28 March: Benefit Dance - Nectarine Ballroom 9pm-close Wednesday 29 March: Videos and Literature in the Fishbowl Display in the UGLi Films: "A Death in the Family," "A Virus Has No Morals," 7 and 9:20 pm, Nat. Sci. Aud. Thursday 30 March: Lecture: "Women, Power, and Difference." Audre Lorde. Hale Auditorium, Business School. Reception following. Friday 31 March: BLUE JEANS DAY COMING OUT DAY Rally on the Diag, Noon-to 1:00 Films: "Storme: The Lady of the Jewel Box," "Virgin Machine," 7 and 9:15 Nat. Sci. Aud. Saturday 1 April: Potluck, Entertainment, Dance 7-1, Halfway Inn, East Quad Film: "Mala Noche," 7 and 8:30 pm, MLB 3. calendar c Sunday 2 April: UM Staff-Faculty potluck. Paint the Rock/Picnic 1:00 Monday 3 April: Workshops: "Issues of Color in the Les- bian-Gay Men and Bisexual Community," 7-8:30 pm, Michigan League rm. D. "Dominatrixes and Dictators: Facilitators and Chairpeople: Gender and Group Dy- namics in the L-GM Community," 8:30- 10pm, League, rm. D. "Safer Sex," 7-8:30 League rm. C. Tuesday 4 April: Gay Rap 7-9pm, League rm D. Workshop: "History of LaGROC and Po- litical Agendas in the L-GM Community" 8-9:30, Union rm 3100. Wednesday S April: Workshops: "Unity in the Fight Against AIDS," 7-8:30, League, rm A. "Inter- campus Perspectives on L-GM Issues," 8:30-10, League, rm A. Discussion: "Free Speech or Censorship? The Well of Loneliness, The Satanic Verses, and Cornerstone Christian events Fellowship," 7-8:30, League rm D. Thursday 6 April: Workshops: "Revolutionary Perspectives on L-GM Liberation," 7-8:30, Union, Anderson A. Terri Jewell, "Getting Published in the L- GM Press," and Russell Brown, "Reading and Getting Published," 7-8:30, "Community Reading of L-GM Litera- ture," 8:30-10, Lawyers Club Lounge. Friday 7 April: Film: "Gay Shorts Night," pm, MLB 4 Saturday 8 April: Film: "Novembermund," 7 MLB 3 7 and 8:30 and 9 pm, Sunday 9 April: Films: "Fox and His Friends," 7 pm, MLB 3, "Un Chant D'Amour," and Querelle," 9:15, MLB 3 For more information call 994-5403, 769- 7787, or the LGMPO at 763-4186. 4 Closets are for clothes By Anonymous To thine own self be true, and it follows as the day follows night, you cannot then be false before any other." -Shakespeare It may seem incongruous to write a let- ter about coming out for Lesbian and Gay Male's Awareness Week, and then leave the letter unsigned. However, gay aware- ness includes recognizing that this letter could have been written by almost anyone. I often hear casual acquaintances, or classmates make comments like, "I don't know any gay people," or worse, I hear them tell gay jokes. Whether you realize it or not, I'm your classmate, teammate, roommate, co-worker, professor, acquain- tance, best friend, sister, even your ex- girlfriend or boyfriend. Stop reading for a moment and look around. One of every 10 people you see is was seeing the flyers I posted for Gay Awareness Week torn down within 15 minutes of hanging them. Thirty-six hours later, only a handful remained. That means more than 500 were destroyed. Does this happen to posters for Greek Week? College Democrats? Intervarsity Christian Fellowship? The Glee Club? Any other campus group? It makes me both sad and angry to see how much ho- mophobia there is on this campus and ev- erywhere. The theme for Awareness Week 1989 is "Coming Out." Coming out of the closet is both a personal and a political process. Staying in the closet means hating our- selves, denying our existence, lying, and perpetuating stereotypes, oppression, and homophobia. When I visit my parent and relatives I find myself censoring my speech and stripping myself of any per- sonality and affect. I never talk about my membership in LaGROC. A fun evening painting posters and banners for Aware- feel angry. Coming out means accepting ourselves, raising consciousness, fighting for our rights, and loving ourselves and each other. When I came out to my sister we began to grow closer for the first time since Junior High. We share our stories and feelings about our current relation- ships, and I no longer censor my speech. I came out to a co-worker and now share with her my fears about coming out to my parents, my involvement in politics, and my anxiety and happiness about a date. I joined LaGROC and have helped plan events for Lesbian and Gay Men's Aware- ness Week, and agreed to speak on the Diag at Friday's rally. When I do thesex things I feel empowered. Awareness Week is a time for celebra- tion, education, and consciousness-raising. Whether you're gay or straight, if you want to show your support for gay rights, learn more about what it means to be gay,