. . . . 4.- . - . . . 0 Page 8-The Michigan Daily- Tuesday, April 6,1993 c e ia.YgJOSH tDuIo - I WMFW~S IrE: &Sv/i P~OPOSFS7c) I -.Vqwmw FLACE WOMEN laI FULL Cot~bAT" urn 420 Maynard Ann Arbor, MI 48109 Edited and managed by students at the University of Michigan 11 Rn -W JOSH DuBow Editor in Chief ERIN UIZA EINHORN OpinionEditor T'7 Unsigned editorials represent the majority opinion of the Daily editorial board. All other cartoons, signed articles and letters do not necessarily represent the opinion of the Daily. 1. ON GUARD Ann Arbor police need a citizen review board Ii ry Cfj y~o Itt K1 SiT/ WAvTo1NS... 0 / fxf 0' o a ' F I C MItE ANN ARBOR Police Department (AAPD) has recently strengthened its complaint policyin order to ensure that "Ann Arbor's finest" stay that way. In an attempt to "be more open" to the public, AAPD has supposedly made it easier for citizen complaints to affect officers' records. While the department should be praised for its enlightened attitude, its less- than-honest approach leaves something to be desired. Previously, a citizen complaint against an AAPDofficerwasnotof- ficially noted by the de- partment until it was° proven true by thehead of AAPD's Professional Standards Section. Now, under AAPD's newx policy, every citizen re- portis officially registered as a complaint, regardless of its veracity. However, a citizen's report is still subjectto departmental re- view before any disciplinary action is taken. And just as before, the chief makes the final decision on the complaint. This process of internal review can only work when a department's chief cares more about protecting the public from errant officers than protecting his department from criticism. But AAPD, like any public organization, is undoubtedly worried about being saddled with a negative public image. The chief's job perfor- mance is intricately linked to his ability to con- trol his officers. If a department's officers have a negative reputation, so does the chief. In the end, he could lose his job. Thus, instead of allowing an independent, outside citizen group to investigate complaints in a public forum, AAPD has taken this investi- gative role upon itself, keeping investigations within the department and subject to the chief's final judgment. A police chief, however, is often not the most objective judge of right and wrong when it comes to disciplining his own officers. This policy of internal review must change if AAPD hopes to create a real understanding with the citizens of Ann Ar- bor. The University's Police Grievance Com- mittee provides a model (albeit an imperfect one) of a truly open citizen complaint process. This board is composed of stu- dents, faculty and staff who review complaints against the University's Department of Public Safety (DPS). Although DPS investigates com- plaints and the director of DPS makes final disciplinary decisions, the committee's exist- ence at least opens the review process to the University community. Ann Arbor's force needs a similar review process. Like the University's board, a city police review board should fairly represent its diverse community. Separate student and mi- nority board positions could be offered in addi- tion to seats basedon Ann Arbor's existing ward system. Such a board would ensure that Ann Arbor's police officers maintain high standards of just, unbiased professionalism - and suggest pun- ishment when they do not. a0 = ., f rJ AAILY q3 Sexuality is not black and white _ _ On March 18, Natosha Morris wrote an article entitled "Homosexuality is Not a Nationality." Many of my friends were 'upset by this article. However, I think that I IA On the Fence Unfortunately, the roots of the linkage of sexual orientation are often ignored, and the analogy is usually just used as an argu- ment for acceptance from heterosexual so- ciety. "I can't help it, I was born this way." is expected to gainus civil rights in the same way that African Americans have gained civil rights. This whole strategy of co-optation is doomed tofailure. AsNatoshaMorris wrote, race and sexuality are not the same The analogy itself is informed by a racist as- sumption that all lesbian and gay people are white. No one would make an analogy comparing women to African American people, because it is obvious that some- where around half of African Americans are women. In the same way, when white lesbian and gay male activists use the race analogy, they are ignoring all of the African basis of a biologically informed sexual ori- entation that is similar to race, seems pretty silly. Lesbian and gay rights activists should, give up on the race analogy, stop focusing;, on the gay/straight dichotomy, and start, talking more about how sexuality affects all of us. The fight for queer rights is not about just liberating lesbians and gay men from their oppression. It is about making it pos- sible for everyone - especially people who identify themselves as heterosexual - to be able to accept and value the feelings they have for members of the same gender. One last thought: the racism evident in white lesbian, gay, and bisexual communi- A ties is not an excuse for homophobia from 3 people outside those communities. One's oppression does not give one the right to oppress others. Natosha Morris is just as", Moms raised some points that lesbians, gay men, and bisexual people who are involved in social change work need to listen to and think about. First of all, Morris is totally right in her repeated assertion that "race and sexual orientation are not the same." They are completely different things, even though racism is often used as an analogy by les- bian and gay activists for the oppression that les/bi/gay people experience. The lesbian and gay rights movement has linked itself to the struggle of African American people in this country for several reasons: First, because the Civil Rights Movement has succeeded in making at least overt racism unacceptable in liberal soci- ety. Secondly, because the African Ameri- can community is a compelling model to a group of people struggling to create com- munity in the face of oppression. Lastly, because a lot of the early leaders of the lesbian and gay rights movement, like the early leaders of the second wave of the feminist movement, were trained for politi- cal action by the civil rights movement. 0 The fight for queer rights is not about just liberating lesbians and gay men from their oppression. STDs AND WOMEN Government must refocus funmds, research Americans, and other people of color, who are lesbians, gay men, or bisexual people. For many people, possibly most people, sexuality is fluid. Many people feel that they have made a choice to have sexual/ emotional relationships with members of the same gender and to identify with a community of people who support those relationships. Others feel that gender is irrelevant, and that they love particular people, regardless of their biology. In the face of this diversity of the opinion that asserts that lesbians, gay men, and bisexual people must be given civil rights on the guilty as white les/bi/gay people of ignor- ing the fact that lesbians, gay men, and bisexual people are notalljust white middle- class male media clones. People who love people of their own gender exist in every community. Some may identify as lesbian;'gay, or bisexual, others may not. Whether or not their de- sires, attractions, and relationships are a choice is irrelevant. Civil rights should not be contingent on proven heterosexuality. Bradley's column appears on the Opinon page every other Tuesday.' A AST WEEK, THE Alan Guttmacher Institute, a non-profit organization concerned with eproductive health, released a study that unfortunately revealed more than one in five of all Americans are infected with a viral sexually transmitted disease (STD). What's more tragic than this study is the careless manner in which the federal government has fought this problem. The report found that women represent most of the people with STDs. However, all current federal funding goes exclusively to STD clinics that primarily cater to men. According to the report's author, Patricia Donovan, 95 percent of these STD clinics arenotsuitedto detect chamy- dia and gonorrhea infections in women. More- over, the report reveals that most Americans are infected with STDs that can only be controlled and not cured. The federal government needs to act responsibly by starting prevention programs and providing funding to STD clinics that ad- dress women's health and research. Itis troubling tonotethatuntil April 1993,the federal government has been so callous as to put tax money into programs without realizing who STDs affect most. The governmenthas thought- lessly given complete funding to the 4,000 STD clinics that cater mostly to men without ac- knowledging that most of the 56 million Amen- cans infected with STDs are women. The gov- ernment must realize that more complicated problems occur in women, especially if they are carrying children, and that support for these clinics and further research is needed to easily detect and cure these problems. According to the recent research, the govern- ment has committed three errors in fighting these diseases. Government research has fo- cused too much on syphilis, has centered its efforts around men, and did not focus at all on prevention. The government needs to realize that until some cures are found for most STD viruses, the best way to curb the spread of infection is prevention. Programs that enforce awareness and condom-use need to be funded immediately. Until the government takes this problem seriously, the rate at which people are infected will continue to increase, and the treatment process will continue to be ineffective. The government must hasten its steps to help the majority of the infected. While providing for research in order to find various cures for STDs, the government in the meantime must fund prevention programs if it does not want even more people to be caught in the web of STD viruses. CSACS protest misguided To the Daily: Some time ago.I decided to attend the University for its liberal education, its free- thinking individuals and its many active social organiza- tions. These groups, usually supporting worthy causes, have never offended me until now. A new group on campus, Christian Students Agpst Coffee Shops (CSACS), has jumped the electric protest fence by claiming that "Jesus didn't drik coffee" and that "these shops are based on immoral foundations." These self-righteous liberals are not only wasting their own time, but they are also disturbing the content lives of those students around them. I stopped to ask just what is immoral about coffee shops and received dodging responses like: "At one time the Koran banned the drinking of coffee." I for one can find nothn offensive in a coffee shop. It is a social gatheringp lace where pel meet to tal, drink coffee and do homework. It is a much better alternative to a bar or fraternit party. I recognize the valiity of the Chnstian faith on campus and think that these people are belittling their own beliefs with this form of protest. I think it's another example of how the Christian name can be stuck on a worthless function or organization to promote the idiotic ideas of a perverse few. It is amazing that they place such sincerity on the unseen immoralities of coffee shops. To the Daily: I feel Ms. Natosha Morris' "Informative Action" feature (3/18/93) on "Homosexuality as a Nationality" was a misrepresentation of the facts of oppression, and her didactic rantings are particularly revealing of her lack of knowledge about both gay politics and our culture. First, out of all the back and forth arguing I've heard on the topic of gay rights, I have never heard use of "the entire Black race in America as an example of comparative degradation." I agree that being a visible minority such as a Black American does carry with it different social factors, unlike being an "invisible minority." How- ever, like Blacks, gay people are born that way. A choice is involved when a person "comes out of the closet," but whether or not a person chooses to do so, they live in a world that tells them what they are is no good. I will not stoop to the tactics employed by Ms. Morris, which seemed to say one minority has suffered more nobly than another, or one's cross is more of a burden than another's. Civil rights in America have been a long, hard battle, a battle that is far from over. Homosexuals are not a group that "just woke up and realized they are. oppressed in this society," as Ms. Morris would lead us to believe. The battle for gay rights has been waged throughout history, on every soil, regardless of color or creed. Homosexuals have endured degradation, discrimi- nation, and death, as have many oppressed minorities. My point is, minorities need to stop bickering between themselves, each claiming to be more of a martyr than another. Ms. Morris' heavy-handed article accomplishes nothing but furthering a gap of misunder- standing between groups of society. Civil rights are about equality for all people. Maybe minority groups could learn something about themselves from examining how other groups and cultures have dealt with, and are dealing with, the oppression they are faced with in society. Joseph Burns University Staff I 0 Morris' column furthers misunderstanding A STEP FORWARD Focus on abortion ban IE CLINTON ADMINISTRATION announced last week its plan to ask Congress to limit the ban on federal funding for abortions. The ban, known as the Hyde amendment, has been in effect for 16 years and prohibits the use of federal funds for abortions for poor women unless the woman's life is in danger. This is an excellent move on the administration's part, demonstrating once again the president's com- mitment to abortion rights. Hyde amendment advocates argue that tax- payers should not have to pay for another woman's abortion. Yet those who complain about "paying for poor women's abortions" pay for other medical Drocedures - for the very should be commended with less money from seeking the same.advan- tages as their more privileged counterparts. The government ban says, in effect, the kind ofrights a person has depends on whether she receives any assistance from her government. Furthermore, the Hyde Amendment not only discriminates against disadvantaged women, it is also a tacit form of racial discrimination. The disproportionate number of minority women on Medicaid ensures that they will be the ones to feel most of the effects of the ban. This is no accident - it is a direct result of the racist assumption that minority women "use abortion as birth control." By imposing the federal ban, those who feel this way can express their con- Historical basis of Christian faith should be studied :.3 To the Daily: Sean McMillen raised a significant question about the authority of the Bible in his recent letter, "Christian scripture irrational, homophobic" (3/30/93). Why should anyone believe anything the Bible says? Further, why should anyone accept the scriptural concept of God as real? However, McMillen neglected to address both the vulnerability Ief --:.:- .st .. that .--ma so we would have to make presuppositions about what we can know and the nature of the world _ which would itself be open to attack. In other words, we cannot prove McMillen's claim by our own academic efforts, which is exactly what he wants Christians to do for their claim that the scriptures are true and divinely inspired. Taking any position requires some faith, be it faith that we made up rnrthha t 14 rr.x..,u -.at Do we doubt The Gallic Wars assertion that it was written by Julius Caesar simply because we cannot prove it? The Christian concept of humankind's relationship with' God comes from the highly reputable Bible. In contrast, because the idea put forth by McMillen and some psycholo- gists and philosophers rests on,, debatable premises and subjective observations, it can have no more (and in fact, 0 0 I i