opinion
Battalion/Page !f
August 3,
Slouch
Bv Jim Earle
^zlZZ-Z. z_
“I realize that you’re behind on your homework, and you
missed one test, but if you started now you could do extra
work to make up that material, and you could start study
ing now so you could ... are you listening?”
Letters of support from Jim Wat
by Art Buchwald
Interior Secretary James Watt has been
very busy lately drumming up support
for Reagan’s strip-mining and oil-drilling
plans for America. In his now-famous
letter to the Israeli ambassador to the
U.S., Watt warned that opposition to the
administration’s energy program by
American Jewish liberals would weaken
this nation’s “ability to be a good friend of
Israel.”
While the White House disavowed the
letter, even though it was written on In
terior stationery, Watt defended it, and
said he was not threatening anyone. He
claimed he was appealing for support
from every identifiable group in Amer
ica, whether they be “unions, the black
community, Catholics, Protestants, Jews
and Gentiles.”
This means Watt’s going to have to
write an awful lot of letters to prove he
doesn’t just have it in for American Jew
ish liberals.
I can see him in his office right now.
“Miss Bloomsbury, take a letter to the
Nigerian ambassador to the U.S.... ‘Dear
Mr. Ambassador: As you know, the
Reagan energy policy is very close to my
heart, as it is to the President’s. Unfor
tunately there are many liberal blacks in
this country who are opposing us. The
conservative blacks are for us, but the
others are making our life difficult.
Therefore I must inform you that unless
you can persuade American blacks to
back our program, relations between the
United States and Nigeria could go very
badly. Please do not take this as a threat
but a fact of life.’
“Okay, who’s next?”
“The Catholics. Do you want to write
to the ambassador of Ireland or Italy?”
“I think I’ll send this directly to the
Pope. Start with ‘Your Holiness: Forgive
me for intruding on your time, but I be
lieve that you should be aware that there
are many Catholics in this country who
are trying to preserve the environment
and keep us from becoming self-
sufficient in coal and oil. This adminis
tration will not stand by and alb
religious group to interfere wil
energy policies. Relations with tlitl
can, up until now, have been go
the Catholic liberals in this countt
be made to realize that when thejj
support the President, theyaren
impossible for him to support |
don’t think that’s too strong, do
“No, sir. I think it’s just right.!
write to the Protestants?”
“Send the same letter to Quet
zabeth. If we mail it to the Archbisll
Canterbury he’ll throw it in thej
paper basket. Does that take carej
the religious liberals?”
“I think so, unless you want ton
Khomeini.”
with the ethnic groups that have!
opposing us. How about onetoj
Gandhi warning her that if shed#
get the liberal American Indians!#
opposing us, we’ll cut off all
ments to Bombay?”
In a
Copy
Souk
Pari-
Where’s the cure
to those video blues?
— Johnny was 5 years old when he
became addicted. His parents noticed he
began to come home later and later after
school. His eyes were glassy. He began to
lose weight. By the time he was 6 he was
spending his lunch money to support his
habit.
—- Susie, 12, was a model student.
old and could barely reach the “fire” but
ton on an Asteroids game.
“Do you know what an asteroid really
is?” I asked him.
“Sumpin’ to shoot at,” he said.
“Well, do you know where they come
from?” I asked.
“Atari?” he asked and then he racked
Then her parents began to notice her up 350,000 points and got four bonus
ships.
gary barker
grades slipping. She began to study less
and spend hours at unknown places. She
wore sunglasses to hide her eyes from her
parents. Her addiction became so severe
she began to talk to herself. “Watch out
for the ghosts,” she would shout.
— Billy was an average 10-year-old
boy before he became addicted. Within
the first few months of his addiction, he
had started an extortion and thievery
ring to pay for his habit.
What happened to these three chil
dren is becoming epidemic in the United
States. There is no known cure. There
are no established rehabilitation centers.
These children are video game addicts.
They drop countless numbers of
quarters into video games daily. They
can be found at grocery stores, game
rooms, movie theaters, convenience
stores, bowling alleys, restaurants —
perhaps even in your own home.
Recently I interviewed a video addict
at a theater in Houston. He was on his
way to see “Tron.” He was only 4 years
It is obvious that the problem has
reached epidemic proportions. A gener
ation of children is growing up in the
video craze. Their heroes are Pac man,
Tron and Donkey Kong.
What is happening to the youth of
America? Boys don’t fish in ponds, catch
tadpoles or build soap-box derby cars
anymore. Girls may soon abandon Bar
bies, kittens and telephones for video
games.
Few of these children have read “Tom
Sawyer” or “Little Women” or even Dr.
Seuss. Even Walt Disney Productions,
that last great bastion of romantic chil
dren’s fiction, has fallen to the feet of the
video god. With its production of a ludic
rous movie called “Tron,” Disney may be
signaling the end of an era.
Can you imagine childhood without
“Bambi“? Or “Mary Poppins” or Mickey
Mouse? NBC has announced plans for a
Pac man cartoon for the fall. Even Bugs
Bunny isn’t sacred.
Before you begin to feel safe, thinking
these games are harmless fun, limited to
video arcades, think again. These video
games are beginning to infiltrate the
home. Soon there could be a video game
in every room. Cars will have them built
into the dashboard. Fine restaraunts will
build the games into their tables. Moet et
Chandon will sit next to Space Invaders.
Entrees will include four free games of
Defender. Public restrooms will be filled
with them. Have they no shame?
Where are you Huck Finn? America
needs you.
Response to Middle East lette
Editor:
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77843.
I would like to respond to some of the
distortions and half-truths that have
been recently passed off as facts to read
ers of The Battalion regarding the situa
tion in the Middle East. There is a double
standard among nations in regard to this
part of the world in general, and to Israel
in particular. A recent letter in this forum
stated that “terrorism aimed at innocent
people is a heinous crime toward all man
kind.” Deplorably, this is not the case
when such acts are committed against
Israel. Nations of the world, depending
on political alliances, do not consider
these acts crimes. Terrorism is not only
condoned but actually encouraged in
some organizations today — the PLO is
such an organization.
No nation is totally innocent in regard
to acts of terror carried out against others
— not Israel and not even the United
States. To point out that every nation is
guilty to some extent does not lessen the
wrong done, but the difference here is
that in the case of Israel and the United
States, these acts are not a matter of na
tional policy.
cent people around the world by the PLO
— the list would be endless. After such
acts, the PLO proudly claims credit for
the deeds of its freedom fighters. For
killing Israeli schoolchildren in Ma’alot,
murdering 11 Israeli Olympic athletes in
Munich and blowing up planes worl
dwide, they claim credit! Only now are
w
Stc
Reader’s
Forum
Some of those acts attributed to Israel
happened, although they have become
exaggerated through time. Dir Yasin and
the King David Hotel are so often written
about' by Israel’s opponents because
there are practically no other examples.
What is important to note here is that
these two incidents were performed by
splinter extremist groups (the Irgun and
Stern gangs seceded from the Haganah,
the pre-state Israeli army). These acts
were deplored and condemned by the
Jewish community in Palestine, and
around the world for that matter, as well
as by the Yishuv (the pre-state Israeli gov
ernment). Acts of this type are exceptions
to the rule for Israel, not the rule as they
are for the PLO.
It would serve no useful purpose to try
to list atrocities committed against inno-
the horror stories committed by the PLO
against Christian Lebanese during their
six-year occupation in Lebanon coming
to light.
This letter would not be complete
without mentioning the civilian losses in
Lebanon. The 14,000 civilian casualties
claimed recently in this column for the
first few days of the fighting, and also
reported initially by some respectable
American newspapers, have since been
proven to be grossly exaggerated.
These early figures came not from the
Red Cross, but from the Palestinian Red
Crescent (whose director happens to be
Arafat’s brother). Now, the International
Red Cross has substantiated Israeli
claims of approximately 300 casualties
for these first few days. Unfortunately,
civilian losses continue to mount as the
PLO stalls for time in Beirut. Lebanese
civilians are paying a heavy price for the
PLO’s delaying tactics. Hopefully, ru
mored PLO acceptance of the latest six-
point plan is not also a ploy.
The PLO has a large responsibility for
many of the civilian losses in Lebanon by
placing its military headquarters, train
ing camps and ammunition dumps in
heavily populated areas. The hope that
this fact would forestall any Israeli action
proved correct, until the situation be
came intolerable in northern Israel when
daily life came to a standstill because of
PLO artillery.
Civilian casualties surely wouldk
been, as falsely reported, “in the 14,(11
if not for Israel’s efforts to minimize!
lian losses. The costs for Israel wen
terms of its high loss of soldiers. The!
no doubt that it is easier to level ana
than engage in house-to-house
Israel chose the more costly sec«
method. Other efforts to minimize
lian losses by Israel have been dire!
stalled by the PLO — by not
residents of West Beirut to leave fors jobs s
areas after being so advised by Isf the a
leaflets. The PLO, in order to retain
human shield, unscrupulously inforn
Beirut residents that the Israeli leaf
had been contaminated with poison
There have been protests lodged
out civilian losses in Lebanon frome"
corner of the world, and rightly so.j
tween July 1981 and June 1982 over!
Israelis and Jews in different parts of
world were killed or wounded by if
terrorism. These casualties, which
provoked Israel into its eventual ei
into Lebanon, occurred during the)
long “cease-fire” arranged by the An#
icans. This cease-fire was conveniet
interpreted by the PLO as covering®
terrorist acts carried out directly ac
the Lebanese border and, of course,
including artillery and Katyusha rod#
But for these 150 casualties, there’
no outcry. There were no pretests*
there were no condemnations. This is 1
double standard the world holds
Israel. If Israeli civilians, and
around the world, are not included in 1
“innocent people” we speak of when
condemn terrorism, not only will th 1
never be an end to terrorism, but |!
unlikely there will ever be a solution
the Palestinian problem.
Ephraim Seid®
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