4 - The Michigan Daily - Thursday, December 9, 1993 bE £r iguu nlgd 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 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. /4 f/j } (66 .,1d The big 3aviolence, and misogyny .. disguise real issue : sell these guns anal Rifle Asso- white suburbta want in the inner cities-i tuse of violenc of the outpour ks and others iminatory socii "cause?" Simi It is much easier to blame rap music for violence ggy (and corruption of suburbia's "innocent" children). dn't However, the true causes must be reasoned. Why is fear there violence in the inner cities? Because, due to d to inequitable educational opportunities and racism in the the job market, many in the inner cities are forced to sta, mug and steal, sell drugs and fight in order to survive. rap So who are the people in the job market and in rent educational institutions with the power and money to gsta change this lack of hope in the inner cities? Many of them are the same rich suburbanites who care nothing (io- about people in the inner cities, but who are quick to r to attack their culture as soon as suburban children one taught the truths of inner city life. ned NOW is not the first to attack rap music. However, s to this attack on rap is but a small piece of a much larger and pie. The sudden oppression of rap music comes as no surprise to Dr. Robin Kelley, associate professor of w- African American Studies at the University. It's no e in different, he says, from the attacks on swing and ing bebop in the thirties and rock n' roll in the sixties as are causes of promiscuity and immorality. The attack on ety. rap is not an attack on Black culture alone. It is also an ple. attack on youth culture in general. "Prepare for an- other attack on youth culture," Kelley warns. "This less one will be worse than any of it's predecessors, like the the attacks onbebop, swing, andcrock n'roll. This one yids will be a cultural genocide." rics Lies told by reporters such as Brokow and Couric Jer- aren't helping. They're causing undue fear and panic the to spread in an already ignorant society. We, as the generation whose culture is now threatened by such that people, must work now to stop and question these hil- blind attacks on music coupled with feigned igno- 1g a rance of poverty, almost nonexistent educational op- ten portunities and killer cops in the inner cities. But, the ow first step must be to say to Brokow, Couric and all ck? their lying, idiotic colleagues what we are now about the to say. Shut the hell up. parents in suburbia could have cared 1 iat was going on in the inner cities and in f rap music, until their rich teenage k f them white) started spewing some lyi p killa' comin' straight from the und "'ain't nothin' but a G thang," and "fuck upper-middle class whites were afraid t ent "Black" music would corrupt their c )W played off those fears by interviewin te teen who said his white friends who lis isic now carry guns. Who is this kid, and h d NOW pay him for that bunch of cro iv didn't Brokow or Couric denounce Usually I approach the topics that I deal with in a pretty chill manner, be- cause that's what I am. But a couple of pieces that I've seen lately have caused me to seri- ously trip the fuck out.. A few weeks t ago, one of myI friends called me AD * about The Daily. I asked her had she *n seen my column about Mitch Albom and she said that she had, and that she liked it. She then asked me if I had seen the article below mine. I said that I had, but that I didn't read it closely. She told me that I should take a look at it. It was a piece on Rap by Ian Lester entitled "Gangster Rap No Longer What It Was." I thought it would be pretty straightforward but when I checked it out my mouth dropped. I didn't trip on the fact that he was critiquing Rap. Rap as a musical form is not perfect, and it is as susceptible to criticism as Rock, European chamber music, or Jazz. It wasn't even the fact that Lester lumped Public Enemy with NWA., calling them all "gangster rap- pers." I'm used to that. It wasn't even when Lester criticized Snoop for "yet another shooting," as if he was in- volved in more than one. It was one critique in particular that tripped me out: rap is misogynist. "The most up- setting aspect of rap music is the con- stant derision of women. By degrading women, rap music attacks one of the African American community's stron- gest allies in the fight for economic and social equality." I didn't see the signifi- cance of this statement until my friend pointed it out to me. Not only is all rap music guilty of misogyny according to Lester, it is guilty of attacking white women. And this is the major reason why it is "no longer what it was." I've been here a while, and I've seen some off the wall shit since I've been here, but I don't think that I've ever seen more heinous shit. White women ?!? At first I thought it was me, and that I must be the one with the problem, then Lester continues. "The ability to vote for Blacks would not have been achieved as early had women not helped in their cause after receiving suffrage themselves. Nor would Afri- can Americans have been successful in the 60s fighting for their civil rights had they not been backed by the rap-la- beled 'bitches.' It serves no purpose whatsoever to treat another oppressed minority with such disrespect." History lesson number one: African Americans were finally given the right they already HAD, thanks to Reconstruction, in 1965. In comparison, white women were given the right to vote in 1919 (I may be off here by a bit). So the reason why Afri- can Americans RE-received the vote "early "(49 YEARS early to be exact) was because of white women? Not to belittle their role, but according to Fannie Lou Hamer, Susan B. Anthony was down with working to get the African in America (they weren't Afri- can Americans back then), but then changed her mind saying that if she helped the African out, white men wouldn't hook up women. Now this is an individual case, and there undoubt- edly were some white women who helped Africans out. But Lester gives them far too much credit. In fact, by reading his comments, one would as- sume that Fannie Lou Hamer (and Anna Julia Cooper, and Coretta Scott King, and Betty Shabazz) were actually not Black at all, but white. I'm sorry to be the one to tell you, but the African American community isallmale. (Side note, if there are more white women than white men, how can white women be a numerical minority? These are the questions that I suppose we must an- swer for ourselves.) At least according' to the revisionist history posed by Lester. Another article written inNewsweek 0 entitled "When is Rap 2 Violent" sought to do some of the same things as Lester's piece, but to a wider audience. Rap is no longer what it used to be, and with Snoop, Tupac, and Flav incarcerated (or about to be), we should start asking ourselves when is it that the music becomes more thanjust music. Rap "2" violent huh? On a news program that I checked out the other day I noticed that of nine stories, seven of them dealt with violent crimes and only two of them occurred in Detroit. In the times we live in, when a president bombs a country because of an alleged attempt to take out a previous president ("Damn Bill, If didn't know you cared!" signed George Bush), how the FUCK can we accuse an ART FORM of being "2" violent. Hell, I think Clinton ought to be nomi- nated "King of the Drive-bys" but that's. just me. The most important reason that I decided to write in the Daily was dia- logue. As I said before, Rap IS NOT perfect. SOME of Rap'is misogynist, and SOME rappers may need to be locked up for criminal acts. We can talk about the particulars but I think that we can all agree on that. But if you are going to become part of the dialogue, make sure that your shitis straight. If you're going to come,. come correct or don't come at all. Noth- ing fucks up dialogue more than "un- truths." ESPECIALLY when it's in print. Thanks for reading, and I hope your vacation is fruitful. Peace. cheer celebrating only Christmas, U' excludes many It is extremely difficult for any students walking past the Michigan Union to not notice the large Christmas wreath hanging over the main doors. If those same students find their way inside the Union, they are bombarded with a Christmas motif that continues across the main floor. While the University's efforts to decorate in a festive spirit is appreciated, there is a lack of decoration that would symbolize other important cultural holidays this time of year, most obvious being Hanukkah and Kwanzaa. Granted, a wreath is not directly symbolic of any religious celebration. But it is unmistakably tied to the Christian celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ. The origins of the traditional wreath and Christmas tree may not have been related to any certain religious celebration, however the associa- .tions between Christmas, the holiday and Christmas, the religious celebration are irreversibly entwined today. Decorating for religious holidays helps make people aware of other celebrations. For instance, posters explaining Kwanzaa in some campus resi- dence halls last year made many people aware of a cultural celebration that otherwise might have gone unnoticed by much of the student population. The University had several reasons for putting up the decorations. For one thing, the Union, the Michigan League and the North Campus Commons are catering facilities and the decorations help attract business. As well, many students are glad to see the Union representing the Christmas spirit. It is not suggested that the Union should remove it's display, but it should be sensitive to all the major religions celebrating at this time of year. At the North Campus commons there is a small menorah and a few items that explain the holiday's significance, but at no time was there any prominent Hanukkah display on the same scale as the Christmas decorations at the Union. For a University made up of such a diverse popula- tion, the large-scale emphasis of Christmas in the University's most prominent student building shows a lack of commitment to diversity. It is disappointing that no one in the University felt it important to have a more prominent display of a diversity of celebra- tions. While running around hanging a menorah or other religious symbols next to all the wreaths on campus would be a mockery, avisible display of other religions and cultures in the context of the Union's Christmas celebration would be much appreciated. You cannot please everyone, but equal decoration of all world faiths represented on campus would please the vast majority. DPS deserves to be commended By LISA MARGULUS The National Association of Town Watch recently extended a national award to the University Department of Public Safety (DPS), North Campus Commons, and North Campus Family Housing for their organization of National Night Out #3, held at the North Campus Common this past August. The University received this award for population category of 30,000 to 99,999 people. "This year's event (nationally) was the largest ever involving 8,500 communities from all 50 states, U.S. territories and military bases worldwide. We extend our congratulations for being selected among the nation's best," said Matt Peskin, National Project Coordinator. Sponsored by local law enforcement agencies and community groups, National Night Out observances serve to heighten awareness of crime and drug abuse Margulus is an LSA senior and a public relations intern for DPS. prevention programs by informing community members about available services such as transportation, 911 and SAPAC. The event helps generate support for local anti-crime efforts, strengthen neighborhood spirit by neighbors getting to know one another, encourage police and community relations, and send a message to criminals that neighborhoods are oganized and fighting back. Throughout the country, people are encouraged to turn on their porch lights and come out to meet their neighbors and law enforcement officers. On August 3, approximately 500 people gathered on the North Campus Common to join in the festivities. Due to the large number of young children in the North Campus Family Housing area, the University National Night Out focused on crime prevention and child safety. Keeping children entertained while learning valuable information, positively promoted safety issues in a non-threatening manner. Children saw a canine team perform a mock drug search, and they explored a smoke house to learn about fire safety. Over 100 area businesses, corporations and University departments joined forces to make this event a grand success. They contributed time, products and funds so that attendees would not need to pay for anything. Joint efforts between businesses and the University demonstrate that an all- out community effort is needed to fight crime. The University was the largest university and the only Big Ten university that participated in Natipnal Night Out this year. This event is one of several crime prevention programs run by DPS. Educational presentations, motorist assists for jump-starts and unlocks (keys from within your car), emergency escorts, blue light telephones, and Safewalk/Northwalk represent a few of numerous crime prevention services available for University community utilization. ,, 1 1 0. i DSnTeg deoraios holdcoeow By JULIE BECKER It is December,. and the holiday season - that once-a-year collective madness-is in full swing. The ads are on television, the lights are on State street, and - lo and behold -wreaths and other decorations adorn University buildings. What's wrong with this picture? Nothing, say many. They see the University's Christmas decorations as a ,flfl f l .nntr~n.+..;nn .to .the - c fl to take the entire community into ac- count. For that reason, the holiday deco- rations on public University property must be taken down. The University is a public school, drawing its funds from the state of Michigan and its students from all over the country and the world. While deco- rations such as wreaths and menorahs have been designated "secular" by the courts, and therefore legal for public crhnlc hevnr-.tl.mhl-. of rml pus. This may be true. However, it does not justify the University's actions. Being in the majority does not make one person's religion more important than any other. If we are to accept the "majority rules" view of this issue, we are only a small step away from accept- ing it on other religious matters, break- ing down the hard-won wall between church and state. This is not to suggest that holiday Arerrntirnc e hruiA i hnnn- frnm Police should leave donut shops, stop . . . - . .. attention the receive is by way of a 156-word article shoved in a small corner of the Daily. In other words, these victims simply become feel safe going out to her care at twenty minutes pas midnight? Maybe DPS and the AAPD officers need to ; get their lazy butts out of the donut ;