s F LETT R euna .'.HE E ITC3
Execution of
McVeigh tragic,
just another
cruel murder
TO THE DAILY:
This morning, Monday, June 11,
2001, at 7 a.m., an American
tragedy took place in Terre Haute,
Indiana. This was the time and
location of Timothy McVeigh's fed-
eral execution due to his participa-
tion in the 1995 Oklahoma City,
OK bombing.
I personally find Mr. McVeigh's
actions in the "worst act of terror-
ism on American soil" to be
deplorable and cruel. Although he
is indeed a mass murderer and
deserves to be punished immensely,
he is also a human being. As a
highly civilized nation, I find it
hard to believe that we would
attempt to play God, deciding who
lives and dies. No human being or
institution has the right make such
a powerful and permanent decision.
My deepest and sincerest
prayers go out to the families of the
victims and Mr. McVeigh, however,
Mr. McVeigh's death will not bring
back the lives lost or correct the
damage caused in Oklahoma City.
It only leaves his blood on the
hands of the people of the United
States of America and our govern-
ment.
Murder is a cruel, despicable
and horrible act, whether itsis you,
1, Mr. McVeigh or the government
of the United States of America
who commits it.
MYLES MILLER
LSA senior
Pepper spray is for wussies
Ilove to walk at night. Something Operas forR
about the cool air, the moon and the (starring esta
low buzz of the street lamps trans- son) and "
fonns me. I stand straighter, shoulders (Chuck Nor
back, taking long strides and swinging but in a very
my arms like I mean it. I own the side- revolve arou
walk. Bystanders can almost hear
Metallica's "Wherever I May Roam"
playing in the background as I pass.
I'm ten feet tall. I'm Wonder Woman v
... minus the tight clothing.
At least, that's how I see it.
If you ask my father, my brother or
any of my male friends, it's a different
story: I'm a moving target. A bull's-eye
with legs. A Potential Victim. I am 4
small, weak and vulnerable. Crazed
greaseballs lurk around every corner, AUBRE
waiting for just the right moment to HENRET
pounce. I'm the helpless blonde that NE.R>T
always dies first in B horror films ...
minus the 44 double-Ds. God bless he
When my dad hears news reports One of the
about women and girls being robbed, defenseless
raped and/or dismembered, he immedi- into trouble
ately assumes that I am next. He can't Bad Guys, si
understand why I'm not absolutely ter- she's simply
rified to walk outdoors - even in broad als and tribul
daylight! He wishes I would be. He Daughter/Ni
tells me that not being paranoid is no agony for th
defense against being followed. If I Third, w
would only learn several styles of mar- Bitch, Femal
tial arts, wear a suit of armor at all and danger
times and carry some pepper spray and male cronies
a sawed-off shotgun, he says, maybe I carries a we
(read: he) wouldn't have to worry so and uses he
much. And worry, he does. wit) to man
I blame television. Dad is a big fan there's the T
of nighttime action dramas (i.e. Soap ment Officia
Men) like "Nash Bridges"
ablished Rebel Don John-
Walker, Texas Ranger"
ris sings the theme song,
manly way). These shows
and bad-ass middle-aged
law enforcement
officials and usu-
ally have about
four female char-
acters.
First, there's
the supportive
Wife/Girlfriend.
She frets about the
safety of her big,
strong man as he
Y daily risks his life
TY for the Common
A Good, but supports
him nonetheless,
r. Next, the Daughter/Niec.
men always has a young,
female relative who gets
She's kidnapped by the
he's dating a drug dealer or
forced to deal with the tri-
lations of Growing Up. The
ece is a constant source of
e main men.
e have the illusive Queen
e Villain. She's smart, sexy
ous. She has a colony of
to do her dirty work. She
apon, wears dark lipstick
r sexuality (not her quick
ipulate men. And finally,
oken Female Law Enforce-
l, just so no one will think
Monday, June 11, 2001- The Michigan Daily - 5
the writers of these programs are sexist.
She's as tough as the rest of the men,
except on that one episode where she
cracks under the pressure of the job.
While I am not suggesting that Dad
believes everything he sees on TV, I do
think it would do him some good to see
and to hear about real women every
once in a while. Women who love the
dark. Women who never leave home
without their stompin' boots.
42-year-old Chicago women who
bite the testicles off of their would-be
assailants and turn them into the police,
only so surgeons can fail to re-attach
them later. Read about that one in the
News section on Bust Magazine's web-
site (http://www.bust.com). E-mail the
link to your fathers.
On a somewhat related note, I think
MTV should bring back Madonna's
"What it Feels Like for a Girl" video,
which it banned on the grounds that
Madonna was once again participating
in un-ladylike activities such as crash-
ing a fast car, carrying a gun and eating
French fries. French fries! Now that's
power.
But you don't have to be Madonna
to get in on the fun. All you need is a
pair of comfortable shoes and a healthy
dose of confidence. Fear nothing. Walk
at night. Be aware of your surround-
ings, not scared of them. Radiate some
good background music.
-Aubrey Henrety s column runs every
other Monday. She can be reached via
e-mail at ahenrett@umich.edu.
Israeli legacy in Afghanistan
We have all heard the recent cism of many Muslims worldwide
chilling reports of what the who do not want the Taliban com-
Taliban has ordered upon mitting these repulsive acts in their
the local Hindu population: Forcing names.
them to wear distinctive badges, This whole episode is so disturb-
externally revealing their religious ing and unique that it has almost no
identity. parallel in the
Human rights groups, the United world today. I
Nations and most of the internation- said almost.
al community have expressed out- I can think of
rage at the measure, while the only one other
Taliban government has defended regime that sub-
the move by answering that it has . jugates an
undertaken the measure in order to indigenous eth-
protect the local Hindu community nic minority
from strict Islamic laws enforced by purely on the
both covert and overtpolice. Many AMER G. basis of its
have likened the measure to the Nazi ZAHR belonging to the
practices that forced European Jews *.4T.HE "wrong" reli-
to wear yellow stars on their clothing G gious group. I
before and during World War II. And PEN can think of only
the linkage is interesting, on so one other state
many levels. that functions with basically no
But before I get to that, let's weed solidly declared and recognized
this out a bit more and break it down international boundaries. I can think
to its bare essentials. What the Tal- of only one other state that has
iban is attempting to create is quite sought and is still seeking to rid
simple. Their ultimate goal seems to itself of a nagging minority that is
be the establishment of some kind of stubbornly clinging to its land and
Muslim supremacist state where the demanding its rights. I can think of
only group that is afforded any kind only one other country that has an
of civil rights would belong to the equal and utter contempt for inter-
Muslim majority. national law and basic human rights.
Of course, the only way to do this And finally, I can think of only one
is to become utterly and terribly other country that commits its acts
racist, making archaic laws that on this world stage all in the name
serve only to dehumanize other peo- of an entire religious group. I am, of
ple, whatever minority is the target course, speaking of Israel.
of this political marginalizing. Final- Israel and the Taliban, I am sure,
ly, perhaps the Taliban's most dis- despise each other. But I see sib-
turbing characteristic is that it lings fighting all the time. On an
commits these acts of civil abuse and ideological level, they are blood
horror under the guise of Islam, in brothers. The goals are the same.
turn bringing upon itself the criti- Both began their political escapades
with complete and absolute violence,
all the while seeking to create a
purely Muslim or Jewish state. And
both are now resorting to political
tactics. In other words, when they
have realized that they cannot simply
expel and/or kill those who do not fit
into their political equation, they
employ state sponsored racism in
hopes that the native minority will
simply give up, abandon all attempts
to achieve any sort of equality, and
finally flee.
Are there nuances? Sure. But on
a fundamental level, they are
insignificant. What we have in each
case is textbook ethnic supremacy,
forced upon local indigenous popu-
lations who have as much, if not
more, of a right to their land and
rights as the ruling majority. Their
main difference, of course, lies in
their image to the world. In a media
marketplace where Muslims are rou-
tinely and conveniently made into
terroristic villains, the Taliban is an
excuse for even heightened racism.
On the other hand, in a world
where the only superpower is the $5
billion a year patriarch of Israeli bru-
tality and occupation, Israel gets off
scot-free.
Israel and the Taliban are
attempting to suppress the inalien-
able right of human dignity, robbing
individuals of their own pride and
honor. Such behavior cannot go
unnoticed by an international com-
munity that claims to have any con-
science at all.
-Amer G. Zahr's column runs every
other Monday. He can be reached via
e-mail at zahrag@umich.edu.
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