Wednesday, May 3, 1995 - The MichiganDaily - 5
Edio0' NSt / olKnto
Jason S. Lichtstein
NOTABT i OTABT s
P1e savage mind "This summer I'll be joined at the hip to the president of
Thehigh-poweredbombthatrippedthroughthe MSA (Flint Wainess) and I don't know which of us will find
federal building in Oklahoma City on April 19 will
in the final count have taken the lives of up to 200 this more of a burden."
innocent individuals once rescue workers make
their way through all of the pancaked nubble. This - Vice President ofStimdent Affairs Maureen A. Hartford,
senseless destruction in America's Heartland was addressing the SetateAdvisory Committee for UniversltyAffairs
more than the work of a simple, deranged lunatic;
but rather the manifestation of a darker, evil,
animalistic nature that society and its institutions "The next time you try to take our guns away, we'll
ries with all its might to suppress and repress on a shoot
aily basis. It seems increasingly clear that the you."
recess of the unconscious mind which entertains - 40 Michigan Militiamen to a fudge in
violent, antisocial, murderous impulses succeededa Fowiervile, Micdgan iastSeptenber
couple weeks hack in its ugly desire to take scores
of lives in the name of a militant, right-wing,
antigovernment political ideology.
The dark side of human nature is a collection
of the id's psychic urges and humanity's t
evolutionary past, its prehistorical legacy. It can (resulting in possible aggression) would e very
be witnessed true to form in the modern day in e. s m
grotesque mass murders and unreal acts of . , In summary, marijuana can offer numerous
dehumanization; such as the My Lai Massacre, in e in favor positive properties to the public, should it become
which an entire Vietnamese village was wiped out legal. While certain risks are still present, the
by American servicemen; in the Shoa'h, when six of m uis a nt
million Eastern and Central European Jews were p ar j ana problematic behavior, and so on are less ever or
brutally annihilated; and during the Argentinian prevalent than similar effects of legal drugs such as
"Dirty War," in which los desraparecidos, the sons alcohol. As a result, it may prove effective to
and daughters of the reform Left were kidnapped To the Daily: legalize marijuana.
by the thousands and dropped out of planes over I have recently completed a research paper for Ryan Vos
the Atlantic Ocean drugged and unconscious, but my developmental psychology class which was LSA
still alive. Human beings - from those involved inspired by an article in your paper. The article,
in Milgram's famous obedience experiments who "Study: 'U' students agree: Illicit drug use on the A s s i p o s over
lave painful and deadly electric shocks in rise," was in the February 7, 1995 edition and lent pt s e
increasing intensity at merely the instruction of an me the idea to research the topic of marijuana use.
experimenter in a white coat to our everyday On the basis of my findings, I arrived at the
desensitization and acceptance of homelessness, conlusionthat itisacceptable tolegalize marijuana. l m a
social injustice and other evils - were behind On the basis of physical effects, marijuana r
these ruthless acts. Is evil banal? Are all of us, like smoke contains more tar than cigarette smoke. a r
McVeigh, exposed to its influences and its horror? However, this tar is less carcinogenic than that
How different are we from him? found in cigarettes. There are numerous positive To the Daily:
The dark side is vengeful, irrational and an effects as well, including medicinal properties of The response to the Oklahoma bombing is
enemy of the superego, society, religion, civil the drug that counteract certain types of Leukemia
lb . proof oh the wsidespread racism and xetnophobia
government and even mom and dad. McVeigh's viruses. The major problems of aggression, of American society. Although the two suspects
dsyche sought bloody revenge for the FBI and depression of the central nervous system, and in the case are white men, and it is widely known
ATF's botched raid on David Koresh's Branch respiratory arrest only occur after prolonged that extreme right wing and white supremacist
Davidian compound in 1993, which took the lives chronic exposure to the drug. groups preach the violent overthrow of the federal
of almost 100 sect members. And instead of just From the agle of psychological development most Americans and e media
chewing the fat with Michigan Militia members in marijuana has been shown not to effect some areas imsmediaely came to the conclusion that Arabs
a more socially palatable manner (i.e. a heated of learning and can be beneficial in more areas were to blame. These racist assumptions have
political conversation or a nasty letter to their than it is detrimental, such as low imagery word already led to threats against Arab-Aismericais
congressperson), a 4000-pound explosive was recollection and correct responses on areas of and Muslims. Arab-Americans were the victimss
concocted to blow up a federal building full of fuzzy concepts, and mathematical reasoning, of discrimination and hateful stereotyping during
Social Security and other governmental workers. respectively. Moderate exposure (5-6 toses the 1980s and especially during the Gulf War,
Civilized behavior, step aside. weekly) arc also associated with improved self- Through guilt by association, all Muslims and
R The carnage, destructiveness and brute esteem and autonomy in some studies. There are, Arab-Americans were viewed as the enemy. Now,
avagery in Oklahoma City is a violent wake-up in some instances,aggressive or initabletendencies iillions of American citizens are being
call, a undeniable reminder that human nature that result from marijuana use, although these are condemned to the same fate on the basis of no
uncontrolled is essentially Hobbessian and animal- mostly the result when it is used in conjunction evidence and wild speculations, and in the face of
like. The meaninglessness and tenacity exhibited with other drugs, evidence that the bombing was likely the act of
by the unconscious mind- free from socialization There are also eories of social confonity racist white Americans. As we condemn terroris
and reality - gains a sadistic, ephemeral joy .at say that the stronerone's bonds ire to society, and the murder of American children, we must
from the death of hundreds at one own's hands or the less likely one is to deviate. This suggests that also condemn racism and the terrible scars it
plans. A tragic cycle of offense-revenge-and lastly if marijuana were to become legalized, only the leaves on Arab-American and Muslim children.
avenge is initiated as a consequence of this inherent minority of social dev t ube apt to stille Has Ellisen
psychic pathology. First Waco. Then OKC. And illicit dings and therefore, the number of instacs y en
now the killers of preschoolers must be punished by in which multiple drugs are used with marijuana Law student
death and new antiterrorism legislation rushed
through Congress. Then more antigovernment
stirrings and threats of violence to come. Non Sequitur By Wiley
Sadly, there is no end or finality in sight to the
horror. Yes, those responsible must be brought to
justice for without a behavioral and legal code all
society would crumble. But the impetus to these ?otiE c
tragedies of human nature reside in all of us, deep TOl (o0 sc0o
down, far away, latent and repressed, ready to be IT WN -'T
activated at any time. The most frightening thought a T p o.
of all is that the part of ourselves constrained by
dxternal reality and its demands cannot erase the
fact that each and every one of us possesses a dark
psychology inherited from our evolutionary I
ancestors. Our psyches are at war in a miraculous \VIllo we
effort to keep the evil hidden away.
The paradox of anti-
government hatred
'Thes do have some antigovernment concerns,
but do't I eier bod -- a Decker, Michigan
resident on Terry and James Nichols.
Though survivalist miltitias claim to have
different agendas viatheirclevernames-Montana
Militia, Christian Order, etc. - they are basically
the same when you cut away the racist crap they
spew. Bottom line: They hate the U.S. government.
And they love guns. So much so, in fact, that they
claim to be willing to go to war to protect what they
perceive to be their right to own anti-tank missiles.
The interesting concept of extreme right-wimg
groups is that many of their members were the
same ones who were crying, 'America-Love it or
Lease it" twenty years ago. Now they are nestled
in the mountains of Idaho orthe thumb of Michigan
claiming that their "very well-organized militia
unitsareready forastateofwar.Itsaturnofevents
that has been brought on by fear of gun control
added to extreme paranoia and confusion.
Strangely enough, this paranoia has attracted
ever-increasing membership levels in militias
throughout the country. There are many reasons
for this the most obvious, of course, is guns. And
I am not talking about the ones that shoot paintballs.
But there must be more to it than guns alone.
How do seemingly normal peopletakelthe irrational
connection between the Brady Bill and the
apocalypse? It stems from the popular wave of
GOP government-doesnt-work politics.
The worst part of the antigovernment fervor is
that it is not unique to hate groups. Take a look at
the polls. All around the country people are fed up
with government. It's the cornerstone of Newt
Gingrich's America: hatred of government. The
problem is, no one really knows what they're
talking about.
"Government is a bureaucracy, some say.
Bureaucracy is often misunderstood. We picture
rows of inefficient file cabinets and red tape, but
forget that a society as large as ours cannot function
without one. "It spends too much, say others,
tongue in cheek as in they cash their social security
check. Others think that government just doesn't
work, ignoringthe swiftness with which theFBI and
the Federal Emergency Management crews
responded to the bombing in Oklahoma City.
It is clear that, for most people, the phrase
"antigovernment" is nothing if not blind hypocrisy.
James Nichols, the fellow in Decker who likes to
play withbombs, renouncedhiscitizenshiprefused
to pay taxes and had the gall to demand an increase
in his farm subsidies, which already totaled over
$36,000. Such is antigovernment fervor: baseless
and hypercritical - not to mention grossly
misinformed. People like Nichols can make the
connection between gun control and govensment
yet are incapable of linking benefits they receive
to the entity that provides them.
Voters can't seem to grasp the concept that
one agency is not representative of an entire
government and thus western civilization. To those
who cry government oppression at every turn, I
ask: Who paves your roads? The Department of
Transportation. Who provides free immunizations
against deadly childhood diseases? Your friendly
Departmentof Healthof Human Services. Who will
take care of you in your later years? Social Security
of course. And don't forget that farm subsidy check
thatcomescourtesy oftheDepartmentof Agriculture.
If someone hates the ATF, it is ludicrous to take it
out on anyone who has anything to do with the
government, much less their innocent children.
If one claims to be completely against
government, one had better be prepared to give up
a lot. The biggest Bible-thumping-gun-wavers may
be unwilling to pay taxes but sure don't want to be
left out in the cold. Being antigovernment does not
give onethe right to break all ofitslaws and continue
to expect the benefits of its services.