LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
#'apster
steals from
artists
TO THE DAILY:
In response to "Napster's
fall won't be the end of MP3
apping" (5/30/00) it
solutely amazes me that the
Michigan Daily, creators of
intellectual property, would
encourage users to "keep down-
loading MP3s and let the record
companies bleed."
Do artists and record com-
panies that market and nurture
these artists not deserve to be
compensated? What if it was
your money that was being
_reatened? What if I told you
sat I'm going to steal your
piece of intellectual property
and give it away for free to mil-
lions? You probably would feel
the same way that thousands of
musicians are feeling right now
- violated.
If you think you are screw-
ing the record companies, think
ain. You are in fact hurting
very musician that makes his
or her living off of their work.
Inevitably, Napster and other
file sharing programs are going
to hurt you, the consumer,
when top artists decide it's not
worth it to create new music.
If you really don't believe in
copyrights, how about taking
down the one you have on your
mast head and website? I
thought so.
JONATHAN FELDMAN
ALUMNUS
Nationhood
creates war
machines
TO THE DAILY:
After spending some time
reflecting on the meaning behind
one of those teary-eyed
Memorial Day services I attend-
ed this weekend I couldn't help
but comment on the article
"Memorial Daze" (5/30/00).
I appreciate Mr. Wickerham's
comments as being illustrative of
the inexperience of some today's
youth and trust that reality will
eventually catch up to him when
he departs his academic playpen
for the real world. Twenty-two
years ago when I drove away
from Ann Arbor, I too hoped to
enter a better world where we
could leave behind the specter of
Vietnam. I discovered, however, a
world bright with hope, yet with
many very dark corners. I have
spent these 22 years as an officer
in the U.S. Navy, first as a Cold
Warrior staring down the Soviets
and more recently as an instru-
ment of the world's sole remain-
ing superpower.
Mr. Wickerham speaks of the
'myths of nationhood" and that
"wars are no longer fought over
land.'" I recommend that he spend
just one hour, as I have, talking
with a Kuwaiti or Kosovar
Albanian. Wars are indeed fought
over land. and nationhood is not a
myth, but the driving force
behind the engines of war.
Nationhood is what causes coun-
tries that cannot feed their people
to spend millions on war
machines.
Mr. Wickerham says that "the
establishment" perpetuates fears
of a "bogeyman, but he isn't
there" Sorry to interrupt your
dream but the bogeyman is there
all right.
When Mr. Wickerham finally
sees Ann Arbor in his rear view
mirror, he should do so with his
eyes wide open. Base your con-
cept of the world on empirical
evidence rather than some intel-
lectual vision. As for me, I'll still
be standing watch at one of those
dark corners of the world.
Keeping the bogeyman at bay.
RON RAYMER
ALUMNUS
Monday, June 5, 2000 - The Michigan Daily - 5
Snakes to the left of me, rats and chauvinists to the right
L ast Wednesday, I sat on my couch with a bowl But that is where the utopian equality ends. Last
fttll of Ben and Jerry's, my cordless phone (for week after losing an obstacle course to the cross-
increased slugishness) and my remote control island foes, one tribe had to vote one of their cohorts
(more slugishness), and I thanked god that I wasn't out of paradise. Surprisingly they got rid of the long-
on the South Pacific island where CBS has set up its ago-post-menopausal woman in her late 60s.
most recent ratings-catcher "Survivor" Not that I CBS tried to heighten the suspense at this
thought that the show was bad, but that I could def- moment by having each of the eight-member tribe
initely do without waking up next to a look in the camera and explain who they
deadly sea-snake (all Freudian values voted for and why. By far the best (most
included). cave-man-like) comment was that the
The basic premise of the show is sim- elderly woman was the "weakest link in
ple: It's the true story of 16 strangers in the chain."
two "tribes" of eight who are put on a Really? At my family's last reunion, my
deserted snake and rat infested island grandmother left the rest of the fam in the
for three weeks, have every moment of dust during the potato sack race - what's
their lives taped (and find out what hap- wrong with that "Survivor" woman?
pens when people stop being polite and There's something really appealing about
start being real). the dog-eat-dog (or rather man-eat-rat)
It is much like MTV's "The Real AARON world of "Survivor" though. Somehow the
World" but kicked up a notch. Every RICH blind chauvinism really inspired me. I
few days, the ghost of San Francisco's ToUC' iF enjoyed how two-faced the show was -
Puck floats around the very heavy hand- v .S casting a very politically correct group and
ed "tribal council" (a south seas version then letting those people's biases and gov-
of a voting booth) while one of the contestants is ern each other's fates. (It will be very convenient for
voted off the island. The last one remaining is given CBS to wash their hands of the racism come the last
$1 million. week of the show when the million-dollar race is
In the days, rather than getting a bogus job at a between two white 30-year-old men.)
radio station, the contestants have to work to build In an age when many fear the end of Social
their shelters, catch whatever food they can (mostly Security as we know it, I witnessed the most clear
rats and fish), hunt for drinking water (convenient- example of one old woman getting her retirement
ly provided by CBS in an underground barrel) and money snatched away from her by younger, faster
participate in various games of strength and cun- whippersnappers not willing to share their wealth.
ning (much like E!'s "Search Party" sans Red It is how unapologetic the contestants are that
Team's Carol Grow.. damn it). makes the show worth watching. They talk trash
It is clear that the producers made a strong effort behind the others' backs because "he asked me to
to have a diverse cast, including young and old, lift too much bamboo," or "she can't start a fire by
black and white, men and women, gay and straight. rubbing two sticks together,"all while sitting under
Similarly, their professions are all over the map: the shade of a palm tree in sarongs and sandals.
One man is a former Navy Seal, one is a pastor, one I can't wait to see who's booted next.
woman is a truck driver and one is a white water --Aaron Rich can be reached via e-mail at
rafting guide. arichdwnichedu
Milking a cause, missing the point
ft sprang ip rather innocently last Thursday in Drunk Driving until the ads were dropped at col-
z the Brookfield Central High School student lege campuses.
newspaper in suburban Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Rather than make people question milk, PETA's
Mocking one of the most recognizable advertis- ads have made people skeptical about just how
ing monikers of recent years, a new ad effort from salient its arguments are when it chooses to skirt
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals the issue in favor of an anti-zit message.
(PETA) irreverently pokes fun at the "Got Milk?" As a leading activist group, PETA's concern for
ad campaign. animals is an admirable one, but its tac-
A smiling teen with a face full of acne tics, unfortunately, at times undermine
and that all-too-familiar milk mustache the strength of its argument and the cause
appeared gleefully in the pages of the it fights for. Promoting animal rights
student run TYRO last week, much to education while fostering an atmosphere
the chagrin of dairy farmers in that milk that encourages stimulating debate over
making state. Under the girl's pimple- the issues that the activists believe in
laden picture a rhetorical "Got Zits?" would serve the group far better than
replaces the more traditional pro-dairy some of the tactics it currently supports.
slogan in an ad that PETA hopes will Indeed last week was a busy one for
make people question milk consump- PETA as America saw a series of events
tion by suggesting that dairy products GEOFF stain the public image of an organization
lead to acne. GAGNON with noble intentions but misguided
It may be a slick parody worth some A efforts. Proud PETA member Arathi
laughs, but the campaign seems to con- ____ HANG Jayaram of Mansfield Ohio disrupted a
fuse what PETA is fighting for Even in government nutrition summit in
its own press release announcing the ad campaign, Washington to hurl a tofu cream pie at Agriculture
the group admits that its real aim isn't an assault Secretary Dan Glickman. After storming the stage,
on acne but rather a battle against the way cows are the enraged extremist missed Glickman with his
treated in dairy farms. Isn't that a large enough pastry before being dragged away screaming. In
problem to demand attention? good nature Glickman laughed off the protester
Scaring teens off of milk for concern of their the way that some have begun to laugh off the
skin merely makes PETA's real arguments seem message.
trivial, and lost in the debate over whether milk And that was the sentiment this week after PETA
does or does not cause acne is the point of the spokeswomen Alicia Silverstone told TV Guide
group's message. why she won't drink milk.
But more than simply taking away from the "I mean, its like pure mucus. Its just creepy," the
weight of its claims, PETA's bizarre methods have "Clueless" star said. "No other species drinks milk
been cited as irresponsible. Not out of earshot from any other species. Its completely mental. Do
from the inauspicious debut of the parody cam- you know what I mean?"
paign, PETA just recently pulled the plug on The fact is, few know what PETA means when
another anti-milk effort that drew criticism nation- their message is trivialized and they undermine
wide. PETA's attempts to discourage dairy con- their own argument.
.sumption by arguing that beer is much healthier Geoff Gagnon can be reached ria e-mail at
than milk came under fire by Mothers Against ggagnon@umich.edu.
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