4 OPINION Page 4 Monday, April 17, 1989 The Michigan Daily 4 Edited and managed by students at The University of Michiyan 420 Maynard St. Vol. IC, No. 135 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. Remember genocide Censorship not answer APRIL 24TH commemorates the first genocide of the 20th century. From 1915-16, over a million Armenians were murdered by orders of the Young Turk government as part of a deliberate attempt to rid the Ottoman Empire of its indigenous Armenian population. The gruesome fate of the Armenians was witnessed by hundreds of Euro- pean and American diplomats, mis- sionaries, military personnel, and engineers, then resident in the Ottoman Empire. Yet despite the #facts, the Turkish government continues to deny the occurrence of the Armenian geno- cide. The genocide occurred when the Young Turk leadership justified a se- ries of wholesale measures against the Armenians by accusing them of disloyalty to the empire during World War I. Armenian soldiers serving in the Ottoman army were disarmed, placed into labor battalions, and ultimately shot. Armenian civilians were "deported" in convoys to imaginary destinations in the deserts of Syria. Victims of these convoys either starved to death or were murdered. Many thousands of Armenian women and children were abducted into Moslem households. By the end of 1916, no Armenians remained in three-quarters of historic Armenia. Since the Armenian genocide, suc- cessive regimes in the Turkish Repub- lic have lived up to the legacy of an "Armenia without Armenians." They have prevented the return of Armenian survivors to their homes, and elimi- nated the very name of the Armenians from what is now called "Eastern Turkey." The Ottoman-Turkish archives still remain closed on the sub- ject of the Armenians. In addition, the official line of the present Turkish regime still denies the existence of 25 centuries of Armenian civilization in modern Turkey. This effort has been complemented by the systematic destruction of ancient Ar- menian monuments, churches and monasteries, and the Turkification of the Armenian heritage in art, architec- ture and music and in the renaming of sights in historic Armenia. Ninety per- cent of historic Armenian sights in Eastern Turkey have been renamed in the past 60 years. The actions of suc- cessive Turkish regimes constitute the full parameters of the Armenian geno- cide, its subsequent denial, and the in- dignity with which Armenian survivors still have to live today. The Turkish state, which is the third largest recipient of United States for- eign aid, spends millions of dollars on public relations to repair its damaged credibility. However, a U.S. travelling exhibit on the Age of Suleiman the Magnificent and other tributes to Turk- ish culture, cannot mask Turkey's po- litical and human rights record. Turkey is a despotic state which op- presses its people and its constitution, legal system and academia curtail free debate and criticism. Executions, purges, and torture have been incorpo- rated into Turkey's political process since its adoption of "democracy" in 1946. Turkey has to be recognized for what it is: an undemocratic state guilty of a genocide. This month commemorates the 74th anniversary of the genocide of the Ar- menians by the Ottoman Turks. The first step in fighting against genocide and affirming the rights of all people to exist is to acknowledge and condemn the occurrence of such crimes. Other- wise the world is condemned to repeat them, as the history of the 20th century has shown. The Armenian genocide concerns us all. There will be a vigil commemo- rating the 74th anniversary of the Armenian genocide at the Diag on April 24 at 9 PM. By Donald Unger Pornography has long been the obsession of various conservative and, religious groups, who see it as one of the major symptoms of, and contributing factors to, a perceived erosion of moral values. In the 1980's, however, links have been forged between unlikely allies; a significant segment of the women's movement has made common cause with these groups. Moreover, the idea that censorship is the solution to this problem has become acceptable to large numbers of people. It is understandable that people concerned with misogyny, objectification of women, and the sexual violence that permeates our society would focus on this issue. But the approach they have taken is a serious mistake. The anti-porn feminists are primarily concerned with three areas: 1) The content of some of the more violent pornographic magazines and films is alleged to be real rather than acted, depicting actual rape or, in the case of "snuff" movies, the dismemberment and murder of women; 2) Pornography is held to be one of the primary causes of violence against women; 3) People see pornography as degrading to women and therefore as fostering or perpetuating misogyny in society at large. The first claim is the most sensational. The anti-porn movement has long concentrated disproportionately on violent porn and the "snuff" movie has long been the holy Grail of this focus - much more talked about and rarely, if ever, seen. The question here is not pornography but assault, rape, and murder. If these things are actually going on, they should be stopped. But the representation of these acts is not the same as committing them. The second idea, that pornography causes violence against women, is not new, but neither has it ever been proven. The Meese Commission, the most recent group to postulate this connection, started out with this cnnclusion and then went Donald Unger is a graduate stu- dent in Rackham's Creative Writing program. looking for evidence to support it; most social scientists take neither its methods nor its conclusion seriously. It is true that various disturbed people-rapists and child molesters among them-are attracted to pornography. But this does not mean that the relationship between the two is causal, that pornography is what leads them to commit their crimes. On the contrary, there is a great deal of evidence to be found-in northern Europe, for example- that would indicate that the abolition of obscenity laws leads to a decrease in sex crimes. The last point is difficult to dispute. Most pornography degrades women. But, in sheer numbers, we are far more affected by mainstream images-in news, entertainment, and advertising-than by anything else. threats of violence that most women live with are largely caused by pornography. By policing this one area, then, we could immeasurably improve the quality of life of more than half of our population. But, if pornography disappeared tomorrow, the effect would be minuscule; we would still live in an essentially sexist, misogynistic society. The threat to women would not be lessened at all. It might well be worse. What the anti-porn groups are asking is the criminalization of images, of words, ultimately of thought, something that we as a nation have traditionally - at least in theory - opposed. If only this power is granted, we are told, it will be used exclusively against the "bad" images and ideas, not against anything with artistic, cultural, or social merit. Reassuring I I '...if pornography disappeared tomorrow, the effect would be minuscule; we would still live in an essentially sexist, misogynistic society.' 4 One of the central problems with the question of regulating pornography is the fundamental one of definition. What is pornography? And, just as difficult, how do we differentiate between pornography and erotica? Pornography's conservative critics whose motivations are moral and religious, are at least clear on this question: for them, eroticism is sin, sex is exclusively for reproduction. Presumably the majority of pornography's feminist critics are not seeking to abolish the erotic but simply to separate it from the violence and misogyny they see as pornography's dominant theme. But once this process starts, who will control it? And who should? Is it the province of the state - or even of the majority -- to regulate the erotic, to decide what is sexually correct? It would be a relief to believe that the words? They have been said before, back into history, by oppressive groups from both ends of the political spectrum, groups which promised to cleanse society of dangerous influences, dangerous ideas. 4 These solutions have invariably themselves become nightmares. To stand up for the right to present these images should not be confused with an endorsement of the ideology they may be said to represent. Nor should any of this be read as a glossing over of or insensitivity to the very real threats that women face on a daily basis. Actions against women, actions that attempt to marginalize any group, should be dealt I with in the strongest possible manner. But the battle against images is of a different, more complex character. Censorship is not the answer. .... .4w..: :":::" : :': J::::': ':':": ':"J:"}:::":":'::!:li:":l:::tiv::"':':'':"."::".":':{ti'; ::: Jti"' '""":r'.ti": ::::::' :":!:!:!: Jr!::::' ::!: '::":': :":'::Y ': J: ........... ..... .. .... .. ..... .. .... ..... ... .. . .: .. .. .....:::r::"::'::":::':':'::':. ::::. '::"::: '."::.'."." :.. ...... ...:........ :.... .::. :{"T.......Y. r .., ..z :": ICJ{{ : ": J{ I. NCAA exploits Blacks IN A SOCIETY as fundamentally racist as the United States, it seems ironic that eight thousand upper middle class white students would be overjoyed to the point of "rioting" by the accom- plishments of a primarily Black basket- ball team. However, when the struc- tural dynamics of this country's colle- giate athletics are looked at more closely, the "riot" was actually quite intelligible. Collegiate athletics in this country, according to sociologist Harry Edwards, possess fundamental dy- namics similar to a "plantation system." Black athletes have become modern day gladiators whose function is to make money for and entertain primarily white, upper class communities. Most Black athletes are systemati- cally brought to this campus for the express purpose of performing in the sports arena. Academics become a de facto secondary priority. For example, the way the athletic department structures the day to day schedules of athletes leaves them little time to excel as students. A surprizing seventy-five percent of Black athletes do not graduate from the universities they represent. When a Black athlete arrives on cam- pus he - and the emphasis is on men because the NCAA puts far lessprior- ity and makes far less money on women's athletics - stands a good chance of being admitted automatically to the Department of Physical Educa- tion. The courses suggested often em- phasize physical education, coaching, sports communications, or other less marketable skills. Genuine kinisiology and management degrees which are useful as pre-med or pre-MBA de- grees, although available, are often de- emphasized. While avoiding a 'blaming the victim' analysis of the problems of Black ath- letes, it should be noted that some ex- perts, such as Edwards, have pointed out that students who come from com- munities afflicted by vicious cycles of poverty face unique problems, such as the prioritization of athletics over academic achievement. Black athletes receive close to three quarters of the scholarships for basketball and football - the revenue producing sports - but only five percent of all NCAA scholarships. These sports produce, in turn, practically all of the monies needed to support the rest of the sports teams in the association. As a result, more than nine-tenths ofthe collegiate athletes on scholarship in the United States - most of whom are white - are being put through school by a small group of revenue athletes, the majority of whom are Black. Further evidence of the systematic institutional racism within the NCAA is the fact that ninety-five percent of NCAA coaches, college presidents, and others in athletically related deci- sion making positions are white males. This country's elitist athletic hierar- chy and the disproportionately small Black population on its campuses are simply aspects of the racism which pervades our society. Hence, the once ironic and confounding "victory riot," seems now obvious and expected. Greeks, not Cameron, sexist To the Daily: I am writing in response to the editorial titled "How Great is Great Books?" (Daily 4/12). While this article did give some valid criticisms, I feel that your overall assessment of the course was unfair. At the beginning of the edi- torial, you criticized Dr. Cameron for saying, "If you are looking for feminist issues, don't read Greek literature." While it is true that he did say something to this effect, I be- lieve that you have greatly misconstrued the meaning of his words. In saying that the course material does not con- tain feminist issues, I believe that he was not trying to de- tract from the female characters in Greek literature; rather, he was stressing that the ancient Greek society was sexist and that its literature reflects this. While the professor may have chosen his words poorly, I be- lieve that his point was important. In order to truly understand the images and symbols presented in works such as the Odyssey or the Oresteia, we need to understand the Greeks' sexist image of the woman. In the editorial, you valiantly attempted to find examples of feminist issues in the works we have studied. However, the examples you give seem mis- guided. For instance, you stated that the Lysistrata was about "women's struggle for power." Yet the Lysistrata is a comedy, and in the play Aristophanes treats the women's actions sar- castically. Furthermore, in the play, the women's rise to power merely helps to bring across the play's anti-war statement. Interestingly en- ough, in the editorial, you failed to mention that the way that the women accomplish their goals in the Lysistrata is by withholding sex from the men. Thus, arguing that the play is about women's rise to power seems to imply that a woman's major source of power is her ability to provide sex -- an absurd idea. I realize that reading sexist literature could be very frus- trating for women. I further realize that as a male, I cannot fully understand your feelings on the matter. Yet I believe that the challenge in reading any great work of literature is trying to identify with the ideas which it presents. While sex- ism is one aspect of Greek lit- erature, it also contains other themes such as honor, justice, and wisdom, which are appli- cable to all of humanity. For example, I believe that anyone, regardless of sex or race, can relate to the moral dilemmas which Achilleus faces in the Iliad. You say that the sexism in Greek literature threatens your sense of identity. Yet I think that this need not be the case. While the Greeks did not often attribute values such as honor and glory to women, our society does. Thus, in our analysis, the ideas presented in Greek books are applicable to men and women alike. Another argument in your editorial was that we should not accept all of the values of great authors unchallenged. On this point, I agree with you completely. It seems that often we are too passive in our anal- ysis of past cultures. By at- tempting to be open minded in our assessments, we often lose our ability to think critically. Perhaps Dr. Cameron should criticize the sexism in Greek literature more often. Yet I be- lieve that reading great litera- ture is a 50/50 proposition. On one hand, we should not be hesitant to criticize it in terms of our own values. On the other hand, we must also be willing to look beyond its ob- jectionable elements and learn from its positive ideas. -Dan Friedman April 14 Anti-gay statements ignored To the Daily: I feel invisible, I am very angry and I don't know who to blame. For the last week I have heard and read about the racist flyers on campus. Seems to me that at least one flyer had an anti-gay male remark, some- thing about faggots. I'd rather not believe that such "progressive" organiza- tions as the Daily and UCAR are ignoring homophobia and gay men. I guess I'll blame it on society. It's not your fault you're homophobic, is it? Please, don't belittle or ig- nore the needs of lesbians, gay men, and bisexuals. The Uni- versity and the general public do this enough. We must all work together, empowering ourselves and one another for survival. -Mark J. Chekal April 11 4 7t C'i "SI T RS"OIIN \ jNRs",F1 a'KfN" t° I'{!" Stop the violence The Daily and some of its staff members have experienced vandal- ism and harassment in the last month. The Daily is actively seeking infor- Write for The Michigan Daily this Spring/Summer Mass Meeting Friday, April 21, 5pm I , , I