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Thursday, May 8 2014
The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom

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Shaq's shame

'Brecht' bio all
encompassing

PEARL
From Page 8
bits, and all the different names
people mistakenly call the band:
Pearl and the Man, Ruby and the
Beard, and more. They banter until
they run out of things to say, and
Price breaks the silence by holding

IAN DILLINGHAM
EDITOR IN CHIEF

AARICA MARSH
EDITORIAL PAGE EDITOR

STEPHANIE SHENOUDA
MANAGING EDITOR

Unsigned editorials reflect the official position of the Daily's editorial board.
All other signed articles and illustrations represent solely the views of their authors.
(ITransit ioning forward
AAATA millage will help increase access to transportation
n Tuesday, Ann Arbor, Ypsilanti and Ypsilanti Township
passed a 0.7-mill tax increase to expand transit services. The
mileage passed with a 71 percent majority in Ann Arbor, 83
percent in Ypsilanti and 62 percent in Ypsilanti Township in favor of
the Ann Arbor Area Transit Authority's proposal. Expanded servic-
es are expected to begin in August just as the fall semester begins for
students. Major renovations to the AAATA will be phased out over
several years in order to help with a smooth transition. Passing the
millage was a commendable move that will increase transportation
for those who most need it. However, the AAATA must ensure that
the millage funds improve transit services in a way that will posi-
tively impact citizens and ease transportation for the entire county.

When NBA Commissioner
Adam Silver handed Los
Angeles Clippers owner
Donald Sterling
a lifetime ban
and $2.5 million
fine for his racist
remarks during a
private conversa-
tion, it was obvious
to me he did the
right thing. DEREK
Regardless of WOLFE
the origin of the
recording, Sterling
was further exposed as the racist he
truly is. The key word here is "further."
As many other articles have already
said, it's unfortunate itgottothis point
in the first place to punish Sterling. He
has a long history of prejudiced views
that he implemented into his business.
Both in 2003 and 2006, he was sued
for housing discrimination in a case in
which he essentially tried to prevent
African-Americans from renting out
his properties. By all accounts, that is
far worse and has a much more dev-
astating impact than his most recent
comments. But in the end, Sterling
ultimately got what was coming to
him, and it appears he will eventually
be stripped of his ownership of the
team. Justice is served. Finally.
The same cannot be said about for-
mer NBA superstar Shaquille O'Neal
whose own shameful act was over-
shadowed by the Sterling coverage.
Earlier this week, Shaq posted a dis-
gusting photo on his Instagram of him
contorting his face mocking 23-year-
old Jahmel Binion of Detroit.
Binion has a rare condition called
ectodermal dysplasia. It results in
missing teeth and hair and also an
inability to sweat. While it's certain-
ly possible that Shaq did not realize
Binion had a condition, I really don't
care. Especially in a week that empha-
sized being careful in how you think,
what you say and what you do, Shaq's
actions were idiotic and insensitive.
And let's not forget Shaq also has an
MBA and Ed. D. Inexcusable.
As of now, it appears that all Shaq
has done is apologize. On his Twit-
ter, he wrote, "Made a new friend
today when I called and apologized
to Jahmel Binion. Great dude." Bin-
ion appreciated the phone call but
was still clearly upset when he was
interviewed: "I was thinking 'Man,
he's supposed to be this role model,

someone everyone is supposed to look
up to. If Shaq does something like
this, [everyone] will think, 'We should
do this."'
Binion hit the nail on the head. Shaq
is a public figure and must act like one.
But more importantly, he's a human
who should show compassion for oth-
ers. We should expect better from
him. And we should also expect more
from the NBA.
Shaq targeted another person. That
is bullying, intentional or not, and is
I want to live in a
world without so
much hatred.
almost as equally atrocious as Ster-
ling's racist comments. If Adam Silver
doesn't punish him, then what exactly
was the point of making an example
out of Sterling? He created a new prec-
edent that if your actions do not fall
in the line with the NBA's brand, you
should be punished. Silver must abide
by his own standards.
But so should we. Large TV media
sources, such as CNN, Fox News,
MSNBC and ESPN, have proven since
the dawn of news that they will only
cover the most controversial and
interesting stories. What made the
Sterling story so interesting was that
players were threatening to boycott.
Players are most definitely not going
to boycott over a picture Shaq, an NBA
icon, put up on his Instagram. No way.
So that leaves it up to us. We have to
relentlessly educate each other about
what is right and wrong at all times
because there is no summer vacation
from life. If the citizens of the United
States are truly serious about removing
the hateful, prejudiced behavior that
stains our society, then every moment
has to become a teaching moment. If
something is racist on Monday, then it
also has to be racist on Friday.
Consistency is key.
I want to live in a world without so
much hatred. While that's certainly
a tall order, learning to think twice
before we say - or post - something
is a good place to start.
- Derek Wolfe can be reached
at dewolfe oumich.edu

The definitive
biography of the
famed playwright
and intellectual
By COSMO PAPPAS
Daily Arts Writer
"I did not yet admit to myself the
complicity that
enfolds all those *
who, in face of
unspeakable col- Bert
lective events, A
speak of individu- BieCht A
al matters at all," Literary Life
Theodor Adorno
says in the preface Stephen
to "Minima Mora- Parker
lia," speaking of Bloomsbury
the difficulty of puhlishing
writing during
the Second World
War. A similar dilemma confronts
any biographer, whose challenge
is in synthesizing the accomplish-
ments and minutiae of a life with a
broader historical scope.
Even more difficult is to write
a biography of a person like Ber-
tolt Brecht - poet, playwright, and
theater director by trade - whose
body of work is centrally concerned
with the relationship between his-
tory and the creation of art. Stephen
Parker powerfully evokes Brecht's
life within a set of historical circum-
stances, withoutsacrificingthe com-
plexity ofone to the other, in "Bertolt
Brecht: A Literary Life."
Brecht set out to embody this
historical perspective in his drama-
turgical practice called Epic The-
ater, which sought to represent and
analyze the "historical causalities,"
in Parker's words, of the action on
stage. Brecht actively discouraged
the passive identification that char-
acterizedbothbourgeoistheaterand
the school of acting of Constantin
Stanislavski, the father of "method
acting" and a household name today.
Following the destruction of the
First World War and the failed Ger-
man Revolution of 1918-19, Brecht's
aesthetic practice would be tied
permanently to his desire for soci-
etal emancipation and his vision of a
socialist society, primarily exempli-
fied by the Soviet Union during his

life. His relationship to the USSR, up her arms like an C
however, was never uncomplicated, nast and saying "And
as the Moscow artistic community Price began playi
resisted the experimentalism of ing tune "James";
writers like himself. Brecht sought along with her cello
to make collective political action drum beat. The thr
and theatrical practice nearly synon- joined together tos
ymous, with both of them informing rus, "James, releaser
and reinforcing the other. is a good example o
Parker strikes a delicate balance nature of Pearl and
between the historical events and music, and how th
the more temperamental qualities harmonizing and cr
of Brecht's that informed his writ- cianship strengthen
ing, beit his lifelonginability to tem-
per his sexual appetite or manage
his frail body. In particular, Parker
emphasizes the latter in the way that
Brecht's writings, even at his most
Leninist moments, revolve around aP "
feeling of bodily precarity and appe-
tite-driven excess.
Parker's success is the caution
and deliberateness with which
he traces Brecht's multifaceted,
contradictory personality and
artistic corpus. Brecht drew inspi-
ration from Taoism and Marxism
alike. This heterodoxy, though not
endearing him to the cultural guard
in Moscow, sets Brecht apart as a
radical innovator of the theatrical
arts without reducing his political
committment and creativity to a
stale Marxist orthodoxy.
As Parker points out several
times, the intensity and lack of for-
giveness in the aesthetic debates of
the era seem alien to readers today.
The world has changed signifi-
cantly since Brecht's lifetime, not
least of all with the entrenchment
of global capitalism and its austerity
program, and this variety of politi-
cal art can seem bewildering to the
world of the corporate Masters of
Fine Art workshop. Parker succeeds
remarkably in animating the world
of political instability and terror
that Brecht lived through, where
the failure of the Left to coalesce
enabled the rise of Fascism.
"The Left once had a political
strategy: it was called revolution,"
said Fredric Jameson, an American
Marxistliterary critic and professor
of literature at Duke University, ina
recent talk at the City University of
New York. For readers of Parker's
biography, Brecht's life and artistic
output are instructive for the artist
who seeks to create politically pro-
vocative and relevant art.

Olympic gym-
dismount."
ng the haunt-.
and crooned
and a steady
ree musicians
sing the cho-
ne". The song
f the circular
d the Beard's
eir inventive
reative musi-
the repeti-

tion of phrases. Throughout the
performance it became increas-
ingly obvious that Price has three
degrees in cello performance
under her belt.
"We're going to play you a few
of our new songs, to see if you like
them," Styles told the audience.
"And if you don't, well that's too
bad," he laughed, "because they're
already recorded. You can plug
your ears."
The band played their last few
songs and left the stage, only to
return about five minutes later
among the audience. Armed with
a ukulele and her voice, Jocelyn
Mackenzie started up an inspired
acoustic version of the Talking
Heads' classic, "Psycho Killer."
The audience joins her on the
"Psycho Killer, qu'est-ce que c'est,
fa fa fa fa fa fa fa fa fa far better.

Run run run run run run run
away, OH OH OH OHHH AY AY
AY AY AY!" It got a little out of
hand, but the audience laughed its
way through it.
Pearl and the Beard returned
to the stage for a strong, belty
finale that got fans cheering and
on their feet for a standing ova-
tion. The Ark emptied out fairly.
fast, with some people hanging
around to talk to Price, Mackenzie
and Styles over by the merch table.
They were friendly and conversa-
tional, giving out hugs to com-
plete strangers the way that small
bands do before they've really hit
it big. I'd place bets that in a year
or so the trio will be surrounded
by security after playing shows
in huge venues where their name
will be on a marquee in lights, fol-
lowed by the words,."Sold Out."

The millage is expected to
increase bus hours on nights
and weekends, help purchase
more buses with better fuel
efficiency, improve bus stops,
redesign routes and expand
dial-a-ride services. The
AAATA intends to hire 60 addi-
tional bus drivers increasing
job opportunities for surround-
ing residents. Furthermore,
AAATA is seeking to expand
transit into other areas includ-
ing Saline, Pittsfield and Scio
Road Townships in order to
create a more comprehensive
transit service.
The expansion of transpor-

tation services provides numer-
ous benefits. Increasing The
Ride's frequency will motivate
students to use public transit,
providing an opportunity to
take better advantage of off-
campus resources. With stu-
dents' busy schedules, waiting
for a bus to go grocery shopping
can be inconvenient. There-
fore, increasing frequencies
of busses helps to reduce time
waiting at bus stops. Expand-
ing bus routes and hours will
also decrease car usage, pro-
viding a positive externality for
the environment.
Improved public transit

will help connect the Ypsilanti
and Ann Arbor areas, provid-
ing economic benefits to both
communities. The proposal
includes a new route that will
be added to Ypsilanti this year,
and 2016 will mark major rede-
signs of current Ypsilanti and
western Ann Arbor routes.
Given Ypsilanti's higher popu-
lation of lower socioeconomic
citizens, public transportation
is vital in allowing access to
Ann Arbor where many citi-
zens work at a lower cost. These
methods of inter-connection
will enhance the lives of many
residents in the area.

EDITORIAL BOARD MEMBERS
Aarica Marsh, Victoria Noble, Melissa Scholke,
Michael Schramm, Sam Wittmer, Derek Wolfe