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The Battalion • Page 9 .
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Cigarettes imprison far too many
Addiction, not lack of will power, causes people to continue smoking
Kyle
Littlefield
Columnist
I
e kept trying impa
tiently to spark his
lighter, but the wind
was just too strong. He
mpped his hands around
ris lighter and cigarette
Dut to no avail. Then his
ace brightened as he
bought of an idea.
He kneeled beside a car so that the wind could not snuff
aut the flame of his lighter, and within seconds he breathed a
sigh of relief and exhaled a small cloud of smoke.
I believe in the pursuit of happiness. People should be able
to do what makes them happy as long as it does not infringe
upon others’ rights. But when I see human beings slave to a
vice that they must live their life “around” that which makes
hem happy, it isn’t true happiness, and it isn’t conducive to
he freedom due to a human.
Forget about the cancer, forget about the other health
risks involved with smoking cigarettes; there are other more
humanitarian reasons people should not smoke cigarettes.
I have seen many friends start smoking.
A good friend of mine commented that he didn’t think that
cigarettes did anything for him.
That was a few days before he was buying a pack of ciga
rettes daily on his gas card.
I have seen him try to quit smoking, and fail. I have heard
tiim rationalize that it was in his “genes” to smoke because
his grandparents both smoke. I have seen him fall into deep
depression because he felt he was less of a person because he
could not quit smoking.
I remember his apprehension to run an errand with me
across town, because I told him he couldn’t smoke in my car.
Not only did I not want to support his habit by allowing it,
but I didn’t want my car smelling of smoke. When he finally
did agree to come along, he fidgeted the whole way, keeping
an unlit cigarette in his mouth.
Addiction alters human behavior.
Have you ever heard someone say they need a cigarette?
Need” is an interesting word to use because it denotes the
Itrue nature of the beast addiction.
The nicotine in a cigarette gives smokers a certain good
Iffeeling, that is quite obvious. But would it be safe to say
Iffhat the mind, in search of a stimulus, could not trick itself
: into thinking that it had to have this stimulus?
If this were so, then the mind is not necessarily thinking
23! freely, but is tethered to a stimulus, in this case, nicotine.
A human being is chained to this stimulus, much like a
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prisoner with a ball and chain. The prisoner can move around
to a certain extent, but the ball is still present; the smoker
can live life but must have his or her cigarettes always near.
How can this be considered freedom?
I’m not saying that it is wrong to smoke. But if smoking is
followed by addiction, which most of us will agree that it is,
then it is wrong.
Some may say that the choice to smoke is a free one, but
I disagree. I don’t think the person who smokes is deciding
to smoke, only listening to the whispers that nicotine
places within their heads. All thoughts must be filtered
through the addiction.
It also isn’t humanitarian to sit back and watch it happen.
And it certainly isn’t moral to make money off of people
who can’t quit smoking because they don’t have the will-pow-
Forget about cancer, forget about the other
health risks involved with smoking cigarettes;
there are other more humanitarian reasons
why people should not smoke cigarettes.
er — and it really isn’t even a matter of will-power.
Yet, when you drive down the streets in a metropolitan
area there are the billboards. When you flip through a maga
zine, you see the advertisements. “Be Young! Be Free!” they
seem to shout. Behind the counter of the filling station, you
see the promotions: “free t-shirt with a carton,” “free pen with
the purchase of two packs.”
“We’ve come a long way baby,” but obviously not long
enough to realize that addiction to cigarettes steals from us
our most basic inalienable right as humans, freedom.
Amidst bouts of coughing, an elderly man explained .in a
chalky voice that he had been smoking since he was 19. He
removed a silver-plated lighter from his coat pocket, and
flicked it with his yellowed fingers while he talked. Smoking
was not allowed in the building, and so every 10 minutes he
would stray outside continuing the conversation while smok
ing another cigarette.
I noticed that everything about him spoke of cigarettes —
the way he held his hand to to his side to flick an ash, the
mumbling of words from his tight lips that held the cigarette
in his mouth, the demonstrative method of exhaling the
smoke into the air with his head thrown back. He had be
come more about cigarettes than he was of himself.
Kyle Littlefield is a senior journalism major
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Courts should re-evaluate
what is ‘cruel and unusual"
SotfifcMtAft tefb^A C2\\W\a
I magine your moth
er, sister or girl
friend sitting in
their homes. Suddenly
someone kicks in their
door, abducts her and
takes her out to some
deserted country road.
Here he repeatedly
rapes and beats her to
near-death.
When he has finally had his fill, he
slits her throat, leaving her mangled
body for the buzzards.
Well, events similar to these hap
pened to 23-year-old Toni Diane
Kumpf in Lubbock in 1977. Luckily
for Kumpf’s family and society, 40-
year-old Clarence Lackey was appre
hended after Kumpf’s body was
found in a cotton field near Lackey’s
home. Kumpf had been beaten,
raped and nearly decapitated when
her throat was slit.
A jury sentenced Lackey to death
row in 1978, but in 1982 the Texas
Court of Criminal Appeals threw out
the decision because a juror had
been improperly dismissed in the
original trial.
A year later. Lackey was retried
and again was given the death sen
tence. He has since been on death
row for the past 17 years.
Lackey was
scheduled to be
executed April
21, but was
spared when a
Midland U.S.
District judge
ordered a stay
on his execu
tion. The reprieve was granted on
the grounds that 17 years on death
row constituted “cruel and unusual
punishment. ”
State attorneys appealed, and the
following Wednesday the 5th U.S.
Circuit Court of Appeals in New Or
leans lifted the reprieve.
Lackey was then scheduled to be
executed this past Friday, but he
was again granted a stay by the U.S.
Supreme Court. The Supreme Court
upheld the ruling by the lower court
that the 17-year death row stint con
stituted “cruel and unusual punish
ment.” The stay on his execution will
remain until a federal court decides
whether lengthy death row imprison
ments can be considered cruel and
unusual punishment.
Lackey’s attorneys have argued
that he has suffered from mental
stress and has become physically ill
because of his worrying about being
executed.
Even though the ruling is under
review by federal courts, the
Supreme Court has set a new prece
dence for criminal justice that will
effectively set it back a few more
years than they already have. The
courts are saying that leaving a
criminal on death row for an extend
ed number of years is “cruel and un
usual punishment.”
Where do we
draw the line?
At 5 years, 10
years? Should we
now declare life
sentences cruel
and unusual.
It will not be
long before the
punishment for
murder is a swat on the butt with a
leather belt.
Furthermore, this only shows us
the two-facedness of our criminal
justice system.
Lengthy death row terms and the
ability of death row prisoners to ap
peal for stays on executions is a poli
cy set up by the courts to ensure that
someone is not executed for a crime
they did not commit.
Now what stops a criminal from
appealing an execution for 10 or 12
years and then being able to turn
around and say that he is the victim
of cruel and unusual punishment?
What about the cruel and unusual
crime that was committed against
Toni Kumpf and inflicted upon her
family.
The Kumpfs have had to live with
the brutal murder of their daughter
for 18 years. Now they are being
slapped in the face by the U.S. jus-
The criminal justice system in this county is
quickly falling apart. We have reached a point
where we must reverse the policies that courts
have created over the past few decades.
tice system.
And while the execution of
Clarence Lackey will not bring back
their daughter or relieve their pains,
at least the Kumpfs will feel that
justice has been served.
Where in the hell is the ACLU on
this one? They are quick to stick up
for the criminals in these situations,
maybe it is time they stood up for
the victims.
The criminal justice system in
this county is quickly falling apart.
We have reached a point where we
must reverse the rulings and policies
that courts have created over the
past few decades.
Rulings that give more rights to
criminals than victims and policies
that have given criminals in jails
more than what many law abiding
poor have. If this ruling holds, then
we will have created an even bigger
hole in the criminal justice system.
Maybe Clarence Lackey should
have thought about the fear of dying
when he was raping and beating
Toni Diane Kumpf before finally cut
ting her throat to near decapitation.
No, the only thing cruel about
Lackey’s stay on death row is that
they didn’t fry him sooner.
Zach Hall is a sophomore
mechanical engineering major
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Republican-led Congress not
worthy of much praise
With quite a large membership one would
have assumed the College Republicans would
have managed to find someone with more than a
superficial, kneejerk, understanding of political
issues to be their president.
Unfortunately for them, a quick perusal of
Percival’s guest column unequivocally shows this
not to be the case. While space is lacking to de
stroy the whole litany of her arguments, a few
examples should suffice.
She claims that Republicans stand for less
government an freedom, yet a few sections later
she exalts the Republican plan to “take back our
streets” by imposing draconian police state mea
sures on the populace.
Many may not be aware the the U.S. has by
far the highest per capita incarceration rate of
any developed nation and that a great majority of
those in prison are there for consensual crimes.
A party that advocates jailing and executing
large numbers of its citizens is in no way a party
of freedom.
Compile this with Republican attempts to
mandate school prayer and actual proposals for
separating children from the parents and putting
then is a state run orphanages — a favorite trick
of repressive police states like perhaps, Nazi Ger
many — what emerges is a party of massive sta
tist intervention in private lives. So much for cre
ating less government.
The article also exalts the Republican Fiscal
Responsibility Act — ignoring of course that it
took a Democratic president to actually reduce
the deficit in real terms as well as reduce farm
subsidies— then later goes on to hail republican
tax cuts for the elderly — the wealthiest segment
of our population— and proposed increases in de
fense spending. How courageous and atypical of
the Republicans to attempt to transfer money
from the relatively poor to the most affluent seg
ments of the populace — like the military indus
trial complex.
In addition, the Job Creation ... Act contains
provisions for allowing producers to escape pay
ing the full social costs for their production, yet
another handout for the less than needy.
The reality of the Republican party it stands
for protecting its own interests, government con
trol of the masses and income distribution from
the relatively poor to the wealthy.
This is not surprising since the party is con
trolled ultimately by the rich elite.
What is surprising is that they have managed,
greatly aided by propaganda machines like Rush
Limbaugh who appeal to the laity’s most base in
stincts, to dupe the common man into supporting
them. Luckily, there are those who see the wheat
from the chafe and fight incessantly to preserve
the little kernels of freedom and justice that still
exist in this country.
-Jason Carr
Graduate student
Mail Call letters needlessly
bicker over different issues
In response to the two mail call letters from
Amy Burke an Shelia Boudreaux in the environ
ment, I see no reason for argument. Both Burke
and Boudreaux are debating over two cases that
have no relevance to one another.
As Burke stated in her letter, we should be
conscious of what damage we are doing to our en
vironment. We should be taking time to do what
we can in helping slow the destruction of what
little bits of natural life we have left. It is true,
once the land is gone, we all will be gone. But,
Boudreaux is also right in stating there is still a
need for awareness o what continued violence
and abuse is being committed in society. There
needs to be a stance taken for peoples need for
protection from everyday threats.
But whether the issue is on people, animals, or
the land, all are living creatures that need atten
tion in their own way. If you choose to help con
serve our planet’s resources, make an effort to re
cycle paper or aluminum cans. If you would
rather deal with the people’s issues, visit a bat
tered women’s shelter or help comfort abused
children who have been taken out or their homes.
What you do with your time is your choice and no
other’s. What you feel is of importance is your
prerogative. However, there is no need to dis
criminate someone else for choosing one issue
over the other.
There is no basis for comparison between the
two independently significant world issues. Both
are of equal value and should be given due ac
knowledgement for their needs. So, stop wasting
time worrying about what someone else is doing.
There is no need for argument.
Kathy Nguyen
Class of ’98
True Aggie spirit was seen in
Holocaust remembrance
Last week — Thursday April 27 — Holocaust
Remembrance day, different Aggie read the
names of the victims from France that were
killed innocently in the Holocaust.
Listening I observed another great tradition of
the Aggies. Aggie have Muster which we pass of,
we have Silver Taps and we have Bonfire.
As Aggies we also have traditions that help
others, such as Big Event where we help our
community, and Replant where we help our plan
et. I witnessed the true Aggie spirit. Aggies pass
on knowledge of the most inhuman act that has
ever happened on this earth.
They pass on the torch of life of those who
could not tell what happened to them.
I saw Aggies educating and remembering, so
people will never forget, and so another Holo
caust will not occur.
Uri Geva
Class of ’98
Holocaust and persecution
were not Christian acts
In David Taylor’s column on April 27, he
claimed that the Holocaust and the persecution of
Mormons were the acts of Christians. The question
is: Were they acting like Christians? The answer is
no. They were acting as a burdened people grasp
ing any outlet of frustration they could kind, using
a national religion of Christianity to hate others.
In the case of the Holocaust, Hitler took advantage
of the economic depression following World War I
to spread these ideas of hate.
Those who were truly discerning Christians
spoke out against these acts of violence; but in
time of popular consensus, most of their cries
were buried in the masses or silences by those in
power. Let us not forget the stories of Germans
who risked their lives harboring their Jewish
neighbors.
Now look at the comments Taylor made about
Resurrection Week. First, I would like to note that
the re-enacting of Christ death is a poor method of
teaching. A moment in history which encompasses
the death of a savior and the salvation of mankind
can only lose its meaning in a melodramatic,
worldly interpretation.
But as for Taylor’s complaints about the actors
who portrayed the Jewish mob ... I hate to inform
you ... but that is the way the Bible tells it! I would
like to note that the first 3,000 people baptized into
Christianity were Jews not to mention that Christ
was also a Jew.
So, I could hardly see how it could be said that
Christians hate Jews.
If Taylor was trying to criticize Resurrection
Week, he could note that taking one time of the
year to unite and feel ‘spiritual’ should instead be
replaced with emphasis on being a Christian every
day of your life.
And, as you live like a Christian, perhaps you
will not only ‘love everyone’, but also learn humili
ty, sorrow, sacrifice and truth so that you may be
able to speak out against the ills that are befalling
our country today.
Helmut Domagalski
Class of ’98
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