om Page Wednesday • October 15, 1997 O The Battalion PINION elcome to Hicktown, U.S.A. Mick-o-phobia displays insensitivity toward diversified cultures, belief systems John Lemons columnist Iver Cliff or the secom 1 Colorado !5 for the fits; Buffaloes Ik: :onsecutive Mebraska. ach RickNi n is in dire iw as wefiaitlk fter Scholas- since I amvdL\ tic Proba- tisel said. TL JLtion, Cultur ing to begla:il Insensitivity is ■ are goingtojafcily the last out of it.’’ ihrase many Ag- 1 Is want to hear, icky Willitvlany Texas A&:M reshmannii|tU(lents are sim- iams rushetDly fed up with the ng theRedMubject. Yet, try as 7. Williams hey may, Aggies st lOO-yard^an not go on ig- hroughwhaoring the cultural lyhawksdefitensions that persist on campus, no relation:®nterestingly, one of campus’ lliams) is digest cultural insensitivity prob- in theBigl.ems also happens to be its least rec- carries,a!)gmzed problem. Amazingly, Aggies average, ail to recognize the persistent prob- em of hick-o-phobia at Texas A&M. e Week "or those readers who may be unfa- kM (5-0,2(niliar with the term hick-o-phobia, it te (4-1,1-1)4 [ear, prejudice or insensitivity per- aining to hicks. e the biggestlio better understand the problem leAggiesibfhick-o-phobia, however, it will be 16thinthe:4seful to examine the perspective of a ies’ newfoiraick-o-phobe. ^nd Michael ®Consider Mitch, a typical Aggie. Icats’athles VIitch attends classes, makes good give the 'Wiflrades and does not consider himself moon. Sensitive. Mitch does not dislike Wildcats caiiks, but sometimes he is uncomfort- in a thrileiible around them. After all, he might ting K-State nistakenly say something offensive id, theAggiejr(bund a hick. For example, Mitch ted secondlaiight say something disparaging nt of64,15oibput professional wrestling or breech M trailing! thick stereotype, like the myth that all t theKSlh-iubks can drive a combine, lute remaiiEjlOne day Mitch is reading The Bat- nndon Steralfion before class. Mitch reads a Mail- cross the miiall letter from a student who is corn- yard line J plaining about insensitive remarks he breakfreefcaehrd about hicks around campus. 11 was strippclMitch thinks to himself, “Oh, get ildcats retwpver it. Why do hicks have to be so michy about every little comment nade about them. You can’t even tell a 2-1) atCoteoke about hicks anymore.” som Field jMitch does know a couple of funny could maM i for Colcrij the polls lot years after es to Big 12 c; oes are i e duringboit A merica has become a is just two if. j ZA nation which feels, I-A opponec JL Arather than thinks, and [ualify fora! compassion is now the driving r games - force behind society. With vot- s, Missouri ! ers dumbed down by daytime esent the talk shows, amoral pop cul- egitimatest cure and an intellectually hol- year. Thef ow media more concerned ason at Kate about Cher’s new boyfriend st the natior than life-affecting legislation, l Cornhuslf fact and logic are swept aside ; not a cuptt when emotion and sensation- ayhawks® alism are injected into debate. 12 and 1# While the Democratic Party’s 1996 “MediScare” al defense,fi campaign is a good example of emotion being put ado offense ahead of fact, California’s Proposition 215, the “med- ill. Pcinal marijuana” initiative, may be the consum mate example of bitter legislation sugar-coated with hick jokes, but he would never say them in front of an actual hick. Mitch sits and thinks about the letter, and it annoys him. He wonders why hicks can’t be more like normal students, which Mitch considers himself to be. Hicks always seem to be wearing cowboy hats and boots. Sometimes the glare from their oversized belt-buckles is so bright, Mitch has trouble telling one hick from another. Mitch does not stop to think what it might be like for hicks who often find themselves being the only hick in a class. He fails to consider that it might be alienating for a hick to be the only person in a lecture who raises chickens and chews tobacco. While he is on the subject, Mitch wonders why so many hicks insist on being called Country-Americans. Mitch thinks everyone should consider themselves Americans, first and fore most — anything else is unpatriotic. He refuses to understand the fact that some people believe their heritage is as important as their nationality. In his mind, though, Mitch justifies his annoyance with hicks by convinc ing himself he isn’t prejudiced. After all, Mitch has a hick friend, Jethro. Well, Jethro is actually more of an ac quaintance, but Mitch went over to his house once. Mitch saw the rusting car mounted on cinder-blocks in Jethro’s front yard. He even played fetch with Flash, Jethro’s three-legged hound dog. Later, Mitch rode home in Jethro’s John Deer Green pick-up truck complete with gun rack and National Rifle Associa tion bumper sticker. Mitch does feel a little guilty, be cause he does not know more hicks. Nonetheless, he thinks it is under standable because he has little in com mon with hicks. Hicks seem to love their infernal country music, and Mitch can’t fathom the idea of enjoying line dancing. Moreover, Mitch has never lived on a farm, milked a cow or artificially inseminated a bull. Besides, Mitch already believes he knows what most hicks are like, as he has seen them on TV. Mitch watches his fair share of “The Dukes of Haz ard,” and knows that like Cooler, most hicks are friendly and pretty good car mechanics. Well, it is time for class to start, and Mitch does not have the luxury of thinking about hicks all day long. Any way, he has already made up his mind on the subject. Although, Mitch wishes that relations between hicks and other students could be better, he believes there is nothing he can do about it. Tragically, hick-o-phobia persists because like Mitch, many students have made up their minds, and refuse to consider any perspective other than their own. When students begin to sin cerely make attempts to understand cultures that are different than there own, only then will the ugly problem of hick-o-phobia will be defeated. After all, nobody is born a hick-o- phobe. John Lemons is an electrical engineering graduate student. marijuana proves bad political manipulations Donny Ferguson columnist ? Burch ism manufactured compassion. lunicatioM After weeks of bombardment by TV images of eary-eyed cancer patients and weeping senior citi- LJTIFUl* Izens and accusations by stoners that opponents TEM * EG wanted to “throw sick and dying people in prison,” ‘alifornia voter’s reacted to the $1 million pro-pot ampaign (funded, not by concerned citizens, but y sympathetic tycoons on the advice of “spiritual eader” Baba Ram Dass) by passing Proposition 215. Fortunately, the Clinton Administration, in a rare isplay of decisiveness and action, blocked the im- lementation of Proposition 215 and a similar Ari zona initiative. The House of Representative’s Judi ciary Committee’s Subcommittee on the Constitu tion recently hear testimony on medicinal marijua na and government action is expected soon. Were California voters convinced by mountains of scientific evidence proving pot’s positive medici nal effects? Were they swayed by endorsement from doctor’s groups and health organizations? Hardly. Marijuana’s positive health effects, if any, have yet to be proven by a major health organization and the legalization of pot for medicinal purposes is op posed by every major doctor’s organization, law en forcement association and drug education group. When asked why he supported Proposition 215, San Francisco District Attorney Terence Hallman's response mirrored that of California voters, emo tionally-provoked and intellectually empty. “I don’t want to send cancer patients to jail for using mari juana.” Despite the hype, sensationalism and phony compassion generated by pro-pot advocates, legal ized marijuana is bad medicine. Marijuana’s active ingredient, tetrahydracannibol or THC, is already legally available in a synthetic pill form. Marinol alleviates the pain of a crippling ill ness and helps the seriously ill deal with disease. “For some people, it makes them feel better. It re lieves some of the effects of the disease or chemotherapy, “ cancer specialist Rex Greene said. If Marinol is not effective enough, doctors can pre scribe, other, more powerful, drugs such as codeine or morphine. The National Institute of Health conducted an ex tensive 1992 study into marijuana’s medicinal use and concluded that smoking pot is not a safe or more effective treatment than Marinol or other FDA-approved drugs. With THC and other drugs already legally avail able, the legalization of pot for “medicinal” use is unnecessary and dangerous. The American Cancer Society firmly states, “(We) see no reason to support the legalization of marijuana for medical use,” and it “does not believe that the results of clinical investi gation warrant legislation decontrolling marijuana." According to the National Cancer Institute, “inhaling marijuana smoke is a health hazard,” due to “more than 400 cancer causing agents.” No major doctor’s group, law enforcement agency and drug education organization backs mar ijuana’s medicinal use and the American Medical Association, the American Cancer Society, the Na tional Multiple Sclerosis Society and the American Glaucoma Society all oppose smoking weed for medical purposes. Clearly, “medicinal marijuana” is unnecessary and dangerous. Under medicinal marijuana legislation like Proposition 215, marijuana’s medicinal use would be unregulated and virtually unchecked. There are no regulation as to the quality, purity and strength of the drugs, no written prescription is needed, just a doctor’s “oral recommendation,” As Proposition 215 notes, marijuana could be used for “any other illness for which marijuana provides relief,” mean ing marijuana could be used for a headache, “de pression” caused by boredom, a upset stomach or just about anything. Under this legislation, pot could be smoked in public, in the workplace, at church or in schools. Even children could legally grow, possess and smoke marijuana. Proposition 215’s intentionally vague wording opens the door for widespread marijuana abuse and eventual legalization. As pro-pot groups like NORML (National Organization For the Reform of Marijuana Laws) proclaims, the passage of medi cinal marijuana is the first step in their campaign to legalize illegal and dangerous drugs. Swayed by emotionally charged, well-funded TV ads, California voters approved bad legislation. THC is legally available, pot smoking has no posi tive health effects and its legalization for “medici nal” use sends the wrong message to children that marijuana is safe. The pro-marijuana legalization crowd, unable to impose their will through our democratic govern ment, have manipulated the initiative-and referen dum system to sneak a stealth pot-legalization plan past California voters. The “Legalize It!” fringe shamelessly exploited the sick and dying in their quest to legalize marijuana. Medicinal marijuana is bad medicine and is simply a symptom of a much larger drug legalization disease. Donny Ferguson is a junior political science major. lired” Compi' nships” - one; : hip programs ! sales compf' ;t r year, Increas!') rs. In fact, 2® ts earned ovt' )r ‘97 graduate ion (512) 327^ !I0) 490-313) 1) 583-4330 DCTERfWE If tlfe#N6 Witt Hold oxygen on nm Nlllfe lDc(^/ich tvijmmmmm f>ET£fcN\m£ r tin mi WRAPPED AROJNP COA1HAHSER jysAKES A eoco ANTBNNA mahOct II Girts II Boys DmenBoiH iris oys I Girls I Boys n MS Girls MS Bovs Free IF, FXERtlSE pecxkle Qt»