Friday, February 4,1994
PRO If CON
Should the Confederate flag
he used?
94
Mayer
studies
ferentoflfl
I n the
minds of
most
Americans,
the Confed-
|crate Rag
^presents
Hie ideas
and images
H the Civil
^Var. Those
ideas cen-
Hred
H-ound the
fight for in
dividual
states'
Hghts —
Harticularly Rie right to legally in
stitute slavery.
I The history and tensions at-
Hched to that cultural memory of-
Hn evoke attempts to erase or for
get that period of our history.
Many citizens of all races view that
flag as a symbol of racism, bigotry
JAY
ROBBINS
Columnist
neofmenv
EXCUSES
to have and intolerance. The desire to "for-
:o meet get the bad times" leads some peo-
uvever, pie to desire the eradication of the
h time toe physical signs of those events.
:lasses,M "[The Confederate flag] is some-
nsumes thing that has no place in our mod-
nd hercm times ... no place in this body ...
no place in our society," said Sen.
rol Moseley-Braun, herself an
frican-American.
The fact that the Stars and Bars
did — and sometimes still does —
mbolize racial hatred should
e has said The Confederate and
Union flags each have
aid ifshameful pasts — the
nceeieK important thing is that
they stand for more
jthan atrocious ideals.
amera, an;Bemonstrate the need to hang it
:o DisnejRut in the open for everyone to see.
n fact there is a very prominent
I overasiBace in American culture that the
cd EmniihMKifederate flag fills.
rdsonsev- * We'shoufd always remember
d game oS fiat eleven states rebelled against
. Hours of le government of this country —
le same government which is still
power.
Perhaps more importantly, over
iMANCESBlf a million soldiers died in the
struggle to preserve, or leave, the
les do t’r Union. The Confederate flag flew
ne, so w over those battlefields — and so
Bd the flag of the Union,
ows a hi That Union flag, to which far
idia lie fewer people object, also should
again,['Stand out as a reminder, in part, of
>sted, rigljtrpgic and regrettable acts. The U.S.
the judjf Army slaughtered Americans Indi-
>r stood ans in the West who fought to hold
m to their tribal lands — or the
: ter mat Other territories which our govem-
:s test,klment had "given" them,
s forced I This country's Supreme Court
this nerijsat in its chamber, under the U.S.
■ shouldii flfg, and upheld the doctrine of
Pleparate but Equal" — which in-
ted to r: stitutionalized racial segregation
[ disagree: for- over 50 years. The Stars and
we ne a; Stripes also fleW over both the
troops who fought in World War II
an d pur;i and the forces that interned Japan-
whole Aijese-Americans here at home in vir-
diole das Wal prisons.
B The Confederate and Union
flags would tie each other if they
iptered a contest of shameful pasts
— the important thing to remem-
per is that they stand for more than
atrocious ideals.
| As American society attempts
to recognize and promote its vari
ous cultures, Americans should
not cop out on remembering the
worst time in our collective history.
Every day we should all remember
what our "united states" once
fought for. The Confederate flag
will never let us forget.
vay.
6
2/9
10 p.m.
218
Exams
Jay Robbins is a senior English and
political science major
JACKIE
STOKES
Columnist
T he de
bate
over
whether a
Confeder
ate flag
should be
hung in of
ficial, pub
licly-fund
ed build
ings isn't a
debate; it's
culturally
selective
amnesia.
Supporters
of the flag
argue that it is an important part
of the grand tradition of the
South. Unfortunately for many
African-Americans the past
doesn't include cotillions and sip
ping mint juleps. To many
African-Americans the Confeder
ate flag represents death, being
counted as three-fifths of a human
being, sitting at the back of the
bus and only being able to drink
from certain water fountains.
There is no argument against
hanging a flag in your home, your
office or your dorm room, as long
as the money for that flag came
out of your own pocket.
The problem occurs when pub
lic tax dollars are used to pay for
a symbol that for many represents
such a painful past. If tax money
is to be spent on maintaining a
symbol in public places such as
government buildings, schools, li
braries or major athletic arenas,
the symbol should represent the
history of all members of that
public, not just the dominant sec
tion.
Several valid arguments are
presented by supporters of the
flag. One argument is that it rep
resents hundreds of thousands of
brave southern men who died in
the attempt to win their freedom.
While this is true, there were
thousands of men that were just
as willing to fight for their free
dom, but it was predetermined
that because they were black, they
were only allowed to pick cotton
How many people
can look at the Con
federate flag and see
the ideals of equality
and freedom for
everyone?
and tend to fields. How can some
one be expected to honor and pay
for a flag that they were not even
recognized by?
Still another argument is that
when the west was being settled,
millions of American Indians
were slaughtered, yet no one calls
for the American flag to be
changed. The American flag is a
symbol of an entire country; it is a
recognized symbol of freedom
around the world. Although the
United States has yet to reach all
the goals idealized in the Ameri
can flag, it functions as a re
minder of those goals.
How many people can look at
the Confederate flag and see the
ideals of equality and freedom for
everyone? How many African-
Americans can look at the Con
federate flag and say that they are
a part of what that symbol stands
for?
No one is asking the South to
forget its past or the struggles that
it has gone through. All that is be
ing asked is to fly a flag that
everyone can be proud of.
Jackie Stokes is a sophomore
journalism major
Opinion
The Battalion
Page 7
Same heritage, different viewpoints
NOI, Quanell X not only sources of truth about Islam
L ast week Quanell
X, a representa
tive from the Na
tion of Islam (NOI),
visited the University.
Some students believe
that Quanell is really
the only reliable source
of information when
discussing the NOI
and the religion of Is
lam.
Quanell's comments
are his views and per
ceptions of the prob
lems in his community.
While his opinions
should be taken seri-
ously, they should not be taken as the only
source of information used to understand the
current problems of the black community or
the philosophy of the NOT
Many students have expressed negative
opinions about the Black Muslim's speech and
the philosophy he expounded. I was not sur
prised by what he said, but I am concerned
that some people may begin to associate the re
ligion of Islam with the racist beliefs that the
NOI is perceived to hold.
The NOI is a black organization that dis
cusses methods to curtail the current social and
economic problems of its community. The or
ganization really has no association with and
very little commonality to the Islamic faith
practiced by nearly 1.2 billion people in the
world.
"Islam" essentially means submission to the
will of God, and "Muslim" means one who
submits to the will of God. As you can see by
its very definition, Islam does not designate a
race or gender as superior or a favorite.
Because of the basic Islamic belief of equali
ty, some people mistakenly believe that the
NOI had no racist roots, which contradicts
what Malcolm X himself said in chapter 10 of
his autobiography.
While still in prison, Malcolm began to learn
about the NOI when his brother Reginald visit
ed him and explained the tenets of the NOT
Reginald said, "The white man is the devil."
The racist attitude of the NOI was blatant.
Malcolm joined the NOI after leaving prison
in 1952. He began to preach for total segrega
tion from whites and soon became second-in-
command of the NOI. With Malcolm's help the
organization grew from a membership of 400
to 40, 000.
The Nation of Islam was created by Elijah
Muhammad, an African-American bom in the
early 1900s on a Georgia farm. In 1931, Elijah
Muhammad said he was given God's message
and divine guidance from Master W.D. Fard,
God incarnate. Elijah Muhammad said he was
told the true history of mankind.
According to this revelation, original man
was black, and among those people was a sci
entist named Dr. Yacub, who created the "dev
il-race" — the white man. Malcolm even ex
plained in detail how white people were creat
ed through the use of recessive genes.
This devil-race soon took over the world
and enslaved the black man. Elijah Muham
mad said he believed God chose him to help
free African-Americans.
Today the NOI has evolved and moderat
ed its views, and I personally have no qualms
with the NOT Because of Elijah Muham
mad's efforts, many African- Americans be
gan to show more interest in their heritage.
In addition, the NOI helped African-Ameri
cans gain a sense of pride and great self-es
teem about being black — that "black is beau
tiful" — and about the great civilizations the
African people had created.
But, the NOT has its faults, which cannot
be ignored and overlooked. No organization
or group is perfect, and the NOI is a legiti
mate part of African-American history that
should be studied, not from one viewpoint or
source, but from as many credible sources
available. Like Malcolm did, the NOI has
Changed
It's time that students begin to educa te
themselves on topics such as the NOI and the
religion of Islam There is no better time than
February’, Black History Month.
Don't take every word Quanell or Malcolm
said as the complete truth. There are many
valuable sources of information at this campus
on the NOI and Islam. These sources of infor
mation include the Muslim Student Associa
tion and various history, religion and English
classes. This list is not complete, but it can be a
start.
At least talk to a friend and explore your
feelings. You might be surprised how different
people can have such a different understand
ing of their heritage.
Anas Ben-Musa is a senior journalism major
ANAS
BEN-MUSA
Guest columnist
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The Battalion - Mail Call
013 Reed McDonald
Mail stop 11 ll
Beutel should offer
"morning-after" pill
In an article regarding the decision that
the "morning-after" pill, RU-486, would not
be made available to A&M students, Ken
neth Dirks stated, "If we were to offer the
pill, we would be suggesting to students
that we think is OK for them to engage in
risky behavior and worry about pregnancy
later."
I didn't realize it was part of his mission
as director of the Beutel Health Center to
legislate morality. I find Dirks' remarks
condescending, morally repugnant and un
professional.There is no reason the health
center should not offer RU-486 to the stu
dents of this university. The problems of
unwanted pregnancy will not go away if
we try to ignore them.
Perhaps some campus officials feel that it
is in the students' interest to treat them like
children and monitor their activities in the
bedroom. I, however, do not share that
point of view. Part of becoming an adult is
being able to make decisions and being re
sponsible for their outcomes.
Paul Herrera
Class of '93
Good Ags and bad Ags
• On Friday, Jan. 28, my husband re
ceived two messages from Captain John
Bell, USAF. Capt. Bell had found my wallet
lying on the ground in the huge student
parking lot behind Zachary.
I had no earthly idea it had even fallen
out of my backpack. My husband and I
wanted to show Capt. Bell our gratitude,
but since it was the end of the month, we
were broke.
If any of you Aggies out there know
Capt. Bell, please give him a pat on the back
and thank him for not only claiming to be a
good Aggie, but for acting like one.
Nancy Small
Graduate student
• Late for a meeting at the MSC, I acci
dentally dropped my keys on the floor in
the women's restroom. Upon realizing my
mistake, I rushed back, only to find that my
keys — which had my life on them — were
missing. I searched everywhere but to no
avail. The only thing I could do was go
home and hope someone would call to say
they found them. Which is exactly what
happened.
To Katie Career from Kreuger Hall;
Thank you so much for finding and return
ing my keys. You exemplify the true mean
ing of the Aggie spirit, and I really appreci
ate it.
To whoever took my driver's license and
credit card and then left my keys in the
MSC: I sincerely hope that you are not a
student at this university. If you are, I hope
you don't consider yourself a true Aggie. I
shouldn't have to remind you of the Aggie
Code of Honor. I don't care that you have
my Mastercard (it's canceled) or my dri
ver's license. I'm just disappointed in the
fact that there is someone out there who
cares so little about their Aggie honor that
they have disgraced it like this.
Oh well, I hope it was worth it.
Suzanne Lyons
Class of '96
Sports writers could
write about... sports
In regards to the article about aid for the de
throned fighter, Julio "Chinless" Cesar
Chavez, I have on question. Why is "another"
Batt sportswriter trying to make a basic sports
article into a multiculturalistic political satire?
The Batt is no USA Today when it comes to
sports coverage, but at least the sports writers
could report the scores and highlights of an in
numerable number of sports stories occurring
daily. During the last fall semester, the sports-
writers have written on anything from sexual-
type advertisements in the sports pages of
"big" newspapers, to plotting the ultimate
abolishment of Lee Corso. For the sportswrit-
ers like Ortiz, I'll make a suggestion. Either
write about sports or throw in the towel!
Patrick Kraivietz
Class of'94
Tune Up Plus provides
professional service
I am writing in response to a letter that ap
peared in Mail Call on Jan. 26 concerning local
auto shops. Tune Up Plus worked on my
pickup, and I was very pleased with the ser
vice I received. They did prompt and profes
sional work and explained everything in great
detail. I was also given a six-month guarantee
on the work that was done. My truck has been
running fine since they repaired it.
Craig Daugherty
Class of'96
Better to win than dunk
In response to the letter saying Aggie bas
ketball games aren't exciting and the players
should dunk more — Td like to say THEY'VE
TRIED! Twice against Texas ( one of the more
exciting games I've ever seen) and once
against SMU, Tony Mac missed what should
have been easy points. Instead he went for
dunks and missed. Had he tried again and
missed against Texas, it might have cost the
game.
This isn't to rag on Tony Mac. He has done
an outstanding job, but I do not believe our
players possess the ability’ to make the kind of
dunks that would spark our team. (Prove me
wrong, guys!) The bottom line is that our guys
are getting it done.
As far as excitement goes. I've found all our
wins to be exciting.
Justm Mitchell
Class of'95