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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 27, 1992)
i&M® Opinion Thursday, February 27, 1992 The Battalion Page 9 ow travel!) 'ta to partir, yer Basebal i at theHt- -trodome. three top? ont, openir: ate, who;; hall A meric ■ Collegial: then met: 'd No. ad sixth bt m Saturday Minnesob legiate Bast 'exas State 11 a.m.,at Men's and ip for the Women's the Men's pion. eted in the \ggies fin- pate in the missions are sports clubs lege Station re subject to s treated n every n his final lg the ri orum and idest eem pre- dng chair ed it quits, ist as rade sure g as well, world reer ri- Is as well- ;st reasons what this a nee for ball is all between heroes, irt. The Battalion Editorial Board DOUGLAS PILS, Editor-in-Chief The Battalion BRIDGET HARROW, Managing Editor BRIAN BONEY, Opinion Editor JASON MORRIS, Night News Editor MORGAN JUDAY, Night News Editor MACK HARRISON, City Editor KARL STOLLEIS, Photo Editor SCOTT WUDEL, Sports Editor ROB NEWBERRY, Lifestyles Editor The following opinions are a consensus of The Battalion opinion staff and senior editors. American shame U.S. cannot forget Japanese internment On Feb. 19,1942, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed an order to remove Japanese-Americans living on the West Coast from society. Ironically, the anniversary came the same week a young woman named Kristy Yamaguchi won America's first gold medal in women's figure skating ’ in nearly 20 years. Unfortunately, there has been little publicity on the 50th anniversary of this immoral and cruel internment. But Americans cannot forget how the paranoia of war allowed innocent Americans to be locked up. Many Japanese-Americans remem ber the horror of being forced from their homes and livelihood into camps scattered across the nation, for approx imately 120,000 people were forced into these remote concentration camps. Some might argue that the order was justified. National security was at stake. Lt. Gen. John L. DeWitt, who at the time was in charge of the Western Defense Command explained, " A Jap's a Jap." If that were the case, then all Germans were Nazis and all Italians are supported Mussolini. But Americans of German or Italian descent remained free because they "looked American." The Japanese-Americans were held because of their racial background, not because they did anything wrong or even had different political views. They were thrown into these camps simply for being of Japanese descent or birth. In fact, many Japanese- Americans fought and died on the fields of Europe fighting for the coun try that had imprisoned their families back home. On Aug. 10,1988, America formally apologized and awarded $20,000 to each of the 60,000 known survivors. It took over 46 years for the American government to realize its mistake. In addition, not all of the survivors have been paid. But Americans must remember this shameful act if we should be involved in war again. The violent acts against Arab- Americans that occurred during the Persian Gulf War could have led to calls for their internment had the war gone on longer. We must never forget how war fever convinced this nation to imprison its innocent citizens, and we must never allow it to happen again. <£WI the fzecodP new Jep^ey No barriers Free trade agreement should go forward Of pigs and men If allusions to farm animals fit, chauvinists take pride in them The free trade talks in Dallas between representatives from the United States, Canada and Mexico have gone well, but they may not come close to producing any tangible results. This is unfortunate. The United States could take a bold step forward by working toward a North American free trade pact. Under this trade agreement, the trade barriers between Mexico, Canada and the United States would be knocked down, permitting Mexican products to better compete with other foreign-made goods. Without an agreement like this one, the United States has little hope of remaining competitive abroad. Japan and its Asian neighbors and the European Economic Community already present themselves as formidable opponents on the international trade front. These countries are exerting their influence on foreign markets, pulling in more and more capital. Last year's figures for U.S.-Mexico trade topped $64 billion. Texas has reaped a great deal of these profits, saving the state from feeling the full effects of a recession which has sent most of the rest of the country reeling. The agreement, once reached, may open the doors toward finding solu tions to some of the problems now plaguing Texas. More money would be pumped into the Mexican economy, helping to alleviate some of the pover ty and raising the standards of living inside Mexico. In turn, this would help solve many of Texas' own border problems. The United States and Canada have had a free trade agreement for the past three years which, among other things, requires 50 percent of a car to be man ufactured in the United States or Canada in order to qualify for exemp tion from import tariffs. Unless an agreement between the three parties is reached soon, it may never become a reality. Both the United States and Canada face upcom ing presidential elections which may result in a policy change, resigning the free trade agreement to backburner status. If approved, this agreement may provide some needed tonic for the American economy that legislators have been looking for. The United States cannot afford to ignore such a prospect. M en are a phalocentric (the male reproductive organ as a symbol of generative power), egotistical patriarchy. Men are pigs. They are a bunch of animals. There is only one thing on a man's mind at one time, food or sex. The list goes on and on. I am sure many of my fellow members of the male gender have heard many obscenities and curses such as these. It is utterly repugnant to hear such lies and demeaning statements. Yet I hear this from some women who are very serious about what men are. These are the 1990's and the American man is a sensitive and compassionate person. We only w'ant what is best for our female counterparts. Men of the 90's support and advocate equality between sexes.... What a load of crock! Stop oppressing your carnal feel ings, men! Women have suppressed us to long. Hire those beautiful secre taries with no brains, make a pass to your female employee or co-worker and keep those wives bare-foot and pregnant. Let's not disappoint these chauvin ist wenches. If that's all women think of us, then we should act like pigs. Its more fun and less of a headache. Why should we bother with everyone's feelings or try to understand the needs and wants of our companions and mates? We only want to sleep, eat, roll in the hay.., get under the sheets.., and do the wild thing (I men tion "it" three times because it is more important then sleeping or eat ing for men.) In fact a popular comedian, Tim Allen, of the television show, "Home Improvement," says if we are pigs then we should grunt like the pigs- awgh, awghhhh! You should never grunt oink, oink. Put some feeling and manliness into it fellow swine, awghhh! What is the use of trying to change? Everyone knows that famous saying, "Men are always wrong and never right," For example, you tell your girlfriend that she is looking great today and the next thing you know, you are defending yourself for not saying you thought she was nice. She asks, "Why didn't you tell me this yesterday? Was I fat before!? Don't give me an attitude you pig!" Face up to it my fellow swine, the harder we try to understand and be sensitive to their needs, the faster we go down the tube. Furthermore, since women have us pegged down as a bunch of pigs, we should just answer them in monosyl labic grunts. When your girlfriend asks what you want to do just grunt, awgh! She will know what you want then. When you want to eat just grunt, awgh! Your friends will understand what want to eat. Lastly, just grunt awghowdy to your fellow swine. There really is no need to say anything else. We are after all just a bunch of dumb ani mals. On the other hand, if women con sider us animals, why do they care to know or acknowledge us? Perhaps all women like to see those primal carnal urges aroused. Women want to see their men unleash that savage, untamed and wild animal scream ...awgh, awgh, awghhhh! They want to scream with us. In each women lies a hidden sow. We pigs know they love it and crave it. However I do not want to exagger ate. Some women do not consider all men pigs, they consider men pigs only some of the time. In other words some are pigs and others are partial pigs. Its a like a comparison between a ham to a side of bacon. For those fellow swine who can not under stand, its simple- awgh..awghhawgh- awghhh! Get the picture. Fellow swine let us not be wishy- washy when it comes to our primal, carnal feelings. Let us unite together in the knowledge that we are and will always be pigs! Together we are stronger. There will be a day when we grunt in unison and abolish the propaganda of political correctness and doing the right and moral thing. Rise up fellow swine and grunt! Grunt for your freedom, grunt for your identity, awgh, awgh, awghhh! Before some of you go on a "kill the Arab" rampage, I was only jok ing! But, you've got to admit there is a little truth in what I said. Think about it. Ben-Musa is a sophomore history and journalism major Palestinians mar international theme This Monday I had a wonderful experience on campus. 1 spent over 4 hours in the MSC at the cultural exhibits that are part of international week. I tasted coffee and dates from Saudi Arabia, sweets from Brazil, and British short bread. I had my hand painted in henna at the Pakistan and Bangladesh booths, learned about Islam, saw more varieties of Asian art than I knew existed, and met fascinating people from around the world. The only mar on this day of cultural enlightenment was the Palestinians. They used this opportunity to hand out their usual twisted lies and propaganda against Israel. The people in charge came and took away the Palestinian's "literature" but it's a shame that they had to play police because some people bla tantly ignored the rules and intent of the day. I was one of the people who set up the Israeli booth, and we were very careful to adhere to the rules. We had nothing political on our tables, only exhibits dealing with Israeli culture (Moslem and Christian included), agricultural advances, etc. I realize that there are differences between peoples, but I was willing to put them aside to spend the day it was supposed to be spent, learn ing about other cultures. Most other people understood this too as evidenced by the number of Arab students who came by our table and by my experiences as I visited their tables (the Egyptians were especially nice.) It's a shame that the Palestinians had to bring their hate into what was otherwise a very unifying experience. Sharon Sernik Vet Student Taxi driver used excessive force Check me if I'm wrong, but Charles Hollom was found guilty of "excessive force" in appre hending mugger Ocie McClure. Hollow drove the bumper of two-ton automobile into McClure, breaking his leg, and Hollow is "guilty only of being a good law-abiding citizen"? Wake up! If you break someone's leg with a car you've aimed at them with the intention to physically hinder their movement, that's excessive force. I guess our friendly Los Angeles Police Officers were just being "good law-abiding" offi cers when apprehending Rodney King. Officers of the law, empowered by the state to serve and protect, can't beat up citizens but ordinary John Does can? Or is excessive force only acceptable during isolated instances of vigilante-like behav ior from an almost invisible minority? McClure's and King's actions were not right, but does that instantly remove any civil liberties or personal rights they may have? No. Citizens shall not be deprived of the right to a fair trial according to the constitutional guidelines struc tured to provide due process of law. It's called "criminal justice." Without it, the Los Angeles police officers and Charles Hollom walk away — something King and McClure couldn't and can't do. Excessive force is excessive force whether by a public servant or by the population which they serve. We should never stand for it or condone it! Gary P. Carroll Class of'88 Feducia haters ( • should relax Every time I read a letter to the editor concern ing Stacy Feducia's columns, I think to myself, "Surely this is the last." Then, much to my chagrin, it never fails that one shows up several days later, wasting time on the opinion page. Come on, folks! Who really cares? In a world with drug problems running rampant, family violence, incredible diseases, racism that won't stop and a hole in the sky, I think we should be able to live with a couple of cracks about our butts. Please stop shoving this paranoid Edwin Meese-style, wanna-be censorship on the people who care about important issues. If you don't like it, don't read it. That's what free speech is all about. Samuel Armstrong Class of ‘95 Have an opinion? Express it! The Battalion is interested in hearing from its readers. All letters are welcome. Letters must be signed and must include classification, address and a daytime phone number for verification purposes. They should be 250 words or less. Anonymous letters will not be published. The Battalion reserves the right to edit all letters for length, style and accuracy. There is no guarantee the letters will appear. Letters may be brought to 013 Reed McDonald, sent to Campus Mail Stop 1111 or can be faxed to 845-2647.