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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 24, 1994)
Monday • October 24, 1994 ; ^^^>■'s ^ **''*■- ^'yz'''"" ,v ^ y/T^ - v mnmmmlS > 11 H |»isI PC police’ point out prejudice J r 'j ' s . /<; Thf Battalion • Page ^ ' . . ; . ^ IM&v k*- ELIZABETH PRESTON Columnist Racism, bigotry more than justify continued attention T he backlash against political correctness is in full swing, especial ly in conservative College Station. Some professors make references to their in ability to tell a homosexual joke because they might of fend some of the “P.C. Po lice” in the class. Books making fun of people who are hypersensitive about using politically correct group label ing are being published and bought at lightning speed. Rush Limbaugh, that incredibly intelligent leader of mil lions, takes every opportunity to scoff at the legions of po litically correct. And insidiously, in the classrooms, restaurants and meet ings of this town and others across the nation, instances of insults, sexism and racism abound. This issue recently caught my attention when I was in formed of some infuriating things that have happened to Bat talion staffers lately. A female reporter recently covered a news conference given by a prominent lo cal celebrity. She casually noticed that she was the only female reporter in atten dance. She was interviewing him for a feature, so she waited until the questions pertaining to recent events had been asked. When everyone else was finished, she asked him if he had a couple of minutes, and explained that she had some questions to ask regarding a feature story she was working on. A reporter turned and said, "Yeah, you probably just want to ask him questions like if he wants to get married, if he has a girlfriend and how many kids he wants to have.” Then, to insult her even fur ther, the entire room joined in the laughter. When the reporter told us about this, I remembered some thing frustrating that happened to me recently. One night a friend and I took a late night jaunt to Taco Cabana. We had just received our food and were about to sit down when he was stopped by an acquaintance. She began speaking to him in depth about her life. I was hungry and wanted to begin eating, so I walked over to them and asked her if she would care to join us. She made eye contact with me and graciously refused my invitation. Then, in a completely unexpected slight, she turned to my friend as I stood there and said “My goodness, she is SO-O-O cute. How on earth did you get her to come here with you?” Feeling like a pet dog who had been petted for performing a good trick, I slunk back to my table. As we were discussing these instances, another reporter began to tell me angrily about something that had happened that day in an interview. She was dressed very professional ly and had been speaking to this guy for a few minutes. She decided she had all of the information she needed and thanked him - by name - for his cooperation. The guy smiled, looked at her, and said “No problem, honey.” This occurred in a professional situation where she was at tempting to learn his side of the story. The lack of respect in herent in that response was both insulting and demeaning. It immediately changed the dynamics of the interview from equality and courtesy to one of important person deigning to speak to a bimbo. Racism and homophobia are still rampant in today’s soci ety, but both have already been the topic of much discussion in the last couple of weeks. Whether people agree with cer tain opinions or not, they certainly are aware of the issues. I realize that things like this have been happening for centuries, and that because they are suddenly part of my world does not make them any more important than they have always been. What does disgust me is the way people scoff and gener ally disregard “politically correct” concerns because they are “sick” of hearing about it. These issues have finally re ceived the recog nition that they deserve, and now people have the gall to argue that these con cerns are the re sult of a bunch of whiny, childish people who have nothing better to do with their time. I agree. I DO have better things to do with my time, and with this space. I wish that no one insulted women and de graded them without reason. I also wish that I had a 4.0, that Clinton didn’t waffle and that FYince Charles and Lady Diana really had a fairy tale romance. Reality, however, always intrudes on these hope less fantasies and brings me crashing back down. Political correctness is not insane, trite or annoying. It is an important movement that brings forward many voices that have been hiding in shame for years. If one woman, ho mosexual or minority realizes through this movement that they do not deserve or have to stand for degrading treatment, all of this effort will be worth it. Elizabeth Preston is a junior English major Mkg&ULlZS if’IW THE PBSOPO NEW JERSEY Political correctness is not insane, trite or annoying. It is an important movement that brings forward many voices that have been hiding in shame for years. Si mmm \ mMmM ■ ^1 s j I Mail Oll t/Y/Y/VY/Y Condom advertisement attacks human dignity Upon opening the Oct. 20 issue of The Battalion, I was quite shocked to find a full color poster advertising “Sheik” condoms between the pages, with the words “Study in spurts” writ ten on it. It greatly saddens me to see such an attack on human dignity in the daily journal of such a fine insti tute of higher learning as Texas A&M. Judging by the number of posters that had been left on the sidewalk next to the newsstand, I can truly say that my viewpoint is not unique. Just about everyone has seen the O.J. Simpson Halloween costume on television, and most everyone has heard of the Royal Family’s recent shenanigans. MosUagree that the cos tumes are demeaning to both Simpson and the murder victims. There is also no question that Prince Charles’ latest book has delivered a terrible blow to the British monarchy. However, these tim acts are trivial in comparison to the message behind this advertisement. This poster attacks the dignity of ALL people, portraying them as mere ob jects. We are all human beings, not sex objects to be used and disposed of, but this advertisement would like to have you believe that we should all simply give in to sensuality, without any regard to the consequences of do ing so. This isn’t human or humane. It’s just wrong. My viewpoint isn’t confined to a con servative or liberal point of view. It is n’t confined to any religious denomina tion. It has to do with being human. Basic human dignity is something that no one should be able to violate, espe cially the voice of an institution whose purpose is to lead the human race to further progress and greatness. Aggies don’t “lie, cheat, or steal.” They should n’t show disrespect, either, especially toward their fellow Ag’s. That, my friends, is bad bull. Mike Nichols Class of ’97 Statue of Gen. Rudder not meant for polishing This is a letter addressed to the en tire Corps of Cadets. You always have the statues of Lawrence Sullivan Ross ^ssasgpi The Battalion encour ages letters to the editor and will print as many as space allows. Letters must be 300 words or less and include the au thor's name, class, and phone number. We reserve the right to edtt letters for length. style, and accuracy. Address letters to: The Battalion - Mail Call 013 Reed McDonald Texas A&M University College Station, TX 77843-1111 Fax: (409) 843-2647 E-mail: Batt@lamvml .tamu.edu Texas elections fight, feud like soap operas Richards vs. Bush, Hutchison vs. Fisher spark little debate that politics is less than warfare A hhh, isn’t it a won derful time of the .year? The leaves J. STERLING HAYMAN Guest Columnist are changing, the air is getting cooler, and there is the wonderful smell of BLOOD in the air. Yes, fellow students, it’s that time of the year again - political season is officially open. Personally, I love it. These midterm elections feature humor, sex, deceit, lies and scandal. It almost makes “Melrose Place” look tame. Right now, it looks as if the Republi cans have a slight lead over the Democ rats, because of Clinton’s less than desir able approval ratings. However, as vot ers begin to take a closer look at the can didates, I expect many of the Republi cans to start dropping like flies. Perhaps the most-watched race in the area is the one between Gov. Ann Richards and the inexperienced Junior Bush. We are looking at a neck-and-neck race between an extremely successful governor and the son of a former presi dent. At least Clayton Williams made his own name. We all know that if Ju nior’s name was Junior Smith, no one would give him a second glance. A couple of things about Bush make me laugh. For one, he keeps running around the state yapping about how much he is going to do and change. Here’s a se cret ... Texas Hutchison still owes us some answers. Many have forgotten that she was indicted for using state equip ment, time and employ ees to campaign for her last election. It is also ' interesting to try to as sess her motives for be ing so adamantly opposed to many of the health care plans. Perhaps it is because she has received more than $600,000 from medical PACs, ranking her 21st in the Senate for this category. Which is pretty good after a mere 24 months in of fice. It may not be all her fault though; she is simply following in the footsteps of our very own Phil Gramm, who leads the pack with contributions totaling more than $1,200,000. Whom do our senators really represent? I think that the most disturbing race is being run in Virginia between Ollie North and Charles Robb. The incumbent Sen. Robb is running in a dead heat with a liar. Yes, that’s right, I said LIAR. Re member Iran-Contra? North stood up right in front of the Congress that he now wishes to enter as a member and sudden ly turned into Pinnochio. Hello? Is anyone in Virginia home? Has Virginians’ common sense flown di rectly out the window? There is no sane , gaggffga&fl gssgg&saMS i sSS Th is election is like choosing which characters Melrose Place" get their contracts renewed. on and E. King Gill polished and looking nice. But please, don’t polish the new statue of Gen. James Earl Rudder or the plaque in front of him. The plaque will not corrode, and neither will the statue, because it is made out of bronze. It was never shiny in the first place and wasn’t intended to be. Someone has already tried to polish Gen. Rudder and left green grode all over him, including in the pages of the book he’s holding, between his thumb and the book cover and covering the crest on his ring. Whoever is responsible for this needs to take their lighter fluid and pipe cleaners, rags, toothbrushes or whatever it takes and clean him up. Also be sure to tell future classes not to polish the statue so they don’t pull it out and do it on their own. I’m not sure Mrs. Rudder does not want the statue of her late husband to be green. Don’t grode out Gen. Rudder! Jason Johnston Class of ’94 governors don’t have much power — but the lieu tenant governor does. Secondly, his new commercial at tempts to show people how serious he is about nailing deadbeat dads. His idea is to revoke drivers’ licenses, professional li censes and last of all, to show you he’s re ally tough — their hunting licenses! Well, it’s good to know that these deadbeats might have the choice of either paying thousands of dollars in child support or putting off bagging that 14-point buck. Bush has a strong following, though. Which shows what a few million and a PR strategist can do for you, even if you have no qualifications. However, all the paid help in the world couldn’t have helped Bush in the gubernatorial debate last Friday. Lucky for him, there are no more debates. Richards was specific. Ju nior was whiny. And, like every other Republican in the nation, Junior couldn’t help but to start calling his opponent names. “Liberal... Clinton supporter!” Someone’s getting desperate. Much focus has also surrounded the Senate race between Richard Fisher, who seems to lack any sort of personality, and Kay Bailey Hutchison. Hutchison has the advantage of the incumbency, but who couldn’t have beat Bob Krueger? reason why Ollie North should even have a shot at defeating Robb. Kinda scary I think. Sounds like a “liar, liar, pants on fire” campaign is in order. There are probably too many Republi cans in Congress already. If there weret; any more, nothing would ever get done:- They have acquired and perfected a skilf over the past two years. Its called The>-, Blocking Good Legislation technique, fjp; more Republicans are elected it will be yF upgraded to the Blocking All Legislatiorf technique. Right now it’s all an attempt to prevent the Democrats from getting a “win” right before election day. Minority Whip Newt Gingrich said that he could provide a little over 20 votes for GATT before the elections; after the elections he can provide more than 100 votes for the bill. Someone’s not playing fair. Well, regardless of who wins or loses, it’s still fun to watch. And even more fun to vote. Try it. It’s like getting to choose which characters on “Melrose Place” get their contracts renewed. To those who think that it is some sort of Aggie duty to always vote Republican, think again ... Think for yourself. wm J. Sterling Hayman is a junior political science mctjor PLEASE WAIT UNTIL IRAQI SANCTIONS ARE LIFTEP A LINE IN THE SAND Mashes ®m4Tue. kbcovo NEW JEFKET
