OMMMMI 4 4A - The Michigan Daily - Thursday, November 6, 2003 OP/ED Ulb A khgan at 420 MAYNARD STREET ANN ARBOR, MI 48109 letters@michigandaily.com EDITED AND MANAGED BY STUDENTS AT THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN SINCE 1890 LoUIE MEIZLISH Editor in Chief AUBREY HENRETTY ZAC PESKOWITZ Editorial Page Editors Unless otherwise noted, unsigned editorials reflect the opinion of the majority of the Daily's editorial board. All other articles, letters and cartoons do not necessarily reflect the opinion of The Michigan Daily. NOTABLE QUOTABLE I don't think OutKast is really breaking up. Andre 3000 and Big Boi just cut solo records, that's all." - Democratic presidential candidate Wesley Clark on the future of hip-hop duo OutKast, in a prerecorded video which aired during Tuesday's Rock the Vote candidate forum. (N STEVE COTNER AND JOEL HOARD OPERATION PUSSYCAT k i. 4. pussycat~umlch.ed4a F; k k SC- 1 a: i t i. ,,,. ,, 'r Keep your MTV, I want my NPR LAUREN STRAYER IN THE AcTiV, VOICE as -s 4 i e x Eat your heart out, Carson Daly. When 5 o'clock rolls around, I'm not watching "Total Request Live"; I'm lis- tening to National Pub- lic Radio's "All Things Considered." I don't get my news from MTV's modishly-dressed Kurt Loder and Gideon Yago, but instead from NPR's faceless Todd Mundt and Diane Rehm. On a Saturday afternoon, I'm more likely to be listening to NPR's news quiz "Wait Wait Don't Tell Me" than to be watch- ing "MTV Cribs." As I am only one member of the so- called MTV generation, it would be easy to write me off as a nerd or even a media snob, but I am not alone in my I-want-my-NPR habits. It turns out that there are lots of us listening to NPR and tuning out the mind- less media consumption that MTV has come to represent. Our generation - despite growing up with "The Real World" and "Beavis and Butt-Head"- may be better known by the letters NPR than by MTV. When it comes to young NPR listeners, there are two groups. First, there are the stereotypical collegiate NPR junkies. They're easily identified by their lofty ideals and cof- fee mugs or shoulder bags bearing the call letters of their local station. These enthusiasts also possess an uncanny ability to relate any conversation to an interesting segment on yesterday's edition of "Day to Day." The final defining characteristic of NPR addicts is their twice-yearly week-long moodiness dur- ing the obnoxious, but necessary, NPR fund drives. By nature, these junkies categorically defy the characteristics expected of the MTV generation. They aren't politically apathetic; they do appreciate thoughtful news analysis; and they don't robotically buy the products or people set before them. Though NPR addicts play an important role in the deconstruction of the myth of the MTV generation, there is a more noteworthy population among today's late-teens and early-twenty somethings - the balanced lis- teners. As this second group of NPR loyalists is less fanatical and less pigeonholed than the junkies, it encompasses a larger range and number of people. Still, just like the NPR junkies, this group of listeners isn't numbed by the marketing creation that is MTV and its subsequent culture. These listeners may not be members of the Diane Rehm fan club, but they demand news coverage beyond Yago's "Journeys in Kuwait"- and that's what is important. It is that widespread and unrelent- ing demand for serious news that will help our generation beat the bad MTV rap. I have to admit that, until recently, this bal- anced section of the NPR listening population wasn't on my radar screen. A few weeks ago, I was in the unlikely situation of having dinner with the kid brothers of two high school friends. Even though said brothers are in col- lege now, I still associate them with the antics of MTV's "Jackass." Growing up, I saw them act more ridiculously than quintessential Jack- ass Johnny Knoxville. While these little broth- ers were definitely entertaining back home, I was curious and a bit skeptical of what a meal's- worth of conversation with these guys and their friends would bring today. Whatever expectations I had going into this odd evening, I can safely say I did not think we would bond over NPR. In fact, I thought public radio programming would be at the very bottom of any list of possible conversation topics I might expect. Nevertheless, half way through our beers and our meals, we ended up arguing over which hokey NPR show awards quiz win- ners with Carl Kasell's voice on their answering machines. When no one could definitively say if it were "Wait Wait" or "Whad'Ya Know," we steered discussion to the history of Diane Rehm's unique speech pattern and lauded the nightly broadcasts of the BBC's "World Ser- vice." I was quite taken aback. Who knew that little brothers and their friends listen to NPR? I'm not claiming that MTV, as a news and entertainment source, is entirely inane or banal. I'm sure it introduces important issues to our nation's teeny-boppers, and I can't deny that I do enjoy an occasional countdown of the top 100 moments in rock history indexed by some obscure characteristic an MTV lackey invented. Still, I'm pleased to report that our generation isn't limited by MTV's breed of media. It turns out that a few bad cable networks can't numb the minds of an entire generation. Am I too hopeful? Maybe - but I can't help but feel good that more of my peers than I ever expected are listening to NPR. A Strayer can be reached at lstrayer@umich.edu. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Suburbs not to blame for the presents under the tree on Christmas morn- Since he is so concrete in his beliefs, I ing. encourage him to do the following: Upon start- decline of cities; Piskor should Furthering the negative portrayal of the ing a family, move into the city, into the worst raise kids in inner-city Detroit common parent, he blames exodus to the neighborhood he can find. Leave his kids with a suburbs for the decay of the city. Had he sitter while he pickets on the steps of city hall. been raised in a place where safety was a Remain indifferent to their accomplishments To THE DAILY: major issue, I doubt he would have much because his mind is occupied with the latest I was dumbfounded upon reading Jess of a problem with the idea of sending chil- news of potential war. And when his three-year- Piskor's column, You are responsible for your par- dren to "safe" schools. If he is so con- old daughter asks him why she can't have a tri- ents' apathy (11/04/03), Piskor is quick to declare vinced that this fear for safety is cycle, simply tell her that daddy is an everything from lawns to Christmas signs of the unfounded and destructive to cities, I anti-materialist. further consumerism-driven degradation of soci- encourage him to raise his family in inner- AMANDA MCALLISTER ety, and in the process manages to disrespect the city Detroit. LSA sophomore work of an entire generation, work he has obvi- He feels guilty for his upper-middle ously profited from. class, privileged upbringing in the heart of DEAN? $MOKED POT. Piskor, claims that "Nothing is perhaps more suburbia, and therefore has become an selfish than having children." What he perceives "activist." Has he ever thought of why he as selfishness is in reality called responsibility. It has the privilege of being an activist, KERRY? YOU BET. is probably much easier to support a family though? Had his parents not sold out to the working for a corporation than running an man and worked to give him a good life, organic farm. Besides, his assumption that would he be standing in the Diag holding EDARDS? INHALED,. everyone joins the corporate world, as well as up a sign or would he be too busy working the claim that those who do join corporations three jobs to put himself through college? hate their jobs, is unfounded. Did a life insur- Would he be in college at all? Had his par- CLARK?' JUSTSAID NO. ance conglomerate build his house? In actuality, ents always been off at protest rallies, our parents secure stable jobs because they grow instead of attending his kindergarten grad- up and realize that it's rare to make a decent liv- uation and little league games, would he.DAILY OPINION? ing selling hemp necklaces off of US-23. This have the sense of self-worth and confi- portrayal of the good provider as an evil entity is dence to spit in their faces, as he !is doing.YOU DECIDE. completely false. I highly doubt Piskor minds now? VIEWPOINT With blood on their hands 4 BY ALIYA CHOWDHRI, RAHUL SAKSENA AND IRFAN SHUTTARI The annual cultural show of the Indian American Student Association never fails to impress its audience, especially Indian Ameri- can students who witness in a unique way a breathtaking fusion of their Indian and Ameri- can backgrounds. This year's show, which took place last Saturday, was no exception: perfor- mances were fresh and diverse, and the perform- ers were brilliant. Embedded in the show was an interesting informational video clip of Indian current events, at the forefront of which was the emerg- ing alliance between the governments of India and Israel. It is an alliance that should not be cel- ebrated, it should be denounced. Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Indi- an Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee have giously affiliated governments who can work together to suppress self-determination move- ments and the basic human rights of religious minorities, especially Muslims. Trinity College Prof. Vijay Prashad wrote in an essay entitled "Namaste Sharon," that "Sha- ronism, Hindutva, and the Evangelical Imperial- ism of the Pentagon disgust the ordinary people of India, Israel and the United States. Our oppo- sition to this entente is fueled by that disgust - and by the politics of retaliation and fear that keeps you in power." The politics of retaliation and fear, the mes- sage conveyed by the Israeli and Indian gov- ernments that terrorism is the common enemy and that violence must be used to stop it, is fundamentally repressive and anti-Muslim. Fear is used as an excuse to retaliate: to justify the bulldozing of civilian homes because their owners have relatives who committed an atroc- ity, to justify the denial of basic human rights, not unlike Vajpayee, for being too kind to India's Muslims. With blood still on his hands from Lebanon, from Sabra and Shatila, from the bulldozers and the "strategically aimed missiles," from yester- day, today and tomorrow, Sharon wrote in the site's visitors' book, "From Jerusalem, the city of peace, eternal capital of the Jewish people, I bring you a message of hope and peace." Back in Delhi, with blood on his hands from Ayodhya and Gujarat, Vajpayee wel- comed Sharon, who announced, "We regard India as one of the most important countries in the world." As the spectators watched the IASA show video, very few of them probably realized the implications of an Israeli-Indian alliance. Few probably thought of the instability that such an alliance would bring to South Asia, where a sig- nificant population will feel threatened by the partnership of two governments that respect the rh nfnn y therir nw ixlnd- 4 ..>'< A