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