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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (July 1, 1997)
iiesday - July 1, 1997 O The Battalion _'PINI n the road to forgiveness n apologetic president speaks out to heal race relations liles id. “II well [now :overe :p. ouraei ■rs am ?r rthe Columnist Stephen Llano Senior history major president Clinton gets his way, he may Lgodown in history Jtlieretroapologetic, nerican president. Clinton’s address to estudents of the ai liversity of Califo rnia San Diego sparked | iticism and praise, siting what Clinton iped to be a national cuson race relations. But the majority of the discussion took ace on talk shows and newspaper edito- sls—not exactly an all-inclusive start, ecially when the places where discus- mis needed most received no signifi- itdiscussion whatsoever. After United States Representative Tony introduced legislation to issue a for- Al alapology for slavery, Clinton was quick embrace it. Apologizing must be on the forefront of leClinton domestic agenda. Last month, inton apologized on behalf of the U. S. ^ lAfrican-Americans who unknowingly (reused in the Tuskegee Syphilis Study, (awarded seven African-American sol- ^jjerswho fought in World War II the Mai of Honor — better late than never. an official apology for slavery is imewhat backward. In fact, it could be msidered a form of dodging the real is- ic. As Calvin from the cartoon strip alvin& Hobbes once quipped, “It’s easi- toask for forgiveness than permission.” S ntHall thinks otherwise. “When you’ve hurt somebody, nothing ilvesthe problem at first like a good, old- ishioned apology. If you don’t say that, lewhole issue just lingers and lingers,” isaid in an Associated Press report. ’s solution might work well if the lihad broken the neighbor’s window rithastray baseball. It’s a nice gesture to rinvotes from his district, but his solu- ionwilldo little to settle deep mistrust id sometimes hatred African-Ameri- ansandwhites can sometimes feel to- _ jffatd each other. > n Aaapology for wrongdoing is a start on ttmaYm^hmgs better in most cases, but it ^finust be a heartfelt and sincere apology. I Slavery continues to be an issue that runs wperthan one government or one per son. It is a pervasive element deeply root ed in the shameful consciousness of the entire country. A piece of paper with Clin ton’s signature and the seal of the U.S. gov ernment is not sincere enough. The fact that many Americans are angered or con fused over this legislation signals a lack of sincerity from the very beginning. Perhaps Clinton has a better grasp on what this legislation means than Hall. “I think this has to be dealt with,” Clinton said. “There’s still some unfin- Graphic: Brad Graeber ished business out there among black and white Americans.” At least Clinton understands the issue is more important than a two-bit “we’re sorry.” The apology is what Clinton wants. He loves apologizing for things he took no part in causing — it makes the country think progress is being made. But in this case, the apology is too little, too late. The institution of slavery passed down volumes of supposedly scientific evi dence and research which proved African-Americans to be an inferior race to whites. Even Thomas Jefferson con tributed to the myth that whites were su perior to African-Americans. At the time, however, this evidence was believed to be the best — and belief, no matter how old, tends to die hard. Many white Americans feel so direct ly separated from slavery that they feel no responsibility. More than ever, peo ple remark that slavery should be some thing to just “get over,” like a common cold. African-Americans are separated just as distant from the situation as whites, but the societal inheritance of an institutionalized inferiority cannot help but pervade popular culture in television, magazines and attitudes. Over 200 years of institutionalized dis trust and disrespect cannot be reversed by one Washington lawmaker. Clinton, whether he comes to be known as retroapologetic or not, might be a little smarter than we are when it comes to supporting this policy. He wanted na tional discussion and debate — just look at what the nation is discussing. It is the first step on a long road, but maybe the rest of the country can take a clue from a very instructional pamphlet published right here on campus. Jointly published by the Student Conflict Resolu tion Center and Multicultural Services, the pamphlet is entitled “Cultivating Campus Community,” and it provides five things everyone should do to prevent dis crimination and race problems: “Educate yourself, talk about things, con centrate on what you have in common with people who are different from you, partic ipate in multicultural events and remember that it takes time to break old habits.” This sounds like a good formula to set the nation on the right track, too. ! Reading between the lines Negative attitudes concerning skin-color lead to ignorant beliefs t la ' IGrfi po' 1 Columnist acism is harmful. Ime K No one with two working brain lenilllscan deny it. Every- ads ling that a member of a linority group dislikes, iwever, is not racist. Too often, though, osaiatisnot how it ap art ears. In this society, se icism is one of the e® lost serious charges Mean be made lerisifainst a person. The mere sug- stionthat someone is a racist eiflttndo incredible damage to his rher reputation. People need to (careful about throwing around ilsterm and try to remember siti|at everything is not racist. One fairly common remark is gai owitis racist that there are so rat any country music-oriented es- md blishments in Bryan-College ation.This is a complete load of Ion i (itya M C, Chris Brooks Senior physio major ... manure. Not all white people like country music — some even be lieve that “country mu sic” is an oxymoron. It is not unbelievable, ei ther, that some minori ties like country music. The prevalence of country music bars and the like in this University- centered area is a simple matter of economics. The clientele supports the number of country music bars here. If there were not enough pa trons, some or all of these estab lishments would close down — this explains the relative scarcity of non-country bars, radio sta tions and restaurants. Another occasion on which mi norities tend to cry racism is the move to end affirmative action. In the beginning, affirmative action — perhaps even true quo tas — was necessary. Nature hates change as much as it is dri ven toward it, so a little prodding was required to get people to change the system to which they had become accustomed. Every day, old racists die, but they are not all replaced by new ones. Children who are raised by racist parents find it harder to support those prejudices everyday they are surrounded by minorities who do not fit their own stereotypes. Because nature resists change, an object in motions tends to stay in motion — meaning the change that has started will continue. Also, sadly, as long as affirmative action exists, there always will be people who have to defend themselves against the accusation, “You only got the job because you’re (insert color of your choice here).” Is affirmative action still neces sary? The Associated Press report ed that the University of Califor nia’s Boalt Hall Law School has seen an 81 percent decrease in African-American enrollment and a 50 percent decrease in Hispanic enrollment since the passage of Proposition 209. But the courts have blocked its implementation. And there is no way this universi ty’s administration is going to im plement that change voluntarily. Not all white people like country music — some even believe that ‘country music 5 is an oxymoron. The fact of the matter is that people have decided they need af firmative action to get anywhere — so the minorities have stopped applying. This mindset only can harm those who hold it. Removing the cause of this defeatist attitude only can help those people. That is the true test of whether something is racist. If an act is done for the purpose of harming a person because of his or her race, then it is a racist act. But if there are no Tejano bars because there is not enough business to keep one open, that is not racist. If something is done to help a group of people, it is definitely not racist. It does not matter if every member of every minority hates a certain policy or act; it should only be classified as racist if the policy in question was meant to hurt them. life LucfoftCh , WE Hope the SETTLEMENT WILL f>t KCCEPTEP AND ^ SNELL AU- BE SHIELDED TROfA fUT\)R& UH&ATION WHAT TOBACCO COMPANY APE YOU WITH l Mail Call Overlooking choices lead to infant deaths In response to Mandy Cater’s June 25 column: While the controversy sur rounding the teaching of sexual abstinence or education contin ues to be debated in the public arena, a more important issue should be addressed — the issue of choices. Sex education shouldn’t over shadow teaching teenagers about choices regarding sex and its consequences. Teaching ab stinence will work for some indi viduals, but for others it will not. The goal of families, schools, and other institutions should be to provide teenagers with the knowledge to make their own choices, and dealing with the consequences of that choice. I highly doubt that Melissa Drexler’s and Amy Grossberg’s decisions were made because “these teenagers felt their ... ac tions were the only solution." In case one wonders how I can criticize the actions and in tentions of others, it just so hap pens that I was in a similar situ ation myself. Two years ago I found myself pregnant and unmarried, except with one minor difference — I understood my choices. The decision I made to have my baby is not for everyone, but today I have a beautiful two- year-old girl who will one day thank me for choosing life over my own selfish needs. Angela C. Carpenter Class of’97 embodies stupidity Chris Brooks Columnist, Senior physics major to hate them. I need to ' be better than someone. It doesn’t really hurt anyone else. It just boosts my ego a little.” Prejudice has been around as long as people have existed. The most basic reason people hate others is because it makes them feel better about themselves. It is an immature, backward method of creating self-esteem, but through understanding why they are this way, these prejudiced in dividuals can see how to change. In “On the Functions of Stereo types and Prejudice,” Mark Sny der and Peter Miene said that there are three general functions of stereotypes. Some stereotypes help their holders to reduce the amount of “incoming informa tion to a manageable size,” creat ing a sense of predictability in the social world. Other prejudices help their holders fit in with their own social groups, adopting a group’s values to become a mem ber. The third form of prejudice is, arguably, the most deeply-rooted: making people feel better about themselves, and less threatened by other groups, by engaging in downward social comparison. The first two flavors of stereo typing easily are recognized and often grown out of... eventually. Generalizations about people who smoke or who wear- ties to class of ten are rooted in boredom as much as anything else. Once peo ple have something better to do, they grow up and learn to look past external trappings to sojne degree or another. At the college stage, however, few students have much else to do. So there are stereotypes against guys with long hair or people with body piercings. The second type of stereotyp ing is something of which Aggies often are accused. When a student arrives at Texas A&M, he or she is expected to develop an immediate and deep hatred for the students of “that small secular school down the road.” If it was just a school ri valry, it would not carry into the outside world after graduation as it often does. Another group often accused of this practice is the Corps of Cadets. It is widely be lieved that they hold many stereo types, and — whether or not they are true—a few rumored Corps prejudices quickly spring to mind. The Corps’ dislike of fraternities (but not sororities) comes to mind, as does its rumored disdain for female fellows. Again, these ar e stereotypes people hopefully will grow out of sooner or later. The last type of prejudice is quite possibly the most harmful, as it is the one which appeals the most to mankind’s base nature. Some individuals need to feel that they are better than others. Some people look at the lower grades of classmates and are satisfied, but those who do not have such an option often make up their own basis for superiority. Racial preju dices and sexual discrimination are prime examples. Friedrich Otto Hertz once said, “At the heart of racism is the... as sertion that God made a creative mistake when He brought some people into being.” Some people need to be so much better than others that they actually will con vince themselves that God did not mean to create “those people.” The most frightening example is the people in a certain region of Mexico who honestly believe their Indian neighbors cannot possibly go to heaven. Another phrase of ten heard is, “The smartest black man or woman of all time will al ways be less intelligent than the smartest white man of all time.” No one knows why people of different races need to hate each other or why men tend to need to feel superior to women. In the end it won’t be an apology for deeds done by men long dead that will change these things. Everyone needs to grow up. People need to outgrow their prej udices and see that Voltaire was correct when he said, “Prejudice is the reasoning of the stupid.”