4 - The Michigan Daily - Wednesday, October 13, 1993
The 3id iaunfailg
420 Maynard
Ann Arbor, MI 48109
Edited and managed
by students at the
University of Michigan
JOSH DUBow
Editor in Chief
ANDREW LEVY
Editorial Page Editor
L
Unless otherwise noted, unsigned editorials reflect the majority opinion of the Daily editorial board.
All other cartoons, articles and letters do not necessarily represent the opinion of the Daily.
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By JED FRIEDMAN
Denial is the refusal to
acknowledge a painful or
threatening reality. When you
ignore an issue to avoid dealing
with it, it does not solve itself.
Instead, the problem becomes
worse.
Mom finds a kilo of cocaine in
Johnny's closet. She gives herself
two options: A) to talk to Johnny
about the kilo of cocaine in his
closet or B) to assume that the
powdery white stuff is just some
special kind of sugar that Johnny
just happens to keep hidden in the
bottom of his closet. She chooses B.
Johnny dies a week later of a
cocaine overdose.
This past Wednesday, an op-ed
piece was published by the Daily
which questioned the occurrence of
the Holocaust. A significant amount
of students think the piece should
not have been published. They
argue that publishing the op-ed
gives legitimacy to Holocaust
revisionist doctrine. Besides, they
say, the piece has no place in a
Friedman is an LSA first-year
student.
newspaper, as it expresses anti-
Semitic ideas.
Thirty percent of Americans
believe that the horrors of the
Holocaust have been exaggerated.
This is a kilo of cocaine in
America's closet. If we deny this
kilo of cocaine, if we don't talk
about it, it will take a drastic effect,
as it did with Johnny. If we hold
ourselves to be above dignifying the
Holocaust revisionists' arguments
with a response, we allow these
arguments to go uncontested, and
they gain credence.
If this happens, more and more
people will doubt the veracity of the
Holocaust. Perhaps in another 50
years 95 percent of America will
question the occurrence of the
Holocaust.
The revisionist arguments must
be aired now so that they can be
countered with factual evidence.
Publishing revisionists' op-ed's
does not legitimize their arguments.
Rather, it provides a forum in which
Holocaust revisionism can be
exposed for its inaccuracies. To
refuse to deal with revisionists'
arguments is to deny their presence
and thus to do nothing to prevent
their expansion. Johnny's mother is
unbelievable as a character because
no rational mother would be so
senseless that she would ignore a
kilo of cocaine in her son's closet.
And yet, a significant amount of
University students want to ignore a
kilo of cocaine in America's closet.
Many people argue that the
revisionist piece shouldn't have
been published because it was anti-
Semitic. Yet, the author did not
espouse hostility towards Jews. He
did not write that there was a
Jewish conspiracy in America.
Denial of the Holocaust comes from
ignorance of the issues involved.
Indeed is it so surprising that
someone who has never seen any
concrete evidence of the Holocaust,
would doubt its occurrence? Would
you believe that a country would
stand by while millions of its
citizens were slaughtered? It might
sound fantastic to someone who has
never studied the Holocaust. By
challenging the Holocaust's
occurrence, the op-ed's author
merely shows that he has not
investigated the Holocaust
thoroughly. This makes him
ignorant, not anti-Semitic.
Gun control editorial
ignores the facts
To the Daily:
I am writing in response to your
editorial, ("Florida tourist murders,"
9/22/93.) You claim that the way to
halt the senseless killings in our
country is to enact comprehensive'
gun conrol. In addition, you state
that the Second Amendment to the
Constitution refers only to the
standing army of the United States
from and was created solely for the
purpose of protecting the early
United States from British
aggression. Both of these
viewpoints are wrong and are bred
from ignorance.
Anti-gun legislation is not going
to stop the killing in America's
cities or the predation of innocents
by thugs and punks. There are
currently thousands of gun laws on
the books throughout the United
States. The most restrictive (and
unconstitutional) ban the personal
ownership of firearms in the cities
of New York, Los Angeles and
Washington D.C. Such laws
encated in the name of stopping the
crime that plagued these cities.
Anti-gun politicians said that the
outlawing of guns from the citizens
and the expected fall in crime rates
would prove to all that gun control
would work. Just as many gun
owners and the often vilified
National Rifle Association
predicted, the opposite occurred.
Homicide rates in these cities have
skyrocketed as has the black-market
handgun trade. Criminals have no
reservations about breaking gun
control laws, and since the law
abiding people of these areas are
unarmed, thugs have no fear. The
crooks are free from harm as they
continue their armed exploits. I'm
sure that they're in favor of gun
control.
infringed." This is the right
guaranteed by the Second
Amendment. The fact that 'the
people' is used to describe for
whom the amendment is meant
seems to be overlooked by anti-
gunners. They seem to believe that
'the people' only applies only to the
federal government. If this is the
case then the First, Fifth and Tenth
Amendments to the Constitution
must also apply only to the federal
government since they also
guarantee certain rights, such as
freedom of expression, speech and
freedom from bearing witness
against oneself, as rights of 'the
people.' If this is the case then you,
the Daily, have no right to publish
your paper or express any opinions
in it. It is then solely a right of the
government of the United States.
I'm sure you will agree that this is
not the case. Therefore, anti-
gunners cannot deny that 'the
people' refers to each individual
citizen of our country. The Second
Amendment was created to assure
each individual the right to bear
firearms.
You did make one statement that
was correct. You said, "we must
teach our young people that every
disagreement does not have to end
with someone bleeding on the
ground." Here is part of the cause of
our country's killings. People,
especially the young, have lost
respect for human life and have no
sense of the consequences of their
actions. Until this attitude has
changed, no amount of legislation
will stop the killing.
RON TYKOSKI
LSA Senior
Daily shows lacsiof
discretion in printing
holocaust pie
dropout the academic credence he
surely does not deserve. The main
question is this: what is the purpose
of yet another publication of
Bradley Smith's rubbish? If it was
an advertisement we could
undeerstand- we would understand
that the Daily is motivated by
greed- receiving money for space in
its newspaper. But it was not an
advertisement and indeed, it
appeared on the Op.-Ed. page.
If the purpose was to.spark a
debate then we could understand.
But surely the Daily and its staff
cannot be that naive.
We do not know why the Daily
did this, but what is done is done.
We do know, however, that the
Daily neglected to consider the
consequences of its actions. The
Daily is contributing to Mr. Smith's
agenda, providing him with a
podium with which he spews his
twisted truths to the students and *
faculty at one of the finest
educational centers in the world.
Let us again emphasize that this
is in no way a-response to Mr.
Smith and/or his views. This is a
response to the offensive affront
that the Michigan Daily has once
again inflicted upon the University,
its students and faculty, the Jewish
population, the memory of millions
of innocent lives and humanity
itself.
It is an utter disgrace for the
same university which bestows the
Raoul Wallenberg award to such
recipients as Elie Wiesel to have
such disgusting journalistic
judgement associated with its name.
Yesterday it was an advertisement.
Today it was an article. Tomorrow
will it be an editorial?
ALAN LANDAU
MICHAEL HARPAZ
LSA seniors
WRITE
Court decision on Dude hiring overdue
The Michigan Supreme Court rul-
ing that the U-M violated state open
record and open meeting laws during
the selection of current president
James Duderstadt in 1988 is long over-
due.
Lawyers filed the case against the
U-M for Booth Newspapers and the
Detroit Free Press, saying the U-M
Board of Regents decided on 12 can-
didates during the course of private
meetings.
The U-M opened only the meeting
Candidates give up their
privacy when they decide
to apply for a public
position. If any candidate
wants to come to a Big
Ten university, then she
or he should welcome his
or her name being made
public information.
dates in the future. However, those
candidates should realize that these
meetings are a public occurrence and
should be willing to take that chance.
Candidates give up their privacy
when they decide to apply for a public
position. If any candidate wants to
come to a Big Ten university, then she
or he should welcome his or her name
being made public information.
The students at this university are
not interested in candidates who want
their names kept secret out of fear of