4 - The Michigan Daily - Wednesday, October 12, 2005 OPINION Gabe Slirbigan iuiI JASON Z. PESICK Editor in Chief SUHAEL MOMIN SAM SINGER Editorial Page Editors ALISON Go Managing Editor EDITED AND MANAGED BY STUDENTS AT THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN SINCE 1890 420 MAYNARD STREET ANN ARBOR, MI 48109 tothedaily@michigandaily.com NOTABLE QUOTABLE There are a couple of rotten apples that need to be dealt with." -Robert Davis, who was beaten by New Orleans police officers, commenting on how he holds no grudges against the department, as reported yesterday by CNN.com. KIM LEUNG 1 LK~4Tla VEX ~x } A~T o r~ ~ Authentically American DAVID BETTS PCNTIF(ATINS onday night I watched a screening of "Hotel Rwanda" put on by the minori- ty peer advisors from all of the residence halls. It's the kind of movie that leaves me disgusted that I'm an American. I was dis- gusted at the Western world for so often leaving the continent of Africa to deal with the leftovers of colo- nialism, even all these years after actual European occupation of the continent. The movie hit me hard; at times, I didn't want to watch. Throughout the movie I cringed as I saw the suffering children and piles of dead bodies - God forbid I ever see that in person and not just cinematic form. After the movie ended, I left the Natural Science Building and stepped onto the Diag in all its tree-framed glory - the contrast was bizarre. I had just gone through about two hours of genuine disappointment, sad- ness, laughter and more sadness. I couldn't move for a moment when I got outside because I was so struck by the peaceful secu- rity that the Diag gave me. I almost felt like I didn't have a reason to complain about being an American. I didn't think I was justified in hating America given how comfortable I am on this campus. Every once in a while I hate the Unit- ed States. The racist cultural legacy, the increasing gap in wealth and my own per- sonal sense of helplessness in regard to hav- ing a say in the political process all make me want to scream at the top of my lungs at whoever will listen to me. When I watch a movie, or hear stories of atrocities on the African continent, I get particularly infuri- ated. It's actually a bit peculiar; I only know a handful of people who have ever set foot on the continent, yet I feel a certain con- nection there. It's because I am a man of the Diaspora. I know that my genealogy began somewhere on that huge continent, at some point in history. I know that the people, to a certain extent, are dealing with the same cultural and historical remnants that force me to periodically reconcile my existence. I've met a fairly significant number of black Americans who only begrudgingly admit to their Americanness. It's understand- able because most black Americans do not exactly fit the role of stereotypical Ameri- can. Probably the best approximation of the truth is that we occupy a subculture that is American in the sense that it originates in the United States and can't be authentically rep- licated abroad. What people the world over fail to realize is that American culture is just an amalgamation of multiple subcultures, some of which have been assimilated into mainstream consciousness more than others. I know I'm not the first person to say this, but I'm under the impression that black Americans occupy a subculture because we've been searching for a self-determined identity for so long. We tend to run away from things that are labeled as white because for some reason one of the worst ways to insult a black person is to question his authentic blackness. Why do you think the 20th century saw black Americans invent so many new genres of music? Others keep co-opting the stuff black Americans create, thus undermining the desire for self-deter- mination. That leaves us black Americans with an incredibly interesting, still evolving culture. What frightens me is that a perverse percentage of America thinks that Black Entertainment Television represents black- ness well. Trust me, it doesn't. Admittedly, the ever-changing state that is African-Americanness has some issues to deal with. That's why we still need the black press. It also explains why I'm going to the Millions More March this coming weekend. Aside from the cultural significance of try- ing to get at least a million people to come out and celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Million Man March, I'm hoping that the movement will compel more people to help resolve the constant reconciliation that is being black in America. There are multiple injustices and inequities faced by nonwhites across the country that stem solely from them not being white. Theoretically, the march is an opportunity for black Ameri- cans to call attention to and work to resolve these issues. As much as it pains me to occasionally accept it, I'm an American and there's no getting around it. I have lived in Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti my entire life; my parents have lived in Michigan their entire lives. No mat- ter how many times I am disappointed with current political affairs, I know I don't want to be anyone else, in any other time or place. The issues facing black Americans are too complex to fit into this space, but, I sort of relish the opportunity to force the United States to live up to its mythical standards of equality and freedom. Betts can be reached at djmbetts@umich.odu. VIEWPOINT Don't fly Northwest Airlines ii BY ANDRES RAMOS For the past seven weeks, Northwest Air- lines has been doing its level best to break the spirit of its mechanics, as well as the mechanics union. The airline's demands of pay cuts between 25 and 50 percent have forced the Northwest mechanics to strike for the past seven weeks, shifting their willing and skilled hands from the tools of their trade to, in defense of their livelihood, picket signs. This reprehensible action by Northwest Airlines is not only unjust, but also a threat to the safety of the students who must fly this fall. Northwest is striving for a nonunion business model similar to JetBlue, and in order to achieve this goal, it is demanding the layoff of more than half its maintenance workforce - leaving almost 5,000 mainte- nance workers no choice but to go on strike. Northwest Airlines is trying to slash labor costs in an attempt to increase profits, all at the expense of the dedicated maintenance workers and their families. The strikers are fighting a massive pay cut, layoffs for more than half the unit's workforce, reduced sick pay, reduced vacation and holidays, increased health care costs, pension freez- es and increased outsourcing to nonunion shops. The union has even agreed to a 16- percent pay cut, which management refuses to accept. Who has ever heard of workers going on strike for a pay cut? Although Northwest cancelled 25 percent of its flights on the first day of the strike, the Airline Mechanics Fraternal Association, which represents the mechanics, has a long journey ahead. Northwest Airlines spent more than $100 million on preparations for the strike, 16 months ahead of time, even though it is demanding $176 million from the union. This crisis has clearly been man- ufactured in an attempt to break the union. Due to the post-Sept. 11 state of the airline industry, all airline unions alike have suf- fered from cuts in wages, benefits, pensions, etc. Northwest, in particular, has outsourced most of its maintenance crew - it brought in about 1,400 scabs to complete maintenance work immediately after the strike began. The replacement of dedicated and well- trained maintenance workers is not only unethical but dangerous. Northwest has hired replacement workers - scabs - who do not all have airline mechanic certifica- tions. Unlike airline mechanics, these new scabs are not required to take tests for drug and alcohol use and - because they have only rudimentary training - are not even legally permitted to certify their own main- tenance work. Does this seem like a problem to you? Would you board a plane knowing that the men in control of your safety may not even be qualified? I wouldn't. Addition- ally, in the wake of Northwest's dangerous decision, there have been reported incidents where Northwest flights have made emer- gency landings due to mechanical problems. The use of nonunion, uncertified labor for airline maintenance has drastically reduced passenger safety. Many University students must rely on commercial airlines to go home for the hol- idays and for special occasions. Many of us are frequent flyers, and we want to be safe. In light of our concerns for passenger safety and the struggle of the workers at Northwest Airlines, the Michigan Student Assembly's Peace and Justice Commission urges stu- dents not to fly Northwest Airlines. Ramos is an LSA sophomore and member of the Peace and Justice Commission of the Michigan Student Assembly. His opinion reflects the official position of the commission. 0 0 0 LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Transitive property belongs on Math 105 syllabus, not in The Michigan Daily TO THE DAILY: Ian Herbert was completely off base in his column, According to the math, Varsity may be in a bit of trouble (10/10/2005). Using the "transitive property of football," as he calls it, Herbert argues that the Michigan football team will lose all of its remaining games. I ask how the "transitive property of football" exolains the first month of the Michigan kicker Garrett Rivas). While the Big Ten Championship is all but gone, the season can still be salvaged - starting with a victory this Saturday against an 8th- ranked Penn State team and ending with a win over Ohio State. GO BLUE! Eric Farkas LSA senior What will it take for Lloyd Carr to lose his position? TO THE DAILY: before Oct. 13. Also under Carr, we had the worst defense ever, statistically speaking, in 2004. Also in 2001, Carr led us to such great feats as most offense ever allowed (against Northwestern) and second most offense ever allowed (against Purdue). Oh yeah, not only that, but we lost against Wisconsin's Barry Alvarez, who had never previously beaten us as a coach. This is the first time that Minnesota has seen the Little Brown Jug, in ... 19 years? Now let's look at what happened Saturday: Carr called a time out on second-and-five. Why do you call a time out on second-and-five? I'm sure that Minnesota would have been content Editorial Board Members: Amy Anspach, Reggie Brown, Amanda Burns, John Davis, Whitney Dibo, Sara Eber, Jesse Forester, Mara Gay, Jared Goldberg, Eric Jackson, Ashwin Jagannathan, Theresa Kennelly, Will Kerridge, n l-11 1 .---a( « _ l_ a _.....11 TN- 1 T2..- - Q -