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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (July 3, 1986)
Page 2/The Battalion/Thursday, July 3, 1986 Opinion Poster is offensive, but so is limiting artistic freedom Last fall T ipper Gore and some of her friends de cided to get to gether and see if they could do any thing about cer tain rock ’n’ roll al- bums that offended them. Tip per and her about the Dead Kennedys’ music have come to expect something vile and dis gusting, along with the most biting so cial satire of the ’80s, from the band. But one woman wasn’t too happy when her daughter brought home “Fran- kenchrist.” Karl Pallmeyer friends got their husbands, who all hap pened to be senators and congressmen, to hold a hearing to try to do something about the despicableness of rock. Gore and the Parents’ Music Re source Center vyanted a rating system that would warmprospective buyers that albums might contain lyrics about sex or drugs. The only thing that came out of “Porn Rock” hearings was that Congress threatened it might take action if the music industry didn’t “clean up their act.” Many major record companies have bowed to this pressure and started putting warning labels on some of their albums. Now you don’t have to look so hard to find albums that are vile and disgusting. Vile and disgusting are two words that could be used to describe the poster in the new Dead Kennedys’ album, “F- rankenchrist.” Those people who know Any act of discipline involves humiliation What to do about athletes who take drugs, they want to know. And what to do with people who drive while drunk? CBS’ “60 Minu tes,” lively as ever, featured one ap proach to the lat ter problem taken the human predicament, aggravated in sofar as we aggravated the laws of na ture and of man. The reigning assump- tion is that we ought not to be humiliated no matter what we do, but this argues against a rudimentary sense of order. WHIram F. JEkJCkle^rjr^ by a judge in Sarasota, Fla. Her Honor requires those found guilty of drunken driving who are lucky enough not to have run over anybody to submit to sev eral sacrifices, among them 50 hours of community service, a fine of several hundred dollars and a suspended driv er’s license for six months. But the judge makes a provision for those who need their car in order to go to work (and this means the majority, in Sarasota). The judge allows the deli- quent to drive, but only to go to work and return. And then — the innovation — she requires them to drive with a bumper sticker that reads, “Convicted DUI, Restricted License.” DUI stands for “Driving Under the Influence.” Of Demon Rum is left unstated, but is un derstood. What happened, after the judge thought to make this contribution to the basket of inducements to drive only when sober, was a civil suit filed against her by the public defender, al leging that what she is doing is somehow unconstitutional. A nice piquancy in the situation is that the public defender is the husband of the judge. Athletes in the baseball leagues are protesting that it is humiliating to be re quired to give urine specimens to estab lish that a player is not taking drugs. The objection is in part to the “humilia tion,” in part to the alleged inaccuracy of the test. But to consider only the first point, the athlete has signed a contract that presupposes he will keep himself in top physical condition in order to per form at the level of competence in rec ognition of which he was hired to play. The pure libertarian would say here that the player should be free to sue for damages. But that is the litigious way to go, and in any case it is quite possible that a player degenerated by cocaine will not have saved the money with which to compensate the contractor. If you lose the 100-yard race, are you humiliated? Only if you were obviously the top dog in that race, and for some reason were below par. Vladimir Horo witz is in Tokyo to give three concerts, because three years ago he was there and was critically gutted because of a poor performance. This time he will show them! Next time the racer will show them! Now the exact legal nature of the public defender’s complaint is;not stated, but much time; is given over to his point that the judge’s uuposition of the bumper stickbr “humiliates”,.the de linquent. When Morley Safer chimed in and said, “But aren’t all court sentences humiliating?” his observation was ig nored. But of course humiliation is, or surely ought to be, accepted as part of The Battalion (USPS 045 360) Member of Texas Press Assoeiatiorf Southwest Jourfialism Conference The Battalion Editorial Board Michelly Powe, Editor Loren Steffy , Opinion Page Editor Scott Sutherland, City Editor Kay Mallett, News Editor Ken Sury, Sports Editor Editorial Policy The Battalion is u non-profit, self-supporting newspa per operated as a community service to l exas A&M and Rryan-College Station. Opinions expressed in T he Battalion are those of the Editorial Board or the author, and do not necessarily rep resent the opinions of l exas A&M administrators, fac ulty or the Board of Regents. T he Battalion also serves as a laboratory newspaper for students in reporting, editing and photography classes within the Department of Journalism. T he Battalion is published Monday through Friday during I ex as A&M regular semesters, except tor hofiday and examination periods. Mail subscriptions are SI6.75 per semester, $33.25 per school year and $35 per full year. Advertising rates furnished on request. Our address: The Battalion, 216 Reed McDonald Building, lexas A&M University t {College Station, 1'X 77843. Second class POSl'MASl t.K: send address changes t ion, 216 Reed McDonald, l exas A&M Univt Station I X 77843. ss postage paid at College Station, 1'X 77843. SI ER: Send address changes to The Battal- versity. College And what will the driver do, next time? The judge argues that his sensitiv ity to the offense he committed is heightened by the obloquy of those who spot that bumper sticker and, who knows, tease him or ostentatiously slow down or park their cars until he passes; or whatever. The public defender likens the bumper sticker to the scarlet letter and Puritan justice. He cites the stocks, where in the 17th century offenders were displayed in the square — an un usual punishment, by contemporary standards, but not, surely, cruel. The First Amendment guarantees to the press the right to give the name of someone found guilty, say, of speeding, or of driving while drunk, or of whoring or of tax cheating. It is implicit, in the exercise of that right, that one’s neigh bors have a right to know who is guilty of what. Humiliation resides in the submission to discipline. The supreme humiliation is to be taken into a jail cell. And, of course, a jail awaits the drunken driver who, instead of just weaving about the road until apprehended by a policeman, weaves into a child and kills him. It is the purpose of the organization MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving) pre cisely to stimulate more effective sanc tions, and the notion that a sanction is OK so long as it does not humiliate is empty of disciplined thought. The base ball player who refuses to cooperate in reasonable tests to validate his behavior when not at the ball park may face the humiliation of a contract not renewed. Because of the poster, Biafra has had charges of distributing material harmful to minors filed against him. Four people at Alternative Tentacles Records also have been charged in the case. If con victed, Biafra and the others could face a $2,000 fine and a year in jail. Until recently, the album contained a poster reproduction of H.R. Giger’s “Penis Landscape.” Giger, a Swiss sur realist painter who won an Academy Award for his designs for the film “A- lien,” has done album covers for Emer son, Lake and Palmer’s “Brain Salad Surgery” and Blondie lead singer Deb bie Harry’s solo album, “Koo-Koo.” “Pe nis Landscape” is a painting of several sets of male genitalia in the act of copu lation. Jello Biafra, lead singer of the Dead Kennedys, describes the poster as “the best metaphor I’ve ever seen for consumer culture on parade.” The charges were the result of a com plaint made in the California State At torney General’s office by Mary Sierra, of Sylmar, California. Sierra’s 14-year- old daughter bought “Frankenchrist” as a gift for her 11-year-old brother. The Sierra family was sufficently shocked, repulsed and offended to seek legal ac tion. She looks at their albums and E.P.s, all with such nice names as “Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegtables,” “Plastic Surgery Disasters,” “Frankenchrist,” “Kill the Poor” and “Too Drunk to F—” She looks at the nice album covers, one with a picture of Christ being crucified on a cross made out of dollar bills, another with a picture of a small, limp, de formed hand being held a regular-sized, normal hand. There are so many nice albums to choose from. A sticker on the shrink wrap con tained this warning: “The inside fold- out to this record cover is a work of art by H.R. Giger that some people may find shocking, repulsive or offensive. Life can sometimes be that way.” Now Alternative Tentacles Records, the Dead Kennedys’ label, has removed the poster from the album but will send a copy to those who sign a statement say ing that they are over 18 and include 50 cents postage. It’s easy to see how Biafra and the band misled the poor, unfortunate Sierra girl and caused her to be cor rupted by this work of art. Imagine any 14-year-old girl in a record store search ing in vain for a present for her little brother. She can’t buy the new Ma donna album because her mother has told her that nice girls don’t dress or act that way. She can’t buy the new Prince album because he’s so nasty. She can’t buy the new Twisted Sister album be cause they are so gross looking. The girl is almost in tears when she comes to the section with the Dead Kennedys’ al bums. She decides on “Frankenchrist,” with its picture of those cute little Shriners in their cute little cars on the outside and a nice little warning label about the pic ture on the inside. "Frankenchrist” would make the perfect gift for any 1 1- year-old boy. “Frankenchrist” is a good album but I doubt if anyone under 16 could appre ciate the social satire. Most youngsters spend hours of their free time watching MTV. The Dead Kennedys have a song, “MTV Get Off the Air,” that shows how mindless and profit-oriented MTV is. “Jock-O-Rama” is an attack on the way sports are over-emphasized in high school. “Goons of Hazzard” is an attack on red-neck prejudices. alized what the band was trying to The Dead Kennedys have a message give the world and if they choose toco vey that message through musicorp lures it is their own affair. That’sk! the First Amendment is all about. The arraignment is set for todav will be decided whether an actual he ing should be held. This case is impt tant. The future of rock music, i more importantly the First Amec ment, is at stake. If Biafra is fou guilty of distributing material harm! to minors, a dangerous precedent v be set. A musician’s right of express* will be limited if he is threatened wit! lawsuit everytime he puts togetheram bum that offends someone. TheSiet case could prove to be a more deac weapon against music and freedom expression than the PMRC’s ratings' tern. One poster should not be used the basis to censor albums they accoi pany. T he best rock ’n’ roll music askspe pie to think about certain social com tions and beliefs that they have accept; without question for most of theirlw Now it is threatened by people k! want rock music neutered andrelegas into mindless noise fit for mass c» sumption. “What a nice band,” she says. “They have such a nice name.” When I bought “Frankenchrist” I was shocked, repulsed and offened by the poster. But when I heard the music I re- Karl Pallmeyer is a senior joumlii: major and a columnist for The ion. (To ILc<^£ cD'horLion. ClU Ord i nance 6«j/ucA. MAc SjoUo oomci Isia.'ZyCLi^di, Immigrants’ saga not pretty “We went by horse and wagon to Warsaw and that was the first time I had ever seen running wa ter. I was mesmer ized. I just stood there and looked at the faucet. I couldn’t believe my eyes. From there, we went to “We saw this strange man who Grandma said was my father. I was a year old when he left. He handed us large oranges which we now think of as eating oranges. I just looked at it. I had never seen an orange. He then told us it had to be peeled. So I peeled a little bit of it and gave the rest to my mother to hold because I didn’t know when I would see an orange again.” heaves the bones out. In 1940, the Nat forced the Jews of Ostroleka into i I cemetery and ordered them to overtur I the headstones. Then they march them into the forest and killed thenu T here are no relatives anymore in ft troleka. Richard Cohen Danzig. We had heard horrible stories. We heard they were killing people and raping women. We took the ship from Rotterdam. I remember it was very dark in the ship and we were not allowed to go to the upper deck. My grandfather had been a religious scholar in Poland. In America, he worked for a plumbing supply firm. He had emigrated in 1913, made some money, and sent for his family. But World War I intervened and my grand mother and her children had to stay in Poland. “Grandma had a dairy store untilil] war started. Then she worked farm, she and cousin Yetta, digging! potatoes and stealing them, puttir them into her bosom to bring home make potato soup for us. Thatwasoi only meal.” “The food was just dreadful; all the adults were sick and some of the chil dren, too. I can’t remember how long it took us but it was at least a ten-day or two-week trip and then we reached Ellis Island. They examined us. We were very frightened. We heard all kinds of stories. We had heard that if you were dirty, that if you had lice, they sent you back. You may not want to write this, but it’s true. We had no soap and Grandma washed each of our heads in urine to kill the lice.” Thus my mothercame to America. Copyright 1986, Universal Press Syndicate Now we celebrate the 100th anniver sary of the Statue of Liberty. We have refurbished her, rededicated her, and once again, we rejoice in the immigrant experience. My mother was one of those who steamed by the Statue of Liberty on her way from Europe. She was seven and it was November 1920. The ship was the Noordam of the Holland-Amer ican Line; down in steerage were my grandmother and herthree children. “Eight people lived in one room — two families. We had two beds. Each family slept in a bed — a mother and three children. The three of us (the chil dren) were almost killed one time. The Bolshevik army came in. They opened all the storerooms and told everyone to help themselves. So the three of us went to get some sugar and salt. On the way back, there was skirmish. The streets were lined with horses and cannon and we could not get through. A Polish woman saw us and took us into her house. She knelt before a picture of Je sus Christ and prayed that we would all get through. Shortly after that, the Pol ish army came back. There were people who had taken pictures of the people who had taken the supplies. They were all shot.” My grandfather died in a nursii home in Brooklyn. My gratldmotl*I died in one in Queens. My unde Mil died in St. Petersburg, Fla., just a coup of years ago and my aunt Lillian, prt; nant at the time, died in New Jersey> 1948 of cancer. They came from f 1 land, but they just as well could hi 1 come from Vietnam or El Salvador.Tl> saga of the immigrant is not pretty. “The boat had an enormous roo* with berths attached to the walls. H thing I remember was the darkness the room. I think Lillian and I slepi one bed. Mostly, I remember, iU women and children. I don’t remenit' any men. Most of the time I remeni!' trying to sneak up to the upper dec! see how the other half lived. Moma ; Lillian were very sick.” The town in Poland is called Ostro leka. I was there several years ago and could find no trace of my family. The house where my family lived is gone. The cemetery is overgrown with weeds. The graves are open and the earth My mother and father live in Floriii T hey are both retired. They play go They go to the theater. They miss tin grandchildren. They were both W poor, but now live well. My mother' down in steerage when she arrived! New York harbor and so could not j the Statue of Liberty. Forgive i^l though, for thinking that it saw her. | Copyright 1986, Washington Post Writers6^! I l 1 ni da ev m ar at cc D; ta th th