4 - The Michigan Daily - Thursday, November 4, 1993 fe £irbi4gtn ailg -, + I 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 FId K,,okvD P\ofLEMS ViAITIN(C,- ?so 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 r a' -21. 11 o. . ""1At) L.Y 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 -a