4 - The Michigan Daily - Wednesday, December 3, 2003 OP/D ape bthigttn ttilq 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 screamed, 'Stop, don't step on her, my sister is on the ground,' and nobody would listen." - Linda Elizey, sister of Patricia Van Lester, who was knocked unconscious and trampled by shoppers at an Orange City, Fla., Wal-Mart last Friday, as reported Monday by WKMG-Central Florida. - , .v - w } M1 1 ( {r i ," . a . ,a °' :, :.. _ .- d You gotta pull them sumbitches out by the roots. 64 1, 1 t SAM BUTLER THE SOAPBOX Life in the post-post-post-Sept. 11 era JOEL HOARD COLD LAMPIN' I he post-Sept. 11 era was supposed to be one of unprecedented harmony in the United States. American flags were to cover the land in a spec- tacular show of patrio- tism. Complete strangers were to greet one anoth- er with friendly smiles and hellos. New Yorkers were to be polite to each other. Everyone was to root for the Yankees in the World Series. Racism, sexism and all the other negative "-isms" were to be for- gotten. Police, firefighters and servicemen and women were to be elevated to the hero level typically reserved for professional athletes. Rudy Giuliani and George W. Bush vere to be treated like gods. America would finally be a utopia. From adversity comes strength. And it all happened. At least for a few days. No one could have reasonably expected it to last any longer than that. Beneath the veneer of national pride that the average American sported during that time there still teemed hatred, bitterness and contempt, and it was only a matter of time before the veneer wore off. So things returned to normal once the post-post-Sept. 11 era arrived. The flags got old and were put into storage, strangers started glaring at one another, New Yorkers realized that they hated each other again, everyone remembered that Brett Favre was really, really good at foot- ball and it became clear that all Giuliani and Bush did was make a few inspiring but empty speeches. Oh well, the few days of harmony were nice while they lasted. But the post-post-Sept. 11 era didn't last for long, either. We now find ourselves mired in the post-post-post-Sept. 11 era. Goodwill has dropped to a level well below that of pre-Sept. 11 times. In nearly every aspect of society, over a broad spectrum of issues, Americans are more divided than ever. Depending on whom you ask, George W. Bush is either the greatest president ever or the biggest fuck-up in American history. Gay marriage is either a great step toward equality or a sign of impending doom. The war on terror is either going to make the nation safe from its enemies once and for all or it will make us even more enemies that we had pre-Sept. 11. This post-post-post-Sept. 11 era that we are living in began rather abruptly with the war in Iraq. The last remaining bits of post-Sept. 11-ist goodwill passed on as we took sides on the war and started yelling. The Left's respect for (or at least toler- ance of) George W. Bush was lost, while the right still touted him as a savior of mankind, and what began with the war quickly shifted to the president himself. Over the past several months a remarkable, rift has formed, and never has the nation been so divided over its president. Half love the guy, half hate him and only a neg- ligible amount are indifferent (at least count there were three of us). It's gotten to the point where every move the president makes is both heartily praised and scorn- fully criticized. Take his Thanksgiving visit to Baghdad, for example. In truth it was a nice gesture of thanks to soldiers placed in a most difficult situation, but beyond that its implications are few. But to hear it from the Bush supporters, it was a demonstration of extraordinary resolve from a heroic commander in chief. And for the Bush haters, it was a lame attempt to drum up support and cover up the fact that all is not well in the war on terrorism. Even Democrats and Republicans in Congress are having a more difficult time getting along than usual. As The Wall Street Journal reported Monday, the parti- san divide in Congress is nearing a level not seen since the Newt Gingrich years, with votes split more and more strictly along party lines. The dividedness has become such an issue that Reps. Ray LaHood (R-Ill.) and Charles Stenholm (D- Texas) have formed a Civility Caucus in order to organize social events aimed at healing the rift between the two parties. It sounds nice and good, but can a wine and cheese party or a trip to the beach really resolve such mutual hatred? Probably not, but at least someone in Congress is trying to fix the problem. Meanwhile the rest of the nation is ready to explode. We could be one more Dixie Chick outburst or Toby Keith song away from civil war without even real- izing it. Something's got to give. 4 Hoard can be reached atj.ho@umich.edu. IOU one good vacation HUSSAIN RAHIM NARCOLEPTIC INSOMMNA oy oh boy did I blow it. After months of antici- pating mother's Thanks- giving dinner, fit with all the home trimmings, I finally arrived in New York sometime during the early afternoon of Thursday. I smirked the whole way through, from the descent into my native city, to the ride leaving LaGuardia en route to the Brooklyn side- walks - littered with old detritus and whatever else us Brooklynites no longer want to hold in their hands. As always, the home improvements multiply once you're out of the house and I was met with a new door that my old key surprisingly opened. I was back in NY. And I had plans. After turkey binging and digestion I was to be out. Thanksgiving night is prime party time and there were stories to be created for the grandchildren. There was really no reason I couldn't con- quer the city that very night except for the persistence of some chatty family mem- bers. I guess I didn't mind it all that much, so I stayed. Bullet bitten. Now it's Friday. Things are different and I'm really ready. I was seriously fit for some good ol' Dubya-encouraged con- sumer whoring. My four cent tax-return was to single-handedly reignite the econo- my and stop terrorism. Debt-filled credit cards and hard cash in hand, there was no chance for 34th Street. Lucky I didn't just buy Macy's. It was Black Friday, I'm black and it's Friday. It was my duty. I procured all types of clothes that I will never wear and shuttled them back home. I'm so NY. Day turns night and the mission shifts towards reuniting with old friends for some catching up and then a repeat of the dinner with my friend's fami- ly I had before I left for school, where I got all the United Nations updates and insider information. Following the meal, we mastered and commanded with Russell Crowe but I felt the first hit and deep down inside I knew it was over. The next day I realized that what I knew wasn't really that deep so much as it was right on the surface. My inability to eat combined with the great difficulty it took to stand and breathe simultaneously told me it was all wrapped up. For the rest of that day and what amounted to the rest of my vacation, my temperature fluctuated like the download time on that naughty KaZaa file. This meant no Broadway shows, no exclusive NY/LA only movie viewings and no trendy fusion restaurants. I had to take a raincheck on the receptive downtown bar folks and the invites to the '80s parties and the New Rochelle festivi- ties. I had to say nay to Golden Krust and shrimp roti's (a firm handshake to you if know what those are). Over was the sight of watching neophyte turnstile hoppers get busted (even I saw that cop), blind pan- handlers walking towards money with no indication of where to go and being solicited with stolen Rolexes in Midtown. I simmered in my own juices, while being spun every half hour all with ther- mometers protruding from wherever there was room to stick one. All in all, not too different from the turkey I ravaged a few days back. But that brave turkey's suffer- ing was for a purpose. What greater pur- pose did my illness serve? None. There was no lesson, no'edification and no moral purpose. It was just a sick cosmic joke. In the end, like everything else, I some- how manage to convincingly blame Michi- gan for my little flu. Yes, I contracted it in Brooklyn, but I was made soft by this little palm-shaped state. The dearth of nighttime activities has relegated me to the role of a hermitic homebody who looks upon dust particles with trepidation. Laziness and the over consumption of generic sandwich products has made me susceptible to ill- nesses that my little brother laughs off as immunization. I'll bide my time and store up. I'll be doing my jumping jacks and sit- ups as well as taking my Flintstones. I'll take notes on Sex and the City and get into the New York State of Mind, because when I go back I'm going everywhere and I'm taking whatever drugs I need to stand up. Sadly, as this goes to print I'll be feel- ing better in time to finish my work and well along the path to concluding this semester's studies. But I wonder, is there anything truly crueler than being healthy in Michigan? I Rahim can be reached at hrahim@umich.edu. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Article an inappropriate discussion of regional and religious stereotypes TO THE DAILY: I was extremely disappointed to read the article entitled "Snobs v. Slobs: Stu- dents debate East Coast, Midwest stereotypes" (12/01/03). The article starts out as an analysis of regional stereotypes, but uses this pretense to hide what is largely a discussion of religious stereo- either "Jewish" or "non-Jewish" was irre- sponsible reporting. While stereotypes exist, it's difficult to categorize a compilation of a few of those - mostly negative - stereotypes as a legitimate piece of objective journalism. The article shows a lack of effort to either confirm or debunk these stereotypes and no attempt is made to analyze what these stereotypes might mean or how they even came about. If the Daily wants to write an article about regionalism, then write it, but don't use regionalism as a facade to give legitima- cv to misconceived religious stereotves. stereotypes" (12/01/03). I understand the importance of freedom of speech and whole heartedly support it. However with that being said, the Daily should have shown a more complete picture of the "visible social rift," as its portrayal of the "rift" is degrading to both Midwesterners and East Coasters, and is merely perpetu- ating stereotypes. The article's derogatory comments toward Jewish students are extremely offensive. I am sincerely baffled that a community that is so diverse could be so discriminatory. It upsets me greatly that people could be so ignorant as to blatantly I ~_ , _. . _ . a