Page 4 - The Michigan Daily - Friday, October 12, 1990
hie Ridftguu fanlQ
EDITED AND MANAGED BY STUDENTS
AT THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN
420 Maynard Street
Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109
Viewpoint
NOAH FINKEL
Editor in Chief
DAVID SCHWARTZ
Opinion Editor
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.
Heil, David Duke?
The Louisiana racist is not just an aberration
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ALTHOUGH REPUBLICAN DAVID
Duke fell short of his bid for the
Louisiana Senate, he did gamer 44 per-
cent of the votes - including 55 per-
cent of those cast by white voters - in
the state's multi-party primary, which
was held Saturday.
tactics win votes in America.
There is a strong youth support for
Duke, and as one supporter explained,
"My girlfriend has a 3.8 average and
there was a Black girl that had a 3.2.
She got the scholarship... and my girl-
friend didn't.. That's bull. You give
them an inch, they take a mile. They
should be back in chains" (New York
Times, 10/8/90).
Duke often speaks of the "myths" of
the Holocaust, namely the Holocaust
itself. Similarly, he tries to refute his
role in racist organizations like the Na-
tional Association for the Advancement
of White People (NAAWP), as well as
the KKK, while still defending their
cause.
Duke claims he should not be held
accountable for his KKK background
as a 17-year-old. However, he neglects
to say his KKK membership lasted
decades, that he was Grand Wizard
leading the organization, and that the
reason he left only a few years ago was
because he was thrown out.
According to an article in The Na-
tion (10/8/90), "Duke [and others like
him] is the logical outcome of the Re-
publican's 'southern strategy' of play-
ing on the race card, introduced by
Richard Nixon, to steal the White vote
in the South from the Democrats."
Duke's own reasoning is, "If liberal
Democrats can elect Robert Byrd, a
former Klansman, majority leader, then
conservative Republicans in Louisiana
can elect me for their state legislature."
Lee Atwater's election campaign for
George Bush also played on racism,
using the "Willie Horton" image. Nev-
ertheless, Bush was the first to separate
from David Duke, the thorn in the side
of the Republican Party. It would be
impractical for the GOP to be associ-
ated with Duke's bad press, for Duke's
association with the Republicans could
be targeted by the Democrats.
Democrat John Silber's campaign in
Massachusetts relies on similar princi-
ples. The gubernatorial candidate re-
fused to campaign in Roxbury, a sub-
urb of Boston, remarking, "there is no
point making a speech on crime control
to a group of drug attacks."
David Duke is not an aberration, and
people should open their eyes to the
widespread use of race-baiting in polit-
ical campaigns. Referring to Duke's
success as an isolated problem only ig-
nores the extent to which politicians
use the race card to gain office.
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Real threats to our free expression*
Claire Schwartz constitutional to limit their right to ex- Americans seem to have for their freedom.
There is a dangerous trend that is gain- press that view. To do so would be a We all recoiled at the brutality of the Chi-
ing momentum in this country and it is mockery of the First Amendment. nese government against the students of
threatening the very fabric of our democ- It is an issue of accountability. We Tiananman Square, who went through a
racy. It is a trend that wishes to shut our have invaluable freedoms in this country. bloody revolution to try and attain the
mouths, rob us of our choices and cripple It may seem easier to just let laws dictate rights we have. Yet in the same breath, we
our creative thought.
This scourge is censorship and it is in-
vading American lives as strongly as ever.
The Jesse Helms of the nation are wag-
ging their fingers at obscenity, indecency
and immorality. But they have ignored a
much broader issue that involves our more
esteemed freedoms of speech and expres-
sion: you can't tell people what they may
see, read, listen to, or perform. Once that
begins, there is no telling where it will
stop.
Now before you accuse me of approv-
ing of 2 Live Crew, let me assure you I do
not. I find their lyrics obscene, extremely
sexist, and deeply insulting. But it is not
Schwartz is a junior in the Residential
College.
As soon as we start to censor the works of artists, 6
whether we approve of them or not, we add another
tear in that democratic fabric.
morality, but with every law, those free-
doms are restricted just a little more. Sure,
trying to teach morality while maintaining
artistic freedom is difficult. But if we want
to keep our freedom, it is our responsibil-
ity, as free individuals, to take an active
role in educating ourselves and our chil-
dren to make informed choices. We cannot
make laws that raise our kids for us,
thinking it will ease our burden of obliga-
tion.
I am disgusted by the lack of respect
not only take advantage of our liberty, but
scoff at, abuse, and flaunt these very
rights.
As soon as we start to censor the
works of artists, whether we approve
them or not, we add another tear in that
democratic fabric. We must have freedom
of expression and speech across the board
or it means nothing, for to demand your
own freedom while restricting it for others
is utter hypocrisy.
Duke
Shown here at the 1970 trial of the
Chicago Seven.
It should come as no surprise that
the former Grand Wizard. of the Ku
Klux Klan and Holocaust "revisionist"
is a popular politician in his area.
Duke's neo-fascist politics are not a
new phenomenon in the United States.
Even today, there are an estimated
7,000 Ku Klux Klan members in the
United States, and 17,000 members in
newly formed white supremacist
groups.
Duke plays on peoples fears of
crime, economic hardship, and dissat-
isfaction. He blames the "under-
classes," affirmative action programs
and Blacks for the country's woes.
What this shows is that racism and fear
Fraternity editorial perpetuates false stereotypy
Columbus' legacy
Why celebrate exploitation of Native Americans?
TODAY, PROTESTS THROUGHOUT
the country will mark the actual an-
niversary of Christopher Columbus'
first landing in the "New" World. Un-
like the Columbus Day celebrations that
took place Monday, the protests today
will focus on what really happened that
October day 498 years ago, which
marked the first stage in Western Eu-
rope's conquest and genocide of the
indigenous American population.
Whatever schoolchildren are taught
in textbooks and holiday speeches,
Columbus' voyage was less in the in-
terest of navigation and scientific in-
quiry than in a carefully conceived
quest for slaves and gold, undertaken
with full cognizance that brutal mea-
sures would have to be employed for
their extraction.
The celebration of Columbus' con-
quest and discovery is ultimately the
celebration of an estimated 50-100 mil-
lion dead Native Americans - cer-
tainly not a joyous occasion. The
indigenous population was subjected to
slavery, and many died in captivity.
Others were murdered outright for their
failure to produce the gold that Colum-
bus demanded. Still more died of new
diseases the Spanish brought, for
mands for greater education on the
history and current realities of Native
Americans have been made. Students at
this University have been calling for
the creation of both a Chicano Studies
Department and a Native American
Studies Department for a long time.
The desperate need for these areas of
study is clearly illustrated by our coun-
try's continued celebration of historical
atrocities like Columbus Day, despite
its enormous implications. The Uni-
versity does have an understaffed sub-
department called Latino Studies -
merely an insufficient extension of the
American Culture Program.
The University of Minnesota, situ-
ated in a geographical area with fewer
Chicanos, has a fully staffed Chicano
Studies Department.
Genocide of Native Americans is
not just an historical tragedy to be
mourned, it is a present day reality that
we need to address actively. People of
the Kanesatake reservation in Canada,
part of the Mohawk Nation, were held
under siege for more than two months
this summer for attempting to block the
expansion of a golf course onto their
ancestral burial ground. Food and
medical supplies were barred from en-
To the Daily:
The Daily's editorial "Dark Ages
(10/5/90)" shamefully perpetuated a false
stereotype about fraternities in its smear
campaign to label them as sexist. Fur-
thermore, it set back the cause of reducing
violence against women by attempting to
paint Greeks as thedmajor perpetrators of
those crimes, instead of viewing the prob-
lem as concerning the entire University.
The fact that fraternity members
shouted "Date rape" at participants in the
Take Back the Night march, while despi-
cable, illustrates the hostility between fra-
ternity members and those who wish to do
away with the Greek system.
Fraternity members feel their institu-
tion is being threatened and responded by
lashing back, in this case inappropriately.
What should be noted, and what the edito-
rial failed to mention, is that the partici-
pants in the march went on a rampage
across the lawn of the house. Slogans
such as "Down with Fraternities," among
other unprintable ones, were yelled.
Another offense to women that was al-
legedly committed by fraternity members
was the rowdy behavior of a couple of
people running through East Quad. These
persons shouted the name of a fraternity,
and chanted "where are the dykes?"
These individuals were later proven not
to be from the house whose name they
yelled, and it is unknown whether they be-
long to any fraternity at all. It seems in-
conceivable that the Daily would attempt
to use this incident as a clear-cut example
of fraternity sexism.
The contention that fraternities pro-
vided "cover" for these men is an insult to
reason. Does the Daily suggest that frater-
nities should efface Greek letters from
their names simply so a few rowdies
won't have anything to shout during a
dash through the dorms?
If that sounds a little out of line, it's
nothing compared to the main point of the
editorial: "Fraternities regularly sponsor
activities that foster perceptions of women
as sexual objects."
From where does the Daily derive this
statement? No statistics, no substantiated
facts are used to support it. Such a broad
Daily generalizes about German character
to nothing more than prejudice. Violence
against women is a problem that certainly
needs to addressed, but it serves no one's
interest to use the Greek system as a
scapegoat for sexism in general. It is a
problem that is just as pervasive in frater-
nities as it is in the community as a
whole, but no more or less so.
Jonathan Margolin
Pi Lambda Phi Fraternity
RC story was biased
To the Daily:
I would like to clarify the role I played
in the article "RC faculty, students
disagree about attrition" (10/3/90). The
reporter spent a lot of time trying to reach
me, and though he finally did interview
me, he chose not to quote me at all.
That's fine, except he chose to
paraphrase an article I wrote for OURC
Magazine on RC attrition. In addition to
misspelling my name, the Daily didn't
print what I had to say about my article.
My article sought to explain why four
students had chosen to leave the RC. It did
not attempt to forecast or generalize b@
yond these four people, though that's
clearly how the RC administration has
chosen to view my article.
I don't understand why the reporter left
me out of his story. Maybe it's because
his pre-set ideas about RC attrition didn't
allow him to print my views. If so, I wish
he had been more up front about his biases
when he spoke with me.
Michael Kellp
RC Senior
To the Daily:
I was rather surprised to read the edito-
rial "Reunification II" (10/4/90) and find
that it represents the majority opinion of
the Daily's Editorial Board. Can it really
be true that the Daily is so full of anti-
German resentment and popular cliches?
The article completely mishandles the
complex question of xenophobia and its
connection to the celebrated reunification.
It is always very easy to label certain inci-
dents and statements that are rooted in so-
cial and economic problems as "racist."
Furthermore, it is dangerously mis-
leading to place such a heavy emphasis on
a radical outsider like Franz Schoenhuber.
His electoral successes are ancient history
today, and after reunification was officially
announced, his popular support dropped.
considerably. Equating Schoenhuber's
ideas with general German beliefs encour-
ages preposterous and racist implications
about the German people.
We are not racists, and the over-whelm-
ing majority of Germans are well aware of
the past and its special role in the future.
Still, young Germans in particular will re-
sist the everpresent demands to dwell on a
ganda, making that infamous night seem
much more harmless than it really was. A
more correct term would be "night of thq
pogroms."
Wolfgang Schubert
Engineering SophomoreU
Charged language
To the Daily:
I'd like to thank The Daily for its
coverage of the public briefing on German
reunification, but point out an inaccuracy
in a summary erroneously attributed to me
re-garding the "opposition" in East
Germany and what it represents.
The Western press tended to use the
term "opposition" to refer conveniently to
the various groups of activists engaged in
trying to bring about change in their coun-
try before, during, and after the November
revolution. They preferred to call them-
selves the "Andersdenkende," or those who
"think differently," alluding to a passage
in an essay by Rosa Luxemburg.
These groups (New Forum, Democracy
Now, the Green Party, etc.) wanted to be
defined by the changes they fought for an
I