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. Sharp as Toast R jr j0p M6 (7T'r0N ' 'jI -AILY "~ ./'mo HELC r ,, J ~ A , lI A ' O 011, r -kl THAT TPAY 1 A.-. _ 1, Insight LMths granoan4et' 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