4 - The Michigan Daily - Thursday, November 4, 1993
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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
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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.
NEX
Crack babies and demonization
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The other day, my wife told me
about a discussion she had with a
woman at her job (which deals with
health promo-
tions) about "crack
babies." The
woman was talk-
ing about how the
future of this soci-
ety is seriously in 4
jeopardy because
of "crack babies."'
My wife asked her
to explain further, A
and the woman LesterK
said that "crack ba- SpenCe
bies" are born so-
ciopaths, totally without morals or eth-
ics. According to this woman, when
these children become adultswe are
going to have an entire generation of
criminals on our hands.
I hadn't heard this before, so on a
hunch, I browsed through MIRLYN in
order to see what type of data were
available on "crack babies"; specifi-
cally what type of research had been
done on them. I didn't find mucl I
found a lot of articles talking about
how fidgety they were in class, and
how hard to discipline, and whenever I
saw pictures of them they were black
(even though most babies born to co-
caine-addicted mothers are not), but I
never saw any type of scientific study
on the physiology of "crack babies."
And of all the things I did see about
"crack babies", I never saw anything
which would lead me to believe that
these children had some sort of genetic
predisposition to crime. I have a cousin
who works with children born to drug-
addicted parents, and to double check I
asked her how different these children
were from other children. She said that
they needed a little more time, pa-
tience, and affection than other chil-
dren, but besides that they weren't any
different (that she could tell) from other
children. Why do people (such as the
You can't eat chicken
and be a vegetarian
To the Daily:
I write in response to a recent
Daily column by Jean Twenge ("Not
all vegetarians are hippies," 10/19/
93). While I approve of Jean's
abstinence from red meat and efforts
to dispel vegetarian stereotypes, I
find her loose views on
vegetarianism disgusting.
Twenge claims that she is a
vegetarian although eating turkeys
and chickens doesn't disturb her in
the slightest. Apparently, I must have
forgotten that turkeys and chickens
aren't animals and that vegetarians
by definition don't eat animals.
Thanks for reminding me.
To make things worse, Twenge
thinks she deserves some pity and
honor because she has to endure the
taunts of her family from her oh-so-
difficult substitution of one meat to
another meat. This attitude is foolish.
In my opinion, the only honorable
thing to do is to abstain from all
animal products, including not only
turkey and chicken, but fish, all dairy
products, and eggs.
If Twenge thinks this is
deprivation, think again.
woman my wife works with) think this
way then, in light of this information?
One of the reasons has to do with
group relations. With the exception of
the first English settlers all migrant
groups have had to go through a period
of "demonization" before they were
accepted into the American fold. A
"rite of passage" if you will.
The Irish Americans for example,
were portrayed in the media (primarily
newspapers and magazines) as drug
abusers, alcoholics, wife beaters, and
delinquent parents. Even after large
numbers of Irish Americans, in Chi-
cago for example, became police offic-
ers, they were still labeled as violent
criminals. Although some would argue
that during this time, Irish Americans
were for the most part "criminal
minded," I wouldn't take this stance.
This particular ritual occurs for three
main reasons: to boost self-esteem
among "purer" Americans, to justify
the subjugation of certain cultural
groups, and to cause friction between
those groups and others. By labeling an
entire group of people as inferior, this
gives other groups the opportunity to
point to them and say "well, at least I'm
not a kike." It gives those groups some-
one to blame their economic troubles
on ("well I would have gotten in school
if it wasn't for those Affirmative Ac-
tion niggers"). It also justifies the un-
just treatment these groups may re-
ceive ("and they wonder why they have
to use separate bathrooms!"). In an
interview with Carole Simpson (a black
tele-journalist) concerning the state of
the nation for instance, an elderly couple
talked about how everything would be
OK if the immigrants would be kicked
out of the country and blacks would get
off of their duffs to work.
So in light of this process, the focus
on "crack babies" can be seen as a part
of the larger demonization process that
African Americans continue to go
through. There is another level to this
though, one which European ethnic
groups never faced. One of the more
interesting projects the government
funds is entitled the "Violence Initia-
tive." The hypothesis is that there may
be a genetic predisposition towards
committing violent acts. If this is true,
it is assumed that there are genetic/
biological means of preventing such
acts. The samples for this study will be
residents of the "inner-city"-mean-
ing mostly African American males.
The belief that "crack babies" are
born sociopaths fits very nicely within
this hypothesis. If our moral frame-
work is genetically based in some way,
then it isn't all that much of a stretch to
say there is a relationship between ge-
netics and violence. And once this bar-
rier is crossed, all kinds of policies
once thought violations of the Bill of
Rights become ideas worthy of debate.
For example polls across the country
showthatasignificantnumberofpeople
are willing to given up certain constitu-
tional rights in order to fight the "War
on Drugs." If certain people are predis-
posed to commit violent crimes, espe-
cially those people born to crack ad-
dicted mothers, what type of constitu-
tional rights should they have?
Shouldn't there be some type of restric-
tions placed on their movement? And
if there is a relationship between genet-
ics and drug use, should these people
be allowed to have children? Given all
the technological "progress" that this
society has made, the possibilities be-
come all the more frightening.
Granted this may seem to be some
far out shit.
But if my studies have taught me
anything, it is that ideas are not simply
abstract entities. They are real, and
they determine the shape of the world
and everything in it.
And an idea as simple as "'crack
babies' are born sociopaths" may actu-
ally have devastating consequences for
all of us.
0i
Purdue fights EPA fine for as es
to me it is as clear as daylight,
nothing ambiguous about it!
Am I being naive or are you being
deliberately obtuse?
J. KMENTA
Department of Economics
U.S. must not ignore
population explosion
To the Daily:
In the coming weeks before we
give thanks, let us also take a look at
what we have - and what we can
bear. Attention must be paid to the
one factor that has propelled almost
every environmental problem:
population.
In the past 12 months, the world
population has increased by 93
million, the size of all of Mexico! In
spite of continuing environmental
problems of deforestation, ozone
depletion and pollution, the demand
for energy, space and resources
concurrently continue to rise with
each consuming human being.
Instead of ignoring the problem of
overpopulation we, the United States,
must commit ourselves to slowing
our rapid growth.
We must give thanks for what we
have and realize not only that there is
well written and presented the facts
of the incident in a news bulletin
manner, but the ideas put forth were
neither justified nor true.
The article includes several
interviews which emanate a sense of
sorrow for the victims, but it also
includes several universal statements
which falsely represent the Indian
student population. The author
includes certain interviews which
attack Indian students, implying that
they are all ignorant of international
news, and that they all lack a sense of
concern for the earthquake. The
author's basis for her onslaught on
Indian students solely relies on the
validity of such rash statements
which attribute the ignorance to a
"general lack of student interest," and
"to a lack of direct pertinence."
Through the use of such quotes, the
author misrepresents the students as
narrow-minded and selfish people
who have terminated all roots with
heritage. This is untrue. If the
students do not care for the
happenings in India, then how does
the author explain the immediate
relief drive hosted by various student
associations?
SUDHIR RAO
LSA first-year student
Purdue and a local contractor are
facing a $145,000 civil penalty im-
posed by the Environmental Protec-
tion Agency for the exposure of asbes-
tos while a local contractor was re-
roofing Young Graduate House. The
University has decided to contest the
fine, and rightfully so.
Stuart Kline, Purdue's head of ra-
diological and environmental manage-
ment, said Purdue has never been fined
for a violation of the EPA in the past.
And it was fined $145,000. This amount
is ridiculous. The University discov-
ered the problem and remedied it them-
selves. Then, as an act of good faith,
they notified the EPA. The EPA retali-
ated with the fine, seemingly ignoring
Purdue's environmental record and its
efforts to fix the problem before health
concerns could emerge.
The university has done well to
immediately contest such an outrageous
(two average, full-time professor's sala-
ries is outrageous) penalty.
This incident was a simple over-
Maybe the EPA could spend some
of its time pursuing the countless, un-
paid penalties they have imposed on
corporations throughout the nation.
Many corporations simply ignore EPA
fines by delaying payment until the
EPA loses interest. An d the majority of
these fines are for serious violations,
nothing like what happened on the roof
of Young Graduate House.
What does it say for goodwill and
positive environmental actions if a uni-
versity reports a minor violation it has
made to the EPA and is slapped with a
This is a reprint of an editorial that
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