01 Page 4-The Michigan Daily- Friday, January 8, 1993 ig Midbtgau tEirI s " art; , -_._ -, f r '.r t.4 r s/. ! ! DAN, ApLtAci OF fr1W'cUE -C TREATED' FOR 420 Maynard Street Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109 764-0552 Editor in Chief MATTHIEW D. RENNIE Opinion Editors YAEL Cf FRO GEOFFREY EARLE AMITAVA MAZUMDAR -- Edited and Managed by Students at the University of Michigan 1 ' 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. i FROM:THE1DAILY ", .d....... >..... ........ . *;i; .* . > < c . <.>:i.':. *. .; *. . . . . .* .. . . . * . <.: g~NJ TUNIV/VNr AN 7 ?RE-LIEF MA), 1{, ;~.N7 EeCAUSE TH .._. LAT E- aFEAI fir0 t1 1 //- 1 'LASS Ar%-ERICANS ARE O3EIN4r SHOCK< AFTrER, CLINTON'S IWo Uvc EcM1NT -WA-T- TAX Y A/07 CofrE AFTEr' ALL EF DEFIiT 1$ EETTiNVG- rAY -TUNED FOR 1ANY PMORE lXING LEvELOPM-EN7 $S* * . f 0 Boycott may not M onday, Ann Arbor City Councilmember Rob- ert Eckstein (D-5th Ward) submitted a pro- posal to ban city business with any city or state that has laws which restrictcivil rights of citizens based on sexual orientation. This is Ann Arbor's version of the boycott fever sweeping the nation in re- sponse to Colorado's passage of Amendment 2, which invalidated laws in Denver, Boulder and Aspen prohibiting discrimination against homo- sexuals. To boycott Colorado, however well- intentioned, may not be the most effective way to show outrage against Amendment 2; outraged citi- zens can make much stronger statements to show ( lo the job when the amendment was passed, but later realized that might be what Colorado for Family Values wanted. Instead, he decided to stay and fight. Likewise, keeping those who support gay rights out of the state may also be one of the conservative organization's subtle objectives. Rather than jump on the boycott bandwagon, people should consider consciously traveling to the state to support movements there to overturn the new law. Both Democrats and Republicans have introduced bills inColorado's state House and Senate to do just that. A class action suit -- whose plaintiffs include the ACLU, Colorado Le- v . ..... : :LE IT E R S ""'' ti.::: ":: : , : :: ::: ":::"".1"Y" . support for homosexual- rights. rg.Colorado voters passed ~" this controversial mend- ment in November's elec- tion. The amendment's au-- thor, Colorado for Family Values, claims it does not limit the civil rights of ho- mosexuals, but only en- sures that homosexuals don't have any special or protective status. One by one, cities, newspapers, organizations and celebrities have prop- - erly displayed their anger with the new amend- ment by deciding to boycott the state of Colorado. Councilmember Kurt Zimmer (D-4th Ward) even went so far as to say "This is a parallel situation with South Africa." There is widespread belief within Colorado that the boycott may be self-defeating. Results of a recent Denver Post poll reveal that the boycott has had little effect on public opinion regarding the amendment. Of those surveyed, 43 percent said that the boycott in fact makes them less likely to support a repeal of the amendment. One leader of the Aspen gay community said in a conference last week that he considered moving out of the state bU. 1 lall°- 1I gal Initiatives Project, and Aspen resident Martina Navratolova - has been filed in Denver District Court to prove that the mea- sure violates the state and federal constitutions. Some towns, including Carbondale are passing lo- cal ordinances in blatant op- position to Amendment 2. Another alternative is to work to increase homo- sexual rights locally. Some communities involved in the boycott, such as Atlanta, are .I C) located in states with very restrictive sodomy laws which make homosexual sex a crime. Michigan, too, has similar laws. The trial of 17 gays in Adrian, Mich. revealed that these archaic laws are still enforced. Currently, a Grand Rapids businessman is working to put a proposal similar to Amendment 2 on the Novem- ber ballot. While working to reverse the anti-homosexual laws in Colorado, Ann Arbor should try to reverse its own state's sodomy laws, extend its own pro- gressive gay rights legislation state-wide, and make sure no one will talk about boycotting Michigan next winter. Facts in column on Catholicism, Virgin incorrect, inaccurate To the Daily: On Dec. 1 the Daily printed an article by Katherine Metres that concerned the Catholic Church, Virgin Mary, and Mary, and role models for Catholic women. Ms. Metres' concerns are well taken, but in that article she has stated a number of things about the Church and Mary that are simply incorrect. In fact, nearly every- thing she said about the Catholic Church and Mary was incorrect. After basing her arguments on false information, she then has the nerve to suggest that Roman Catholics should switch to the beliefs of the "Melkite Chris- tians." I must tell you that Catholics consider the Catholic faith to be the one true faith and her suggestion to follow in the footsteps of those "Christians" is ludicrous. I would go into detail about what was wrong, but it would go way over the word limit you ask of letters sent to you. I think my point is clear, however. Most of, if not all, of the things that were presented as facts in that article were simply incorrect. I will ask Katherine Metres to please inform herself before she decides to trash someone's religion. As for the Daily, 1 am amazed that you allowed an article so inaccu- rate as this to be printed. So,now that you've trashed Catholics, what's next, anti-Semitism? Christopher Bunto Aerospace Engineering sophomore To the Daily: This is in response to Jon McDonnell's letter "Some people should lighten up" (11/30/92) attacking Carol Genyea Kaplan's op-ed piece "Brutalization of inflatable doll is symbolic," (11/ 23/92). Several important features of McDonnell's frame of reference can be gleaned from his letter. The most obvious, and the most troubling, is that he equates women's bodies with toys such as blow-up Godzillas or beach balls. It shouldn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that real women (unlike the fictitious Godzilla or an inanimate beach ball) are entirely capable of watching a crowd of people toss around an image of a naked woman and feeling disturbed and threatened by it, as I and other women as the game in fact were. An even more key difference - again, so obvious as to make its mention seemingly unnecessary - is that rape of women, and not of Godzilla or other toys,is a very real and pervasive societal problem. It's true that the specific image of Anita Hill did not spring to mind when I saw the naked, life-size figure of a woman being batted around the football stands. But other images, like gang-rape, as well as more general thoughts of degradation and objectification of women's bodies, were indeed foremost in my mind. It's a shame anybody would be given Inflatable woman doll at game invoked images of gang rape cause to experience such unpleas- ant thoughts at a sporting event, which is supposed to be a fun occasion; in a university setting, it's all the more shameful. I'm not going to, as McDonnell challenges, necessar- ily call him a "woman hater" based on his opinion that people offended by the circulation of the inflatable figure should "lighten up." I'm simply going to call him ignorant with respect to the effects of such activities on all women and on women's efforts to gain social equality. McDonnell and similar advocates of "lightening up" do almost as much, through their ignorance, to hurt women's causes as do those he would call "woman haters." They perpetuate the idea that nothing is wrong with treating the likeness of a naked woman as a toy, that women's bodies are meant to be used for sport and entertainment. Those who think Genyea Kaplan is overreacting would do well toconsider what reactions an Africanf American or Native American doll, either male or female, would have elicited. It's likely that people would have been outraged, and rightfully so. Unfortunately, even many who attempt to become educated with regard to the harms of racism are still socialized to take blatant sexism in stride -as something to be laughed at, rather that fought. Kathi Wyman Second-year Law student 0 0 Keating: an indictment of the 80s If someone were to choose three personalities to symbolize the events and character of the 1980s, the list would probably include Ronald Reagan, Donald Trump, and Charles Keating. The first has become known more for his regular naps than his public policy successes. The second filed Chapter 11 after building the gratuitously golden Taj Mahal casino. And the last has finally been found guilty by a federal court for racketeering and fraud. Charles Keating, owner of the American Con- tinental Corp. and the now infamous Lincoln Sav- ings and Loan, has become the quintessential vil- lain of the savings and loan crisis. Lincoln col- lapsed after Keating used false real estate transac- tions to sweeten profit reports. After the S&L filed forbankruptcy in 1989,hundreds of S&Ls through- out the country followed suit. Thousands of inves- tors - including many elderly and retired people - lost their life savings. The taxpayers will now have to foot $2.6 billion for Lincoln alone. The entire S&L bailout may cost over $500 billion. Naturally, Keating wasn't responsible for the entire crisis. Thrift officials throughout the country participated in similar questionable or illegal behavior - at the very least, authorizing risky and unwise loans. The S&L indiscretions proved to be the greatest bank robbery in history, with the likes of Keating pocketing investors' money. Unfortunately, with the collapse much of the lost capital has vaporized, making it difficult for investigators to find the money. It is unfortunate that the S&L scandals didn't play a larger role in the 1992 election. The Reagan administration's move to increase deposit insur- ance from $10,000 to $100,000 was practically an invitation for S&Ls and banks to engage in risky behavior. The administration's failure to follow up the insurance hike with proper oversight will now cost the Treasury more than a half trillion dollars. Curiously, the S&L fiasco played second fiddle to the House bank scandal, which didn't cost the taxpayers a cent. Keating, who is already serving a 10-year sen- tence in state prison, faces a maximum of 525 years in prison. For the pain and the expense he and his ilk have caused, the maximum sentence doesn't seem unreasonable. Imprisoning criminals, however, will not keep such criminal behavior from reoccurring. Rather, the American people must realize that by elevating Keating, Michael Milken, Leona Helmsley and Oliver North to celebrity status, we encouraged the zealotry and the values of excess characterisitic of the 1980s. According to To the Daily: Before even attempting to respond to the letter by Kara Bucci and Amy Worden "Abusing religion hurts gays" (12/8/92), a caveat seems necessary - abusing religion does hurt gays. Intolerance and unjust stereotypes of homosexu- als by those who profess religion are immoral, and specifically, this kind of behavior is anything but Christ- like. On the cross, Jesus laid down His life for sinners, taking the penalty of our sins. It was an act of love for sinners, but it was also an act of explicit acknowl- edgment that there is indeed sin, of standards of right and wrong. It is the proper understanding of these standards in which Bucci ' and Worden part company with historic Christian beliefs. "The Bible does not con- demn homosexuality," "this is not an interpretation," and homosexuality is sin shows "a very limited knowledge of the Bible" - Bucci and Worden offer these assertions as the "truth." The main body of their evidence, however, recognizable as the non-compelling, rehashed arguments of "gay theologians" like Boswell and McNeill, fails under the further scrutiny of responsible biblical scholarship. The letter has serious omissions in its presentation. In one short sentence, the writers Bible, homosexuality is a sin function for that which is unnatu- the word "arsenokoitai" (with ral, and in the same way also the the terms "arsen," meaning man abandoned the natural "men" and "koitai,"meaning function of the woman for that "sexual intercourse") is without which is unnatural, men with men dispute - not as a judgement committing indecent acts and against "carnal pleasure and receiving in their own person the temptation," but against homo- due penalty of their error." Some sexual practice. gay theologians argue that The wrnter of Leviticus homosexual desire is not "unnatu- concludes - as Bucci and ral," but natural of hereditary. In Worden cite - that homosexu- the Greek, however, it is "para ality should be interpreted. phusis," literally, "against nature," These statements can be a universal term indicative of declared either as values for that something contrary to the natural specific culture (the position order of men "abandoning the taken by Bucci and Worden), or natural function of the woman." as divine revelation of absolute In I Corinthians 6:9, does it standards of right and wrong. again "speak only against carnal One can disagree with pleasures and temptations?" The Mierzeqewski's interpretation of text says: "Do not be deceived: the Bible as an inspired, un- neither fornicators, nor idolaters, changing truth, but not that the nor adulterers, nor male prosti- biblical author's clear message tutes, nor homosexuals ... shall was that homosexual practice is inherit the~ kingdom of God." The sin. Saying goodbye to a jazz great There aren't but a few of us left." Those are the words of famed vibraphonist Milt Jackson of the Modem Jazz Quartet. Indeed, one of the last remaining giants of jazz, Dizzy Gillespie, died in his sleep Wednesday. Gillespie, who pioneered the development of bebop during the early 1940s, shaped virtually everyjazz trumpet playerthat followed. Like Louis Armstrong before him, Gillespie forged the play- ing-style of his generation; everyone, from other masters like Miles Davis to modem trumpeters like Winton Marsalis emulated him. But his com- plex use of rhythms, melodies and harmonies did not always earn him instant admiration. Parker purposely designed rigorous and complex music to discourage less-talented side-men from sitting in. Many of Gillespie's songs, such as "Woody 'n You,""Be Bop," and "ANightinTunisia," became standards, and are still frequently performed today. And Gillespie's collaborations with Parker- such classics as "Groovin' High" and "Confirmation" - are among the most exhilarating in the modem jazz repertoire. The music they played and re- corded with the likes of Thelonious Monk and Kenny Clarke was both a physical and a mental exercise, and raised the level of jazz musicianship. Gillespie's style has been a topic paid nearly as Greek for male prostitutes is "malakoi," and for homosexuals, "arsenokoitai." To most scholars Ernesto Garcia LSA Junior Love the sinner, hate the sin... To the Daily: I found the letter "Abusing religion hurts gays," deplorable. Although the writers quote the Bible throughout the letter, most references are taken out of context. For example, they used as a reference I Corinthians 6:9- 11 claiming that St. Paul merely How specific does the Bible have to be? It clearly states homosexuality is a sin. Homosexuality is a very controversial issue, especially in the Church but there is one thing that every Christian agrees on and that is the Bible is the infallible word of God. For centuries people have take~rn thinc nut of icontext in I