Page 4 - The Michigan Daily - Wednesday, April 25, 1990
EDITED AND MANAGED BY STUDENTS
AT THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN
420 Maynard Street
Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109
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ARTS
NEWS
OPINION
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764 0552
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PHOTO
SPORTS
WEEKEND
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Unsigned editorials represent a majority of the Daily's Editorial Board. All other cartoons,.
sigwnd artucles, and letters do not necessarily represent the opinion of the Daily.
From the Daily
Lithuania
Moscow's embargo fuels drive for independence
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AS RESERVES OF FUEL DWINDLE
in the Baltic republic of Lithuania, Gor-
bachev's plan to cripple the economy
and polarize the Lithuanian people ap-
pears to be on schedule. The only oil
refinery in the republic closed its doors
yesterday as its five-day reserve of Si-
berian crude was exhausted and munic-
ipal transportation throughout the re-
ublic is at a standstill. In addition,
Lithuania's factories and power plants
are all facing energy starvation.
Nevertheless, the Vilnius leadership
seems determined to outlast this latest
effort by Moscow to force the republic
tO rescind its March 11 declaration of
independence. Indeed, Lithuania's
prolonged resistance to Gorbachev's
pressure will only serve to dramaticize
the immorality and baseness of his plan
for economic isolation and deprivation
Of Lithuania.
The use of embargo to achieve polit-
ical capitulation is not new, and has
been utilized with brutal consequences
throughout the world. Though Lithua-
olia is agriculturally self-sufficient, and
thus does not face imminent starvation,
the republic's isolation by the Soviet
Onion as an alternative to negotiation is
no more justified then when the tactic
was employed against such trouble
spots as the rebellious regions of
Ethiopia, the nation of Vietnam, and
the province of Tibet. The Lithuanian
people face a long and destructive battle
Of wits with a central government de-
tormined to use any means possible,
ntil now short of sending in the Red
Army, to end the struggle in Moscow's
favor.
What Gorbachev may not realize is
that the embargo can only strengthen
Lithuania's drive for independence. By
TV Marti
cutting off the republic from its Soviet
umbilical cord of resources, the Central
Committee is making Lithuania inde-
pendent in essence if not in fact. The
groundwork for true independence,
including separate trade agreements
with foreign countries, the establish-
ment of a self-governed economic in-
frastructure, and the shift of control for
Lithuania's natural and industrial re-
sources from Moscow to Vilnius is
being laid while unwitting Soviet offi-
cials confidently turn the screws. The
net result of this misconceived plan is
that it will speed the growth of the in-
fant democracy into a free and self-
sufficient nation.
In addition, by placing Lithuania
under economic quarantine, Gorbachev
has drawn the West, which had previ-
ously straddled the fence on the issue
for fear of jeopardizing future military
and trade negotiations, to the side of
the republic. Most of the NATO coun-
tries have spoken against the embargo,
and even the wavering President Bush
seems ready to take some sort of ac-
tion, though it most likely will amount
to little. To carry out his plan, Gor-
bachev has sacrificed some of his
widespread popularity and has exposed
the darker side of the current Soviet
government to full view.
As the situation in Lithuania steadily
worsens, the support of the West may
be the last hedge against the encroach-
ing threat of continued Soviet rule. The
embargo is glaring evidence that Gor-
bachev will not allow Lithuania to slip
away peacefully, and may resort to
more forceful measures to bring the re-
public back into the fold. In the time-
worn tradition of Stalin, the price of
challenging Moscow's domination is
being paid in the streets.
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United States should cease broadcasts to Cuba
THERE HAS RECENTLY BEEN A
marked increase of unprovoked U.S.
hostility toward Cuba, deliberately-
heightening the tension between the
countries.
During the Panama invasion, U.S.
troops laid siege to the Cuban embassy
in a total denial of their diplomatic
rights. To compliment these events, TV
Marti, a state department-sponsored
television channel, is now being
beamed to Cuba. Disowned by the
U.S. National Association of Broad-
casters, TV Marti is being run by the
U.S. Information Agency.
Ironically claiming a commitment to
the free flow of ideas between the
countries, this flow is intended to be
strictly one-way; the U.S. 30-year
blockade on Cuba continues, U.S. citi-
zens still face restrictions hampering
their right to travel there, and any sup-
ply of informational materials to Cuba
remains illegal. Furthermore, the im-
plicit suggestion that Cubans are living
in an informational vacuum is grossly
inaccurate, and disregards the strong
international flavor of the Cuban media;
for example, 40 percent of films shown
in Cuba are Hollywood-made, while
50 percent of radio broadcasts come
from privately owned stations in Mi-
ami.
More important is TV Marti's gross
violation of international telecommuni-
cation laws, which grant every
sovereign country the right to control
its own broadcasting network. The at-
tempt of the U.S. government to
broadcast its own propaganda to Cuba
is an underhanded attempt to infiltrate a
sovereign nation. It was for this reason
that Ernesto Betancourt, former direc-
tor of Radio Marti, resigned from the
TV Marti project.
The first broadcast of TV Marti was
quickly jammed by Cuban transmitters
which have the power to significantly
disrupt radio broadcasts in the United
States as far from Cuba as Utah. How-
ever, this kind of retaliation would only
fuel the fire between the two nations.
What should be encouraged is some
form of exchange of ideas and expres-
sions between the U.S. and Cuba in
order to promote better relations be-
tween the two. TV Marti has fallen
quite short of this objective and has
served only to incense President Castro
further. The violation of international
laws and infringement upon a nation's
sovereignty is hardly the way to freely
exchange ideas. If there is a genuine
concern in Washington for bettering
this relationship, then TV Marti would
be discontinued.
More male sensitivity
To the Daily:
I would like to dedicate this letter to
the fraternity men and the football players
that we passed during the "Take Back the
Night" march on Saturday night (4/21/90),
though it wasn't just the men of Alpha
Delta Phi and Sigma Epsilon that were
unsympathetic to our cause.
It was men all over campus that could
have lent support but did not. It was very
discouraging for the women taking part in
the march to be fighting for change and to
be confronted with chants of "Date rape,
date rape," sneers, and calls of "bitch"
from the sidewalks. It was hostile, unnec-
essary and completely the opposite from
what should be expected of college stu-
dents - the upper class, the educated, the
future elites of our country.
The "Take Back the Night" rally and
march was not meant to be a hostile act,
and the idea was not to attack men.
Rather, we were trying to stress the fact
that only when women are together can
they walk the streets without fear. A
woman alone must always be afraid, and a
man cannot easily understand that. Some-
thing must be done about rape, and while
may people are trying to make changes,
we need some support, some commitment
from the men on this campus and every-
where. It is not the women who rape, it is
the men. Not every man becomes a rapist,
but every man that helps perpetuate the
beliefs that women want, need and deserve
to be raped helps to create a rapist. Every
man that ignores or ridicules the problem
shows another that he will somehow be
less of a man for caring.
There were many women on the march
who were survivors of rape, and many of
these were raped by friends, co-workers,
and dates -not strangers. Date rape is not
a joke. Violent rape is not a joke. And
rape is not sex. It is very painful to be
surrounded by men who cannot seem to
tell the difference, who do not want there
to be a difference.
There were many men who did support
us that night, who rallied for men's in-
volvement in stopping rape. It is men like
these who give rape victims hope, who
keep them from hating and distrusting all
men. Change does not have to emerge
from a battle of the sexes. We need to
work together because we all have to
change. Rape and violence against women
affects all of us, and men who cannot find
it in themselves to support us in our en-
deavor are short-changing themselves, de-
priving themselves of one of the most
fundamental of human emotions - caring
about other people.
Jamie Armistead
Engineering junior
Lisa Murawski
LSA junior
Pick up your Ensian
To the Daily:
The 1990 Michiganensian yearbook
has arrived. I realize that it is probably the
last thing on your mind as finals approach
but if you ordered a yearbook, please come
in and pick it up.
The yearbook has experienced many
innovative things this year, such as com-
plete desktop publishing production, in-
creased color, and more articles on the is-
sues and events important to Michigan
students. In fact, we chronicle the 1989
basketball team's victorious road to Seat-
tle and have added a North Campus sec-
tion.
Ninety-seven pages were allocated to
Fen..4 -r.i. .ntrit. T . « n- t
All are free to choose
To the Daily:
I would like to respond to the article
"U outreach group tries to 'cure' gay men
and lesbians" (4/23/90). I need to say two
things right away: 1) I support the ideas
behind Hope Outreach, and 2) I am not
homophobic. I feel that I need to say the
latter up front and explicitly, because I
truly have no irrational fear or hatred of
homosexuals. And those that do have not
matured to an adequate understanding of
humanity. I need to say the former because
I am very concerned about the attacks that
the group has already sustained.
Hope Outreach's statement of purpose
makes it clear that the group is not target-
ing those who are satisfied with their ho-
mosexuality. I am sure that those who feel
insulted by the group's purposes are not
those same people who might consider
seeking help from Hope Outreach. How
could it be otherwise? Unfortunately, pro-
ponents of the "If you think you're gay,
you can never be anything but" mentality
seem to feel confident in their gross gener-
alizations. "We don't feel [homosexuality]
is something you can change," says Brian
Durrance.
I challenge the University community
to provide conclusive evidence that this
statement can be applied to everyone hav-
ing homosexual tendencies. On the other
side of the coin, both Brian Durrance and
Mike Peterson claim that Hope Outreach
has no credible evidence to back up their
claims, and that Hope Outreach is unaware
of the causes of homosexuality. Is that
their professional opinion, or have they
sought to find out just how much research
the members of Hope Outreach have done?
I find it disappointing that a campus
which prides itself with diversity and lib-
erality has decided that homosexuals can-
not have a choice. Hope Outreach is not
bent on "curing" anyone, and is not inter-
ested in "recruiting." If it is true, as many
on this campus believe, that all people are
free to choose to practice their sexual ori-
entation as they wish, it must be just as
wrong to teach someone who is not happy
about their homosexuality that homosexu-
ality is good, as it would be to teach
someone who is satisfied with their ho-
mosexual lifestyle that homosexuality is
bad. I agree with Hope Outreach's purpose
because I believe that the freedom to
choose between alternatives is the basis
from which this campus will become truly
diversified, and that acceptance of different.
points of view begins with our ability to
recognize generalizations as such.
David Korotney,
Rackham graduate student
Paternalism
To the Daily:
Setting aside the fact that Rosea
Karadsheh and Todd Fuqua's comments iW
the April 23 Daily article about Hope
Outreach are uninformed and offensive, the
overall tone of their remarks deserve
comment. Their attitude, as presented in
the article, is a fine example of the-
condescension and unwarranted"
paternalism. Examples of this include
Karadsheh's likening of homosexuality to
a disease or Fuqua's statement that he
wanted "to educate Christians on
campus...to have more compassion (for
homosexuals)."
Ultimately, it must be recognized that
the paternalistic help and condescending,
attitudes expressed by groups such as.
Hope Outreach are couched it
homophobia. Though they claim to not be
homophobic, their actions speak
otherwise. Karadsheh and Fuqua dislike
and misunderstand gay men and lesbianr
enough, or at least their perceivel
lifestyle, to create an organization which
will help them "get out." Imagine the
reaction that would face a group of gay
men and lesbians who set up an
organization to help heterosexuals leave a
lifestyle that they are not happy with.
They would be derided as foolish, and
rightly so. The same should, but
unfortunately does not apply to Hope
Outreach. Society accepts their absurd
pretense, and in turn helps promote it.
If Karadsheh and Fuqua really wish to
help gay men and lesbians they should
establish an organization that helps build
self respect and a sense of worth for people
who are continually told they are evil, dis-
eased, or not worthy of consideration. The
gay community does not need Fuqua's pa-
tronizing "compassion." Rather, it requires
recognition as a diverse group of people
from diverse backgrounds with diverse
needs.
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Keep ROTC around
To the Daily:
ROTC should remain on the
University of Michigan campus. I have
read the various articles and letters
concerning the debate and after mulling
over the information presented, I'd like to
contribute a few points that were not
brought to light.
Lt. Col. Gregor said that allowing
homosexuals into the armed forces would
"invite disorder." This is true. Those that
are opposed to ROTC because of the gov-
ernment's policy on homosexuals in the
military should also take into considera-
tion the amount of homophobia still pre-
sent in our time. Yes, the gay male and
lesbian movements have made progress
here at the University, but let's face it, the
world does not end at the borders of our
campus.
I believe that the induction of
homosexuals into the armed forces at this
point in their fight for equal rights might
Timothy Woodward
School of Information
and Library Studies
Kicking ROTC off of the University
campus will not solve any of the atrocities
inflicted on homosexuals. ROTC will still
be training cadets on or off campus. If W
people really want to get results, maybe
they should go to their U.S.
Representatives and Senators and get the
policy changed where it was born, in
Congress.
Michelle Lynn
Engin. first-year student
SAR'fN
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Daily is inconsistent
To the Daily:
I find it ironic that the Daily has seen
fit to ridicule University President James
Duderstadt for trampling First Amendment
values by stifling dissenting opinions
("Free Expression," 3/26/90). This is the
same Daily that repeatedly warns its read-
ers that it will not print alternative opin-
ions that it finds sexist, racist, homopho-
bic or otherwise offensive.
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