97
The Battalion
fednesday - June 4, 1997
What a wicked game to play
nited States' troubles resemble a Milton Bradley board game for children
merica is playing
with fire. Everyday,
■whether televised,
adcasted or printed in
ackand white, news
toss tile nation reflects
growing ignorance of
sple in todays society,
ihoughsomeofthe
Sculous actions and sit-
Eons people find them-
tein are easily labeled
'societal norms,” indi-
talsmust learn not to accept the
lethe world is in today,
iseach day passes and more
»s is reported, Americans casual-
um away from problems that
nuldbe interpreted as "the begin-
agoftheend.” It is these same in-
Hdualswho trivialize the harsh
iyoflife and downplay the is-
tsto a simple game of risk,
lo illustrate how easy it is to be-
le a member of the societal ig-
ant, the following situations and
ranees invite all readers to
ieachance, roll the dice and be-
Opinion Editor
James Francis
Junior English major
come informed on the
moronic events which
take place every day.
The first move is
free, so pull a card and
read it aloud.“Seven-
year-old girl raped and
slain by 18-year-old
high school student in
Nevada today — lose a
turn,” the card reads.
People know, or at
least they are becoming
Albert faces allegations of sodom
izing an unwilling female partici
pant. But one must also remem
ber the Bill Clinton-Paula Jones
story, along with drawn-out talks
over a certain sports figure whose
name brings refreshment to
breakfast foods. Even further
back, people must question if
famed game-show host Bob Bark
er started this whole trend of men
All of America knows that De-
generes and Heche are a dating
Hollywood couple. What some
people find disturbing is the fact
that these two individuals are
women and say that they find
themselves in love with one an
other. But this doesn’t represent
the big picture. More people are
worried that the careers of both
women will plummet into the
sexuals and all other kinds of
people who can be classified in
the ever-growing categories of
sexuality. Whatever an individual
chooses to do with his or her life
should be a one-sided choice —
public opinion and scrutiny
should not make a difference.
Player No. 2 fell into “The Pit of
Talk-Show Hell,” so Player No. 1
goes on to win the game, landing
fried every ounce of vitality
from their bodies. Even more
disturbing aspects of the execu
tions were the joyous reactions
people exulted when the gov
ernment attempted to execute
four criminals in four days.
In the end, life goes on and
people will be people, but this
doesn’t have to be the opinion of
every American in existence to-
<7^
increasingly aware, that rape
and murder occur in the
United States’ society
too often. But when
an incident takes
place, such as the
abuse and slaying
of Sherrice Iver
son, whose fa
ther Leroy
was busy
gambling in
a casino out
side Las Vegas, citi
zens of this “great na
tion” must question the
morals and mental psycholo
gies of the people involved.
The blame cannot be fully
placed on the accused murderer,
Jeremy Strohmeyer. Certainly, a
father with a child has no busi
ness gambling the night away
while his daughter wanders off
to a hotel restroom by herself. It
is a situation such as this one
which places everyone on the
path to destruction.
The dice read five and
player No. 2 enters the game,
landing on “Misconduct of
the Rich and Famous.”
Kathy Lee Gifford’s husband
Frank stands accused of mari
tal infidelity. Sports icon Marv
and women
in the public eye
whose lives are not
as picture perfect
as they seem from
the outside view.
When people take
these instances to the
extreme, they need to
remember that indi
viduals who have their
own game shows, run
sports programs or over
see the governing of an en
tire country are human first. It’s
sad that a report on the conduct
of marriage between Kathy Lee
and Frank would be a front page
story, thereby replacing the cov
erage of a girl’s untimely death.
Player No. 1 gains control of the
game by rolling a five with the dice.
A card is pulled and its title reads,
“Ellen Degeneres and Anne Heche
reveal lesbian love affair.”
Well, the word is out (literally).
'■S*.
abyss of
names long
forgotten. An
Entertainment Weekly
article went so far as to say that
Heche will no longer be a believ
able actress in roles that pertain
to heterosexual women. The
overall scope is: there are hetero
sexual people, bisexuals, homo-
on “Execution Square.”
Three people were murdered in
three days under Texas govern
ment. Although these individuals
committed crimes deserving of
punishment and prison time, no
one can overlook the fact that
Texas government had these peo
ple executed. Some individuals
who heard of the executions
cheered on the government in its
aim to rid the public of undesir
ables. What many of these same
people don’t understand is that the
prisoners who were executed are a
part of society as well. There can
never be total good without a
crack of evil and vice versa.
Texas government did not
put these individuals to
sleep (as animals are "lov
ingly” laid to rest) —
the government
^>7
day. Citi
zens must
reach within
themselves to
push away the
“easy-outs” of so
cietal mentalities. If
one person opens
his or her eyes to
what’s truly going on
in the world of today,
that’s one less indi
vidual blinded to the
hidden truth.
Game Over.
as?/—
inority philosopher examines race-relations for the future
| sthe century draws to a
U close, many people will
Ilook ahead in awe at the
years. The year 2000 is
peyears away, but this time
ssewon’tstop the guess-
'•kabout what advance-
tntssociety and civilization
^[accomplish,
bthe midst of all this
ithsaying, there is some-
Jigto be resolved — how
^century America will be viewed,
eevaluation process concerning
Juries is still a bit complex and con-
'iiig. In fact, it may take an additional
%yto pick the appropriate label,
fcreany new books hit the shelves, a
Softhe century author already pro-
itda paradigm.
’Ihe problem of the twentieth cen-
Columnist
tury is the color line,” W.E.B.
DuBois said in his book “The
Souls of Black Folk.” The for
mer NAACP chairman did
not live to see the culmina
tion of the Civil Rights move
ment, or many other ad
vancements Americans have
made against discrimina
tion. But a quick glance
through the pages of history
between 1900 and 1997 seem
to confirm DuBois’ thesis.
There have been many great ad
vances in civil rights by courageous
men and women throughout the centu
ry. The amount of progress made is very
significant — especially in the way col
or plays a role in today’s society.
Humans are color-driven animals.
On a daily basis, the color of clothing,
Stephen llano
Senior history major
signs, food and traffic signals govern
the actions of people from one moment
to the next. The color of someone’s skin
is always noticed.
But humans can provide more than
a Pavlovian response to stimuli. Color
is only what society, in other words
people, make of it. To realize that only
a few individuals have dared to step
across the color line is to realize pub
lic failure — anyone who calls him or
herself an American and a lover of lib
erty should be crusading for the cause
of civil rights.
Students at Texas A&M have no
right to point fingers at other individu
als of this country.
This is the part where readers shake
their heads. “Not again,” he or she says.
"This liberal columnist wants there to
be a problem to complain about.”
But A&M has more than a relatively
simple color line — A&M has a color
wall. There is hardly any form of inter
action between races on campus. The
very fact that minority students are not
readily visible at University functions
constitutes a race problem. “Race prob
lem” doesn’t mean “lynching” or “riots.”
It can be as simple as secluding oneself
in comfortable racial surroundings.
Separation of races at A&M affects
each and every student. America has a
history that recently draws on diversity
as one of the key strengths for advance
ment. If centers of higher learning such
as A&M are turning into racial enclaves
that do not interact, the question of
what the future holds is uncertain. Per
haps the color line moves off farther
than this century.
But people must realize there is
time left for redemption. The problem
with this century might be the color
line, but the cure is relatively simple:
there needs to be more interaction.
Because minorities are by definition a
smaller group of people means the
challenge of diversity is by definition a
great challenge. The difficulty in
stretching comfort zones and reaching
out is great, but it is attainable. The
cost of allowing people to grow and
develop without knowing how other
human beings live is a breeding
ground for racial animosity.
There are three years remaining to
see if DuBois was entirely right. But
instead of worrying about the past
which that cannot be changed, soci
ety must turn its attention to a future
century to be written the way we as a
people see fit.
3mpus Voice
Photograph.- Tim Moog
Action to the Student
Center summer policy:
^ Student workers
support the
diversity should be
t to have access to
facilities.”
Heather Kinder
Urban planning
graduate student
latest news on this
doping story, see:
/bat-web.tamu.edu
Mali. Call
Advertising portrays
women in false light
In response to Mandy Cater’s June
3 column on sexist advertising:
Women are misrepresented in
the popular media. However, the
viewing public should be able to
see through the charade by com
paring the images to the reality
of the (real-life) women they
know (including themselves).
If women are happy with
themselves, then advertising
images lose their desired ef
fect. Advertising is like religion
— it only works if you believe
it does. Advertisers are merely
exploiting (some) women’s
self-image insecurities for
monetary gain. If such insecu
rities did not exist, then im
age-based advertising would
be fruitless.
Advertising images them
selves are false. Cindy Craw
ford’s famous mole was air-
brushed out of her ads for
several years early in her career.
And as for those bikini models:
take away their fake breasts and
what is left — normally-en
dowed, beautiful women in biki
nis with self-image insecurities.
The same argument applies to
male-based advertising (i.e.
drink beer & get the girls). Male
insecurities also are exploited
for gain (e.g. is your hair going
gray/falling out?).
The result will always be the
same: content individuals will
not be swayed by advertising.
The bottom line is there are
two kinds of people in this
world: suckers and lollipops.
Be a lollipop.
Bradley Peikert
Graduate Student
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