The Battalion
Opinion
Thursday, July 23, 1992
Page 5
fct -I
ids around. The;
horn section ani
down a heavy
a good time."
onight's perfoi'
ollars and canh
oned Records in
show will kidofi
ard Opera House,
>en at 8 p.m. Seat
dace on a first-
basis.
jse
Alcohol served.
82.
Dallas. Ska,
pen. Tickets
teggae. Tickets
y with Choice 01
Doors open at 8
Alcohol
II 775-1578.
an/Country
i.
/Country Singer
oil. $2 cover,
d Roll/Blues.
ton. 801 E.
more informa-
als Thursday-
Live music
cm
Walk another path in
someone else's shoes
R arely do I have
business in the
Blocker Building,
but recently I did.
When I finished, I am
bled along the easiest
path toward my office
in Reed McDonald.
Suddenly some po
lite but frustrated
honking roused me
from my daydream. I
realized I was walking
down the middle of the
roadway — just like
the oblivious-seeming pedestrians who
always exasperate me.
This summer, I've chanced to venture
on various paths I had viewed as mainly
others'. I've been learning a lot, and I rec
ommend the experience.
Other side of the coin
Some of my encounters have related
to the media.
A number of weeks ago, I received a
letter from China. It was from someone
with whom I had worked there.
"Are you OK?" Lao Xia anxiously
wrote. "Since I learned from TV news
that there were some riots due to racial
discrimination, I have been worrying very
much about you."
Likewise, after receiving a card from
me, another Chinese colleague wrote ex
pressing relief that I was all right. She
had been worrying about me, she said,
since reading in the newspaper about
killings in a restaurant in Texas.
I, like many people, tend to picture
countries as fraught with danger if I hear
news reports of violence there. The two
letters have helped drive home what a fal
lacy that can be.
Two other letters —from colleagues in
the United States —also drove home
something relating to the media that I
knew but had not quite assimilated.
In teaching others about dealing with
the media, I emphasize that we tend to be
overly critical of coverage of our own
work. Just how true this can be I learned
earlier this summer.
The learning experience involved an
article in the magazine of a university that
previously employed me. The article con
tained a passage describing some of my
work.
On reading the passage, I bristled at
what I viewed as several major mistakes.
T brooded about a word that I thought
conveyed a very wrong impression. I
imagined the scathing letter I would send
the author.
In the next few days, I received copies
of the article from two colleagues, both of
whom know my work and are careful
readers. "It's wonderful to see a friend
reap well deserved praise!" wrote one. "I
think the above has a nice ring to it, don't
you?" wrote the other.
On rereading the passage, I still found
it less than exemplary, but I agreed that it
captured the gist of my work and present
ed the work favorably. I also realized that
I had a new anecdote to use in my teach
ing.
Reversals of fortune
Other tables also have turned this
summer.
A number of summers during my
schooling, I did internships for offices,
labs, or publications. This summer, for
the first time, I had an intern working
with me.
As a summer intern, I considered
mainly what I was giving and getting,
and I wished that some of my internships
had been more consistently stimulating. I
far from realized the thought and effort
that supplying a student intern with re
warding, productive activities can take.
I've developed new understanding now
that I'm on the other side.
Being on a new side in other interac
tions also has been revealing. As a doc
tor, teacher, writer, and editor. I'm used
to being the professional. And I've often
reflected on professionalism.
But I've been reflecting much harder
now that, as a potential owner of a home.
I'm dealing with professionals in outside
fields such as real estate, construction,
and financing. Now in the role of con
sumer, I realize more than ever that being
a good professional entails much more
than knowledge and technical skill.
A prescription
For at least one group of profession
als, a program exists to provide experi
ence on the other side. In this program,
medical residents spend time in the hos
pital as "patients." By doing so, they de
velop new perspective — and, it is hoped,
greater sensitivity and consideration.
More chances should, I believe, exist
to develop understanding and tolerance
by reversing roles. In fact, I propose des
ignating one day each year as Switch-o
Change-o Day. People would be encour
aged to spend part of the day in someone
else's role.
On such a day, professors might again
experience what it's like to &it through
hours of lecture. Students might see how
much work it can take to plan a class or
correct a batch of papers. People who
gripe about the media might experience
the challenges of reporting.
Of course, Switch-o Change-o Day
would likely be long in coming. And
some of the most enlightening exchanges
might prove infeasible (and illegal).
So meanwhile, I propose Switch-o
Change-o Minute. Sometime today or
this weekend, mentally put yourself in
the place of someone else — ideally,
someone whose behavior you find frus
trating. Spend a few moments imagining
yourself in the other person's shoes. The
result might be a whole lot fewer blisters.
Gastel is an associate professor of journal
ism and of humanities in medicine.
Barbara
Gastel
July 27th
r/'# r m
Comae
'Ladies and gentlemen'
the basis of inequality
6-0683
with A&M ID
VIedium
tEs™, And
Coupon
itute, 2Cy extra)
th any other offer
ion per visit.
GUEST
COLUMN
Ken
Fontenot
i
't
'd like to discuss a
problem I've noticed
— that is, feminism
of convenience. Now,
first of all, I am a hu
manist, not a feminist. I
think the very name
feminism shows a prej
udice. Although man)
feminists will tell you
they believe in equality
for both men and women, I haven't heard
many who criticize discrimination against
men, such as that which is blatantly prac
ticed by auto insurance companies. (Can
you imagine statistical discrimination
based on race?)
What disturbs me, however, is that I
seem to be more of a feminist than many
of the women I know. They seem to sup
port equality for women only when it is
convenient for them. If someone were to
make a stereotypical remark about wom
en in their presence, they would surely
criticize that person, and rightfully so.
However, they are not inclined to give up
their percieved advantages of living in a
sexist society.
One such advantage — and this may
seem frivolous at first, but I don't really
think it is — is the role of gentlemen and
ladies. These women expect men to be
gentlemen. They want doors opened for
them. They want chairs pulled out for
them. And damn it, they want flowers. I
don't have any problem with treating
people special. I just think it should be
reciprocal and not gender-based. If some
one is walking with me or close behind
■He, of course, I hold the door open — re
gardless of the person's gender. It's a
matter of common courtesy. But to ex
pect me to open a door for a woman sim
ply because I am a man is patently sexist.
"What's the big deal?" you ask. I'll
tell you. I do not think it is a good idea to
teach little Billy that he should open
doors for Susie because he's a boy. And
its certainly not a good idea to teach Susie
that Billy should open the door for her be
cause she's a girl. This certainly affects
the way Billy and Susie see their places in
the world. Alone, it probably wouldn't
have much effect. But, if you combine all
the other unequal ways we define their
roles, it becomes very important indeed.
In fact. I'll bet you that Billy likely turns
out more assertive, and Susie likely turns
out more submissive. And if by some ac
cident Susie turns out assertive after all,
I'll wager that Billy will likely call her a
bitch.
Farfetched? Think of all the ways we
define gender roles in society, and then
tell me they don't add up. Of course, they
do. But people have a tendency to fight
inequality only when it is disadvanta
geous to them. If you believe in equality,
then you should fight for it wherever it
does not exist, regardless of whether you
receive any personal benefit. If you don't
believe in equality, then you should not
complain when you don't receive it.
There is a time for idealism and a time
for pragmatism. When we're talking
about equality, I still believe in idealism.
Fontenot is a senior English major.
Football — No pain, no gain?
I t's coming. As
sure as there is
summer sweat,
cut grass, bloody
uniforms, and mud
dy cleats. It's almost
fall, and football is
back again.
Anyone on the
sidelines who has
ever put on pads and
played the game of
football feels a great
urgency to get foot
ball into their system
even after their play
ing days are over.
Yet, what could make a person quit if
he had the talent, opportunity and desire
to play the game?
I decided to play football at Austin
College after graduating from a high
school that won its first game and lost its
last nine. I decided that there must be
something past that senseless season of
humiliation, so I decided to go to college
where I had a shot at playing ball and re
deeming myself.
Working out during the spring and
summer, I put on 15 pounds after tortur
ing myself through weight-lifting and
sprinting with a rope strapped from my
back, dragging a tire behind me (I'd
done this in high school, and read a Her-
schel Walker fitness book where he de
scribed how this activity could make me
become just like him).
Then I hit college football three-a-
days two weeks before classes started
up, and I discovered what pain really
was.
But I stuck it out; eventually slated at
third-string noseguard (noiseguard, ac
tually — I cheered from the bench). 1
wasn't expecting much from a team that
had a 3-4-3 record the previous year —
that's right, three ties.
The coaches were something special
there, motivational and interpersonally
constructive in forming a team that
would win the conference championship
and go to the NAIA division II playoffs.
When classes started, I hung out
with a group of friends outside of foot
ball, including Chris, a pre-med student
from Dallas.
Chris is black.
Chris lived down the hall from me,
and on Fridays and Saturdays our group
would drive fifteen minutes in search of
beer to Denison because Sherman, the
town where Austin College is located, is
dry.
So we would drive around to local
fraternity parties, to the dorms or an
apartment and play 3-man, chandeliers,
quarters (or speed quarters), up and
down the river, or anything involving
drinking heavily. After all, there just
wasn't that much to do in Sherman, a
town an hour north of Dallas and an
hour south of Lake Texoma.
Whenever someone suffered an alco
hol infraction, the offender had to wolf
one of Chris' Schlitz Malt Liquor Bulls
inside of a minute, and there was a lot of
racial kidding with Chris' alcohol prefer
ence as well as other things.
Some of the comments got rough;
people made blunt generalizations and
uttered repeated racial epithets to jibe
him. He glared at them and always re
sponded with a shrewd, cutting retort.
This didn't seem to wear on Chris.
He was smart, quick-witted and very
popular around campus. He was about
5'11" and 210 pounds of muscle. One
time we got into a wrestling match, and
Chris, who was on his high school
wrestling and football teams and
worked out as heavily as I did, thor
oughly beat me. He was tough, cool-
headed and could take care of himself.
Then, one night after the boys had
gone bingeing while I did homework,
Chris came in, eyes glazed with alcohol,
and we started talking as people only
seem to do when early morning and
booze are mixed together.
I'd always wondered why Chris
didn't play football, and I found out
why that night.
Chris told me his mother sent him to
a high school away from his neighbor
hood where he lived with his mother
and sisters. The neighborhood kids
showed him contempt for becoming
'white.'
When he came up to Austin College
he decided that he would not play foot
ball. He wanted people to view him as a
student, not an athlete, but people came
up to him all the time and assumed that
he played football — because he was big
and black
He said that one time a white girl
that we both knew came up to him,
asked him what position he played, and
became disinterested in Chris upon find
ing that he wasn't on the team. He told
me that he wanted to play, but disliked
the stereotype it would bring him.
I couldn't understand it, and told
him that if he really wanted to do some
thing, he should do it and not let people
hold something over his head. He could
have contributed on that team, and the
team could have contributed to him.
But I guess he had allready gotten
whatever he could out of the game I was
working so hard to succeed in.
When I gave up football after drop
ping 20 pounds of weight and 50 pounds
of strength due to an inner ear injury
and flu complications, I left Austin Col
lege for Texas A&M with what I'd come
for — participation on a winning team.
Chris and I have since lost touch, and
I assume he's graduated allready.
I hope that he lived his college life to
the fullest, leaving successful and con
tent, somehow avoiding the games peo
ple play.
Harrison is a senior journalism major
and political cartoonist Jbr The Battalion.
%
William
Harrison
cottspmcY (M blocker f-v* MOVIE;
Sex not a game
in age of AIDS
I wonder why, as often as AIDS is dis
cussed, it is still out of control in 1992?
Could it be because sex is considered a
game that requires you to "use your
imagination?" When are people going to
wise up and start taking responsibility? I
understand that some circumstances are
beyond our control, but the woman from
Houston got what she asked for. If you
play with fire and get burned, you have
no one to blame but yourself.
The responsibility lies on us to edu
cate ourselves and our children. Why is
Congress responsible to save people (like
Magic and most faggots) from their sins?
I think the government should develop
some kind of an education program, but
spend money it doesn't even have. If
more Americans had common sense, this
probably would be a minor problem.
Michael Snyder '95
Election year
indifference
Rhetoric, dogma. Drama 101 gesticu
lation, pretty-boy haircuts, canned re
sponse, blah blah blah, et cetera. These
are the trademarks of modern day poli
tics, the monotonous grind which turns
our T.V. sets and newspapers into sledge
^ al1 Call
hammers which pound our weary minds
into apathy.
Now I'm supposed to believe that if
Bill Clinton wins, we'll have racial harmo
ny, full employment, no more wars, a co
operative Congress which responds to the
people, an effective national health care
plan, a repaired national infrastructure,
fewer homeless people and less welfare,
among other things. My cat will build a
space shuttle and establish a colony on
Mars before all this happens.
Even though I will vote this fall, I can
not deny my immense indifference to this
year's race. Four years from now when
the lame incumbents are in office, our en
vironment is more polluted, and our tax
rate is higher, you will understand what I
mean. To be certain, Harry Truman and
Andrew Jackson were not perfect, but at
least they knew it didn't take an Ivy
League education to have a plan.
Brooke Small '94
'Femi-Nazi' not
accurate label
I am more than a little confused by the
letter of Mr. Gary M. Gaither, which ap
peared in The Battalion on July 22, 1992,
in which he described a "Femi-Nazi" as a
person "bent on the destruction of the tra
ditional family." Is it possible that Mr.
Gaither does not know that the Nazis
were strong defenders of the traditional
family, opposed abortion and wanted
women to stay home and have as many
children as possible?
It was, after all, an early Fascist, Hein
rich von Treitschke, who wrote, "The nor
mal woman first obtains an insight into
justice and government through men's
eyes, just as the normal man has no ap
petite for petty questions of household
management."
It would seem that Mr. Gaither's val
ues are much closer to those of the Nazis
than are those of the pro-choice "radicals"
that he labels "Femi-Nazi." Is it possible
that Mr. Gaither knows this, but uses the
term "Femi-Nazi" because, to quote him,
he "is well educated in the use of the me
dia" and prefers to appeal to a "slogan-
depth perception"? If so, I can only echo
his own question, "Will mainstream
America fall for the lies?"
Manuel M. Davenport
Dept, of Philosophy and Humanities
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 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 a letter will appear.
Letters may be brought to The Battalion at
013 Reed McDonald, sent to Campus Mail
Stop 1111 or faxed to 845-2647.