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Page 5
AIDS doesn’t kill only strangers
Memories of Uncle Erwin illustrate heroism in midst of pain, tragedy
H e was better than Santa Claus.
He was excitement, odd presents,
short visits and warm hugs.
Vhen my sisters and I were small, he
ivould throw us in the air and tickle us.
'o this day my father ruefully
emembers how he encouraged us to
nisbehave at an expensive restaurant.
)ne Christmas he took us downtown in
louston to show us the lights at
nidnight. Uncle Erwin was also
inmarried, a source of confusion for me
n my ever paired-off world.
Erwin Preston Jr. grew up in Poteet,
'exas, and spent his adult life in Mexico
mdNew York City. He graduated from
tfcMurry College in Abilene, and
amed his master’s of divinity from the
dethodist church in 1971. He never was
irdained, but he worked with and for
hurches all of his life. His belief in God
ind Christ sustained him through his
larkest days. He taught English as a
iecond Language at Columbia
Jniversity, and before he died he was
vorking as a buyer for an art gallery in
'Jew York City. His talents were many
mdhis capacity for giving was limitless.
When I was 11, my mom told me that
Jncle Erwin was homosexual. I wasn’t
surprised, but I knew about AIDS and
md been told that it was a “homosexual
lisease.” Immediately, I sat down and
vrote him a long letter telling him how
nuch I loved him, accepted him and
vanted him to be safe. The next time
ilrwin came to visit he took me to the
'oteet Sonic and told me he would
inswer any questions I had. He was
mderstanding and calmed my fears.
That was the last we spoke of his
icmosexuality for a long time. I never
bought of him as “gay,” he was just
ELIZABETH
PRESTON
Columnist
Uncle Erwin. He was there to put his
arms around me and tell me I was
beautiful and loved during those
awkward preteen years. I went to visit
him in New York and he showed me
Broadway, the Hard Rock Cafe, and
took me out to Sardi’s. He flew into
town and gave me a blue-and-red book
bag and gave my mom a paper jacket
— the latest rage in fashion clothing.
He was hip, cool and kind, my
ultimate hero.
Old and young, homosexu
al and heterosexual, men
and women, AIDS is claim
ing its victims every day.
And some of those victims
will be people you love.
We discovered Erwin had AIDS in
1986 when he went to the hospital for a
case of pneumonia and tested positive.
My uncle suffered greatly over the
next four years, but he did not allow his
disease to control him. In 1987 he met
his companion, David, who stayed by his
side until his death. Erwin also worked
as long as possible, hating to be idle.
David said the most incredible thing
about him was how he never dwelled on
the disease. AIDS-related pneumonia
put Erwin in the hospital for the first
time in 1988, and from then until his
death he was in intense pain. Instead of
allowing it to paralyze him, my uncle
traveled and lived a full life up to the
day he could not walk any more. He
went into the hospital for the final time
in July, 1990. He died on November 20,
1990 at the age of 46, surrounded by
friends and family and at peace with
himself. That weekend I flew to New
York with my family, and we spent a
weekend paying homage to a great man.
We sang “Amazing Grace” at his funeral
and asked David to scatter Erwin’s
ashes in three places: the Hudson River,
over Mexico, and in Poteet.
My memories of Uncle Erwin extend
far beyond the little heart-shaped frame
that contains a photo of us in New York
City. My uncle is more than a statistic
adding to the list of good people ravaged
by a disease that we now know does not
discriminate. Old and young,
homosexual and heterosexual, men and
women, AIDS is claiming its victims
every day. And some of those victims
will be people you love.
For those like my Uncle Erwin who
have died, for those currently suffering
and for those future victims of this
always-deadly disease, I urge everyone
to support more AIDS research funding.
Whether you like it or not, and no
matter who you are, AIDS will touch
your life.
Elizabeth Preston is a junior
English major
1 u* % ii
The Battalion
Editorial Board
Editorials at
in The Battalion reflect
Mark Evans, Editor in chief
William Harrison, Managing editor
Jay Robbins, Opinion editor
appearing n
the views of tne editorial board. They do not
necessarily reflect the opinions of other
Battalion staff members, the Texas A&M
student body, regents, administration, faculty
or staff.
Columns, guest columns, cartoons and
letters express the opinions of the authors.
Contact the opinion editor for information
on submitting guest columns.
5 . EDITORIAL
Simpson above law
Police unfairly mold justice to fit 'celebrity'
Last Friday is a day everyone in
America will long remember. O.J. Simp
son, a national icon and prime suspect
in a double homicide investigation, fled
from the Los Angeles police like a com
mon criminal on the run. While an en
tire country gawked in disbelief at the
televised spectacle, a group of squad
cars followed Simpson in an orderly
fashion to his home. Over 300 spectators
stood outside in the street and cheered
the former football star.
Unfortunately, murders
and getaways occur all to
often in the United States,
but the justice system does
its best to ensure the per
petrators are handled ac
cording to precedent and
the law. Simpson’s case,
however, is being treated
like a celebrity wedding
rather than a brutal slay
ing. Millions of dollars will
be exchanged as tabloids
and lawyers work to exploit
this man and his family in
O.J. Simpson
a sickening public display; a display not
unlike the Patti Hearst kidnapping and
the Lindbergh baby tragedy.
It will be next to impossible for Simp
son to receive a fair trial after such pub
licity and declarations of celebrity affec
tion from the public. The death penalty
would ordinarily be given in a case like
this one, but even if Simpson is found
guilty, his popularity and hero status
may prevent such justice from taking
place. This bias is precisely what the
American legal system is designed to pre
vent. No one should be above the law.
There has already been a terrible in
justice done to the public in the special
treatment of Simpson. Any non-celebri
ty would have been apprehended suc
cinctly by the police for such a blatant
getaway attempt. In addition, there will
undoubtedly be unfair treatment of
Simpson as well, because
of the media sensational
ism and paparazzi-hound-
ing his children and fami
ly are likely to suffer as a
result of the ensuing trial
and verdict.
The cost of legal defense,
will not only take all op
portunities to devour
every cent they can from
Simpson’s fortune, but
will also use such a high-
profile case to spring
board the careers of
everyone involved in the
upcoming trial. Los Angeles district at
torney Gil Garcetti is already becom
ing a high-profile figure. Defense
lawyers will be on their way to great
riches,regardless of the verdict.
The families of Simpson, his
ex—wife and her friend Ronald Gold
man all know how unfair life can be. It
is sad and terrifying for the rest of us
to see justice take the same route.
GQ Brooks-bashing reveals ineptitude of fashionable music
“Some people approach every problem
with an open mouth.” — Adlai Stevenson
“Ii
WILLIAM
HARRISON
ntegrity rarely stands a chance in
the face of mediocrity’s appeal. So it
is that we are cursed with [Garth]
Brooks and the artistic eunuchs
1 stampeding after him in hopes of cashing
in on his success.”
If one was Garth Brooks, them’s fighting
words from GQ magazine’s Country and Western
guru, John Schulian. Here’s more:
“[Brooks] is country music for people who hate
country music. That’s all Garth Brooks has ever
made - his Oklahoma roots notwithstanding — and it
is all he will ever make,” Schulian cries.
“How else to you think he sells such an obscene
amount of albums?”
So this is about money, fan appeal ... and
Brooks’ girth.
“Onstage, Brooks is equally lamentable,
galoomphing ... with that Doughboy body of his ...
The only thing I find the least bit appealing about
Brooks is that he isn’t pretty.”
One can sympathize with Hunter S. Thompson,
the infamous “Gonzo” journalist of Rolling Stone
magazine, when he parted company with Rolling
Stone. He blasted the publication for becoming “a
Guest Columnist
fashion magazine,”
a journal of no
lasting relevance.
This column isn’t
a shot at defending
Brooks. For those
who care less about
him or country
music, Schulian’s
. unentary is still
basely offensive tripe. He i ukes no mention of
Brooks’ lyrics, music or personality. Instead he learns
on his imbedded first impressions that seem the best
to trust, but which are the worst bases of criticism.
In GQ, the epitome of American fashion, Schulian
follows true to Thompson’s condemnation, and from
the mentioned quotes and others, reveals the sorry
state of the music industry and its “critics.”
Schulian wonders why his personal country
music deities — Waylon Jennings, Johnny Cash and
Merle Haggard — have been shelved in favor of a
younger generation. He offers no possible
explanations; only bemoaning “the face of
mediocrity’s mass appeal.”
Yet, it’s a safe bet that back 40, 50 years — or in
the Cretaceous period - when Haggard, Cash and
Jennings hit the scene as rising country stars, some
critic wrote similar condemnations of them.
Rolling Stone never gave a good review to any of
Led Zeppelin’s albums. Why? Too mainstream, then.
Now they are legendary. Critics never appreciated
the music of guitarist Eric Clapton until his body of
work became too large to nit-pick.
But here’s where Schulian gets the goat:
“[Brooks] panders to an audience corrupted by
childhoods spent listening to Rush and Foreigner,
the very same bilge he grew up on himself.”
Admittedly, what the article really accomplished
was to goad the ire and pen of this Rush fan.
“Begin the day with a friendly voice,
a companion unobtrusive...”
— “The Spirit of Radio”
Twelve years ago, a disaffected kid at summer
camp passed time with friends and a tape recorder
in a canvas tent. Those lyrics meant more to him
than the beginning of his favorite song by his new-
found favorite band.
But as he learned later, they didn’t mean much to
others - to others he was “corrupted.”
Rush didn’t bite bats’ heads off on stage, take a
whiz on the Alamo, wear makeup, get drunk or
overdose on vodka or cocaine. What kind of a rock
group is that?
They just didn’t have what it took to be idolized
as a heavy metal band by rabid metalheads and
critics. Except they kept touring, making music,
gaining a large following and, lo-and-behold, are still
around after 24 years. It outlasted critics and more-
favored “darling” groups, which appeal only to
critics, tending to last about 24 months.
But what should Rush mean to Garth Brooks,
arguably the most popular entertainer in the
country? That it’s the music first, and everything
else second. In the cheap, sleazy world of modem
music, a band or person can last and work on its
own terms — and if anybody doesn’t like it, tough.
The standard axiom for good music is that it must
comfort the afflicted or afflict the comfortable.
Critics, however, degrade themselves solely into
affliction — unfortunately, not only unto themselves.
The Murphy’s Law axiom, as applied to music,
says 90 percent of everything is crap, and one man’s
mediocrity is another man’s triple-platinum album.
As for Schulian, the Law should include 100
percent of his senseless article.
The only thing Schulian reveals is a showcase of
himself as an idiot, smacking of envy and musical
senility, since he can offer no real appraisal of
Brooks’ quality of music — only his own bias.
Instead of senselessly blasting someone else, Mr.
Schulian — “heal thyself.”
mm
William Harrison is a journalism
teacher’s certification student
;
Mail
CALL
Christian message goes
beyond 'social justice'
I read with great interest Julia
Stavenhagen’s opinion column (Chris
tianity and Buddhism Offer Similar
Message) in the June 14 Batt. It is not
often that spiritual matters are dis
cussed so openly in a public forum,
and as a Christian, the headlines al
ways grab my eye. Also a great sup
porter of spiritual dialogue, I admire
Stavenhagen’s boldness in broaching
philosophical and religious issues. Be
cause of my faith in Christ, I believe
that all truth is either found in him or
is a mere reflection of his ultimate
truth. So in this sense, I can agree
with Stavenhagen that Buddhism and
Christianity share some similarities.
Too many of us who claim to be
Christ’s followers ignore his messages
about compassion, forgiveness, and
humility.
However, it is at this point where
we diverge. I would assert that Jesus’s
message here on earth was not pri
marily one of social justice. In fact, the
rewards he promised to the poor in
spirit, the meek and those who mourn
were not to be realized until heaven.
Jesus’ message was simple: He and
the Father are one (John 10:30). Even
a casual flip through the gospels re
veals that the controversy Jesus in
spired was not from his messages of
compassion and love, but from his mir
acles and claims of deity. By far the
bulk of the gospels are devoted to Je
sus’s claims to be God’s own son. The
pharisees plotted Jesus’s death not be
cause he summed up the law and the
prophets with the Golden Rule, but be
cause in their eyes he had committed
grave blasphemy. This man probably
would not be concerned primarily with
sensitivity training or civic responsi
bility. Even if one subscribes to the
theory that Bible translators have al
tered many of Jesus’s teachings, it
must be admitted that his scandalous
nature was about who he claimed to
be, not about his philosophy.
This is the error I see us falling into
too easily. In our effort to seek rela
tionships and bridges, we can lose the
very essence of the debate. We cannot
accept that Jesus was simply a moral
teacher, because on that count alone
he would probably fall miserably
short. He either lied about who he was
or he is the very son of God he claimed
to be.
I do not doubt that some tenets of
Buddhism are similar to Christianity,
but to say that their messages are ba
sically the same ignores the radical
claims of Jesus.
Corey Walls
Class of ’92
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