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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (May 7, 1986)
Page 2/The Battalion/Wednesday, May 7, 1966 ;« :: r • r * * • • T i Opinion Civil rights in U.S. took time, so will South African equality Apartheid is the controversial insti tution of rac ial seg regation planned in the Republic of South Africa. I heir sets of rules receath have pro duced! a new rash of demonstrations across ilit l mtt-d Mark Ucto States agitinst res- trictiovts apphing to South Africa's non- nhite |M>pulati«Hi Blacks. Ca>louteds and Indians account for roughiv H3 percent of the nation s populace. This vast ma- ioittv is restricted not only in residence. Inti also in n}>portunitc for education and health care They also make up the majority of the blue collar labor force, which is low-paid. Apartheid is immoral, and the gov ernment of South Africa should reform these fMtlicies as rapidly as possible. I here is no excuse for limiting the amount of income, health care or educa tion. regardless of race, color, sex or reli- gnm Vet it would lie foolish to expec t South Africa to ahofish apartheid overnight. Kven it thev did. such legislation would iie ineffective tor some time. Our own (-mancipation Proclamation, imposed during the Civil War. didn't amount to a hill of beans until Union troops finished the war and occupied the South. We all know that, while equality was passed over a hundred years ago. U.S. citizens still are experiencing racial discrimina tion. It is sad to attempt to force a foreign state to immediately resolve this crisis considering the time it took the United States to accomplish the £tme task. Above all, it is absurd to advocate dis investment from the South African eco nomy merely for the sake of protest. If w e demand such an action, we should ask ourselves what we would be doing. In any country, investment produces the availability of capital, employment and new industry. As of now, in spite of present oppression, the non-whites en joy one of the highest standards of living on the African continent This is a result of a developed economy, which includes American companies As companies pull out of South Afri ca. the whites are not the first to be laid of f as a result of a worsening economy. To try to boycott companies like Coca- Tola. merely for staving m South Africa and trying to advocate social reform, is pure hypocrisy. Other companies — such as Pepsi — withdrew from South Africa, to the delight of many, yet they promptly doubled their investment with the Soviet Union. Without economic growth, which allows the blue collar force to expand into higher paying jobs a ad companies to influence the govern ment of South Africa directly, the prob lem will not only remain but worsen. Regardless of our attempt to treat South Africa as our 51st state and subject to the United State's Constitution. w« should be aware that the government of South Africa has had a complete change of direction in the past 30 years. The attitude toward non-whites has im proved dramatically. Racism has con tinued because neither side has agreed to a compromise. Just as white South Afri cans do not wish for the country to be come another Rhodesia, neither do blacks desire to remain members of the poor working class of South African society. But with parhamentafy representa tion for Indians and Coloureds. Amer ican companies advocating for change, the establishment of trade unions and the repeal of the pass laws, positive steps have been taken to provide eouality. There is much more to be desired, espe cially political rights — all in good time. How long did Americans wait for women's suffrage? Mar* Ude is a trmor gmogrmptir mtafor mnd a cW- ttmniM for The Battalion Race quotas mean exclusion I hanks lo Mor ns Abram, we at last know wliat the met itocr acv is. \hiam is the vae t ban man of i he l s Commission <>n ( ivil Rights, a longtime foe of both af tn mative at fit hi and quotas and. therefore, a t hampmu of earning vour way bv merit He got twoof his son's friends jobs on the civil lights commission. I his is the way vou and I always knew the meritocracy works. It explains whv the sons of alumni become, after four short vears, alumni themselves or. if you prefer, how a hunch of rich men in Cali fornia. with a trip here and some advice there, madt Ronald Reagan into yet anothet rich man in California, id the merisdrracy as in the garment business, one hand washes the other. In Abram's case, he recommended two of his son’s friends for jobs with the civil rights commission In nine months, one of the son's friends zoomed through four salarv grades and in 13 months the othci went up five grades. Abram de nied having anything to do with the promotions and. mdeed. there is no evi- detwe that he did. No one has even sug gested that the two employees, friends of die tioss son though thev might be. are not qualified for their jobs. And that, of course, is the nub of the argument both for and against affirma tive ac tion While its critics blast it as un- American. dtscnminatoi v or (as Abram described set-asides) blatant tokenism. most of the world realized long ago that its proclaimed alternative, the meritocra cy, is a mere ideal. You almost never see the real thing. Take the case of the two civil-rights commission staff aides. Probably, they are qualified for their jobs. Probably, thev are bright, industrious and an ex ample of the meritocracy at its best But thev also know the boss’ son. And it was the boss's recommendation that secured them the jobs. There is a chance, just a chance, that if Abram were at, say. the Commerce Department, the two men would now be working there. And if Abram were in ladies' garments (whole sale. of course), who knows: The two men might even now have the Western sales territory. J Blacks and other minority groups usually don’t have such connections. Having been excluded from the upper reaches of both government and com merce for years, they are in fact excluded from jobs at the upper reaches of both government and commerce. They do not know Abram. Thev do not know his son. They do not. by and large, go to Columbia University. And some of those w ho do. do so because of affirmative ac tion programs of one sort or another. When thev say that mentocracv is yet another name for racial barriers, you can see what they are talking about: They're talking about Abram, his son and his friends. f Years ago I wrote a column about Allan Bakke, the medical student whose suit struck down an affirmative action program based on quotas at the Univer- sitv of California at Davis. It was one of the hardest columns 1 ever had to write. I was, as the jargon goes, conflicted — torn between a desire to recognize the special needs of minorities and the plight of Bakke himself. After all, there was no getting around the fact that he would have been the innocent victim of racial discrimination, excluded from medical school because he was one white too many. Spice then, the issue has become no easier. Always, preferential treatment of any kind — goals, quotas, call it what you' want — means that someone gets ex cluded. Bakke originally was rejected from medical school because he is white, but people are rejected or selected all the time because they are Northerners or Southerners, athletes or actors, foreign or American and. often, the child of an alumnus or big money giver. If all things being (more or less) equal, the child of an alumnus gets the nod. then why is it so wrong to lake race into account? After all. there is merit in attempting to over come the effects of racial discrimination. Life is a vast game of musical chairs in which winning and losing should be de cided only by merit. Often it is not. Sometimes you win because you’re fast on your feet. Sometimes you win because someone holds a chair for you. Abram himself, the son of an immigrant Russian Jew who settled in Fitzgerald, Ga., is an example of both. He made it on his own. But having made it. he most certainly helped his son and. now, his son’s friends. Meritocracy is like anything else. If you want to make it work, you need con nections Coprrifht 1986. the Warhmgiom Poet Writer* Group Richard Coh«n 4 Mail Call Communism versus capitalism EDITOR 1 can t believe that members of thiseonservative University have fallen for the divestment scam. The real issue in South Africa is not human rights. The real issue is communism versus capitalism The most powerful groups in South Africa that are preaching overthrow of the white government aren't interested in black rights. They murder their own people daily They are Soviet hacked and include officers of the KGB Members of the African National Congress and the United Democratic Front were seen ' ,I '' in K communist banners in the recent May Day demonstrations How much more proof do we need? That fact that they chose May Day for a demonstration should be enough! I he anti-apartheid groups on this campus and across the country support the ANC and UDF and are themselves the product of leftist activists, past and present. The real reason for pushing divestment becomes painfully obvious. These groups don’t care if pressure is put on the South African government to give blacks equal righu. They want a total destruction of the South African capitalist system. We cannot afford to allow the Soviets to control South Africa, as they do Zimbabwe, Angola, Mozambique and Zaire. South Africa means too much to the United States in terms of stgic minerals and control of the Arabian oil route around the tip of the CPE OF Good Hope. It may take time, but South Africa will eventually settle its racial problems. Until then, my support goes out to those who. like our Board of Regents, will stand up to the communist gangsters who would have us destroy South Africa. Brian Petruskie ’83 Different directions EDITOR: In his article on Monday, Mark Schulz claims the Americans for Biblical Government wish for the United States to return to “Biblical-based law,” which they seem to think dictates right-wing policies. I am a Christian, and my study of the Bible leads m direction politically. For instance, the ABG supports Reagan in his request for $100 million to aid the Contra rebels in their fight against the Sandinista government in Nicaragua, and they cite instances of murder and torture as being of special concern. (ABG handout for their April 14 meeting.) The Sandimstas are undoubtedly guilty of these actions However, is supporting the Contras, who also murder and torture civilians, the Biblical response? As a Christian, I could not commit those acts, nor should I pay for someone else to. Jesus calls us to “Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you.“(see Luke 6:27-31). Also, Schulz complains of our “welfare system that encourages laziness... While our current welfare system has many faults. I believe a nation based on Biblical truths would have a much more extensive welfare system. Acts 2 describes the community of the early Christians as having “everything in common. Selling their possesions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need.” (Acts 2:44-45). Jesus calls the poor “blessed.” but says “woe to the rich.” (see Luke 6:20-26.) Perhaps, as a rich nation, we should be more concerned about the oppression of the poor and weak. I’d like to conclude by saying that a Biblical government would be con cerned with such sins as materialism, nuclear arms buildup, the exploitation of the poor and the oppression of blacks, women,’ etc., as well as sins like abortion and pornography. I suggest the ABG members read their Bibles again and attempt to take Jesus more seriously in their formation of “Biblk- al-based laws.” John R. Alexandar me in quite a different New former student's gift EDITOR: An open letter to the Association of Former Students;, As a graduating senior, 1 have received your letter asking me to turn over my housing and/or property deposit to you as a donation 1 am sorry, but 1 had already filed for a refund and didn’t want to confute the fiscal department by sending your form in also. However, 1 have decided to donate all money I have given the University Police for parkins fines That comes to a pretty good chunk and 1 haven’t filed for a refund, so they still have it. Just ask them I release this money to you free of restriction on how you use it.‘But 1 do suggest that you donate the money to the University to build more parking space or repair what’s in place. Rest assured 1 shall send you more money next year, after I have settled into my new job Please contact me if the police need my signature to release this money to you. Ken Skaggs Letter* to the tdnor %houkt not exceed 300 word* m length I he editonal Mali ir- terrea the right to edit Irtfen for ttvle and length but will make even etUnt to maintain the author'* intent Each letter mutt be ugned and mmu mt lurle the atl- drets mnd telephone number of the writer