Wednesday, July 10, 1996 - The Michigan Daily - 5 m GONNA SAY IT Now d/achismo plus rockets = America I took part in a wonderful tradition this past weekend - I got to blow stuff up in celebration of Independence Day. I stood up on a hill, with a friend and his father, and launched rocket after rocket of explosives into the Our audience consisting a friendly cast of neighbors,. applauded after each projec- tile exploded, showering the twilight sky with phosphores cent reds and greens and blues. Add a few serious fire- crackers and a Roman candle or two, and we had ourselves a fireworks extravaganza. GREG Specifically, we were cele- PARKER brating the declaration of Snerica's independence from imperial England. But more generally, we were participating in a tra- dition so overtly "American" that it nearly made me snap to attention, salute and break into a cho- rus of "God Bless America." The wanton use of explosives on July 4th is per- haps the greatest caricature of America. America purports to have the richest, loudest, biggest and most of anything - be it an automobile or a sky- scraper. And what better way to commemorate ,America's birthday by exploding the most expen- e, loudest and biggest fireworks. Echoing the spirit of competition that runs so fervent in America, it's interesting to see neigh- borhood competitions based on who has the best fireworks. After all, we all know that whoever has the loudest fireworks on the block is the most patriotic American. Fireworks also capture the American attitude of haste, and often the American attitude of destruc- tion and lack of concern for safety. Year after year, we hear of injuries and deaths from ill-use of fire- rks. These range from Johnny innocently "uching a "sparkler" (whose temperature, even when dark, is similar to the sun's surface) to bottle rockets in the eye to deaths from misfired rockets. And who hasn't messed around with bottle rock- ets? Some people go to the extreme of firing the mini-missiles at their "friends," while others con- centrate on targeting the family pets, and still safer people fire the rockets at stationary objects, like their favorite neighbor's garage door. I find it nauseatingly amusing that the legisla- Wn surrounding fireworks sales is so lax. Does it make sense not to have an age limit on fireworks? One must be 16 to operate a motor vehicle in most states, but I've seen tots with fireworks. Most decent fireworks materials are not legally avail- able in Michigan, so many of us have to travel to Indiana to get the "good stuff" - one of the places I recall is called "Uncle Sam's;" and has insane amounts of fireworks. These places are not bashful, and they are usually located in the first exit over the Indiana state line, with a myriad of billboards leading to their location. Of course, the *ores that sell the "good stuff" also make cus- tomers buy a $2 license and pledge to use the ordi- nance in a legal area. I really don't think any com- ment is needed for this trust clause. What is it about fireworks that so attracts Americans to them? I think it stems from that fact that Americans simply like to blow up stuff. Couple this fact with the propensity of Americans to compete for the biggest explosions, and their wanton use of the fireworks, and you have a latile situation. And this doesn't even take into 'ccount the pyro-Americans who have a few beers before lighting up the sky a la Budweiser. Indeed, this is a scary thought. - Greg Parker can be reached over e-mail at glparker~dumich.edut. NOTABLE QUOTABLE "Every time I see that Nike symbol, I think about the University of Michigan and I think about child labor." - University Regent Deane Baker (R-Ann Arbor), voicing his concerns about Nike Inc.s use of child labor in the production of its athletic wear; Baker has requested an investigation into the employment practices of the athletic gear mogul. A2EWPOAKe A2 OAK protest p'i action By Paul Lefrak and Barbara Pliskow Media coverage of the June 22 Ann Arbor counter-demonstration against a Ku Klux Klan rally was distorted, and omitted almost all men- tion of the widespread police brutality that took place against counter-demonstrators. Ann Arbor Organizing Against the Klan (A2 OAK), a com- munity coalition of sixteen local groups and many individuals, wishes to set the record straight. There were numerous incidents of unprovoked police violence against not only the 600 or more assembled counter-demonstrators, but also bystanders and passersby. Tear gas was randomly shot into the crowd with no order to disperse ever given. Protesters who did nothing illegal were ran- domly maced. Several of the eight people arrested were beaten and maced while they were already handcuffed and in police custody and were offer- ing absolutely no resistance at that time. In reality, it was this widespread use of police violence that provoked counter-demonstrators to anger, not the other way around. All told, 200 police from several different police departments were deployed to protect the KKK, a group whose history of murder and racist terror is well-known. This deployment consisted of tens of thousands of tax dollars spent on erecting fences around City Hall, blocking and re-routing traffic, paying for overtime for the police, providing trans- portation for the KKK to and from the rally site, and allowing the KKK access to the second floor terrace of City Hall as a staging area for their rally. Apparently one has to advocate genocide in order to be afforded these amenities. This goes way beyond any issue of "free speech." The police did everything possible to ensure that the Klan had a successful rally. However, despite the unprecedented display of police protection for these advocates of mass murder, including police statements prior to the event calling on local citizens to avoid the anti- racist demonstration, 600 plus people were able to successfully drown out the message of hatred of the Klan and outnumber these fascists by more than 30 to 1. Furthermore, the media inaccurately reported that "protest groups" had been threatening vio- lence "all week" before the rally. This is patently false. As a broad-based community and campus ad hoc coalition of diverse groups and individuals - black, white, Latino, Asian, gay, straight, reli- gious, non-religious, young and old - A2 OAK encompassed a variety of political and tactical opinions. Our plan was for a massive anti-fascist demon- stration to be held at the same place prior to the appearance of the Klan so that these proponents of lynching and the torching of black churches would think twice about organizing for racial ter- rorism in our city. That would have been the least violent of all the alternatives. Instead, the police thwarted this by militarily blockading City Hall with fences and 200 police menacing anti-racist protesters, issuing provocative statements designed to scare potential counter-demonstra- tors, and brutalizing protesters who courageously resisted these police threats and stood up against a group organizing for political power based on a program of genocide. Paul Lefrak, a Rackham graduate student, and Barbara Pliskow, an Ann Arbor resident, are members ofAnn Arbor Organizing Against the Klan (A2 OAK). LITTLE EARTHQUAKES Kaboom There goes the planet "Independence Day," the blockbuster movie event of the summer, exploded into theaters every- where last week, showing audiences how to blow up the world -with style. The media has snatched it up and will not let go - "Independence Day" will earn over $100 million at the , box office. It earned $85 million its first weekend. Wy? America wants to know. Are the perfo ances Oscar-caliber? No. Is the direction flawless? No. Is the plot stunningly clever? No way. The writers seem ERIN to have been irked that oth- MARSH ers got the fun job of "exploding" things while they were left with the menial task of Scotch-taping together the action. Unfortunately, they took it out on the script (and audiences), because the story is buried beneath knee-deep layers of schmaltzy dialogue. With plot, script and acting eliminated from the "'Independence Day' formula for multimil- lion dollar success" what the heck is it that's causing all the fuss? America simply wants to see things blow up. KABOOM! There goes the White House. KABOOM! There goes the Empire State Building. KABOOM! There goes Los Angeles. In a matter of moments, audiences can watch the destruction of famous landmarks and major metropolitan areas. They're eating it up. Little Unabombers-in-training are squirming with delight. "YEEEEEEAH!" screamed the cute 10-year-old kid next to me in the theater. "Blow it up! Blow it ALL UP!!" What's next for these kids? What will surprise them after this? The entertainment industry keeps pushing the envelope on "unprecedented" action. In 1993, "Jurassic Park" - a film hyped as much as "Independence Day" - brought dinosaurs back to life. After a kid has watched actors frol- icking with brontosaurus and has seen entire cities blow up --all before she or he graduates from 5th grade - what will thrill her or him? "Independence Day" advertising campaigns can probably account for more media attention than the 1996 presidential elections. Everyone connected with the film is seeing dollar signs. Endorsements are probably forthcoming, as is the line of action toys that has become standard in the age of action films. The tykes are in for a treat - this picture could spur the creation of such gems as "The 'Independence Day' Massive Destruction playset (With genuine glass shards and sharp-edged brick chunks! Not for children under age 23)" or "The 'Independence Day' Blow Up Your Hometown playset (Bring the power of the mother ship to your very own backyard!)" The potential to elevate America's penchant for destruction knows no bounds. And the money ain't bad, either. The film is, admittedly, pretty entertaining. It's pretty wacky to see the White House blow up (but they could've saved that move for a while, in the frightening event Dole wins in November). It's pretty amazing to see a spaceship cover Manhattan. The special effects are nifty, and the whole "alien invasion" concept is interesting in a purely mindless, fantastical way. Hut why couldn't the stinking aliens have tar- geted Notre Dame's football stadium? Now that would've had me jumping on my seat, throwing popcorn and hooting just like the explosion- happy 10-year-old next to mke. - Erin Marsh can be reached over e-mail at eemarsh@umich.edu. CHRIS FARAH MASHED POTATOES - -1 } LOOK OUT OfJ T tS CROWD OF GA04ATING S D$EN' AM T QREMINDE DHO W POATANT DVSIPI HAS B Th Tb LJIVEFSITY OF t41CHIEAN.