'he Battalion
o
PINION
Page 13 • Friday, April 16, 1999
By any means necessary’
legacy of Malcolm X should be remembered as America works towards racial equality
merica has its
H fair share of
. Vsuccess stories,
ulling one’s self up
y their bootstraps is
wered in this coun-
y. It is the Ameri-
m way. When peo-
le rise from the pits
f society, they are
warded and re-
Christian
ROBBINS
reeled for their journey towards suc-
rssjand considered heroes.
EWhen a man transforms himself
pm a hustler, drug-addict, and convict
pth a seventh grade education to a
—ol pride and equality, he should
celebrated as a great American hero.
Jhis is not the case with Malcolm X.
^^^Bough he only had a seventh grade
■ation and his primary public
^Bing experience came from a
^Bn debate team, he rose to bee ome
nelf the greatest civil rights leaders
ndlspoke to standing room only audi-
nces at Harvard, Yale and other fine
tstftutions. At one point is his career,
e was the most sought after speaker in
ie ilnited States.
So why is it that 34 years after his
eath, he is still called a racist and
ighlv criticized for his positions? It is
ecause his message still rings as true
iday as it did 34 years ago and the
luni realities that he uncovered still
:are many Americans.
| WIii'n people hear the famous
hrase “by any means necessary,” they
^ !0 P est nmcdiately recall Malcolm X and they
sualiy assume that his message was
Vuwwul nejbf violence, yet Malcolm X stated,
’iitsw.c you should never attack, anybody. But
I Be same time whenever you, your-
;lf, are attacked . . . Make it even
iV SCHh ^ ^ m S°^ n 8 to b e nonviolent.
i jump co
n's Track
dieldtw
wal.'
hleies w
Be in-
ten let them be nonviolent
i has stoi dligent.”
irrest,anc Malcolm X believed that African-
an ''asset rnericans were entitled to basic hu-
aan lights and should not beg the gov-
i also end: rnment or Caucasian people to give
Am j (nv lem what was rightfully theirs.
iiuvfUfJ wonically, at a time when Caucasians
I tie hin )0 ^ out Iheir racial frustrations by
i,float, mching and brutally beating African-
jtnerican men, women and children,
lalcolm X was criticized for telling his
^^^jfeple to fight back. Back then, urging
^3®Zfrican-Americans to defend them-
elvt s against senseless violence was a
adical message and sadly this senti-
V ! lent still rings true.
. Even today, when the Rodney King
.Jgl eating is mentioned, someone will at-
rt ?mpt to justify this injustice by argu-
lg [hat Rodney King should not have
l iy0f|' fied to fight back, or that Americans
did not see the whole tape — basically
any possible excuse would suffice to
justify the excessive force that African-
Americans have endured at the hand of
caucdsians for years.
Malcolm X was not just criticized for
his position on action, but also his po
sition on separatism. In the ’60s, inte
gration became the battle cry for
African-Americans and many liberal
Caucasians, but Malcolm X did not
agree. Why? He saw people forget the
main problem with “separate but
equal” was not facilities being separate,
but with them being unequal. So when
Malcolm X pointed out that African-
Americans should not jump at the
chance to patronize Caucasian estab
lishments, he was criticized.
In actuality, his prediction that inte
gration would cause the downfall of
many African-Americans business was
correct. Odell Hairston, African-Ameri
cans business owner before integration.
J.P. BEATO/The Battalion
states, “Well, my business started going
under during integration ... I suppose it
was glamorous to eat on the Caucasian
side of town. The food was the same, I
got the same movies, but I don’t really
think we were as welcomed there, but
you know, everyone wondered what it
would be like.”
Malcolm X believed that if African-
Americans could control their own gov
ernment and business, they would be
successful. Intelligent Caucasians in the
’60s knew this was true. They only had
to examine how far African-Americans
had come since slavery despite all the
adversity, violence, disenfranchise
ment, and inequality they had faced.
What does this have to do with the
present? Well, Caucasians see this
progress again. It has been over 30
years since the pinnacle of the civil
rights movement and though segrega
tion is still not complete, African-Amer
icans have soared over obstacles, shat
tered glass ceilings and earned political
power.
It is hard to imagine the days of sep
arate water fountains, grandfather
clauses and unpunished lynchings. The
success of the African-American com
munity in such a relatively short period
of time collectively scares Caucasian
America, but now there is no Malcolm
X to criticize.
Instead, they try to take away all of
the tools that have been put in place to
give African-Americans equality. In
neighborhoods, it appears that when
the population becomes more than 10
percent African-American, Caucasian
people move away.
In the workplace, they complain that
underqualified African-Americans are
stealing their jobs and being hired the
the name of silly old diversity.
And in schools where the population
is less the 6 percent African-Americans,
urban legends are created about Cau
casian students with 4.0 G.P.A’s and
perfect S.A.T. scores who were rejected
because sub-standard African-Ameri
cans students took their places.
Malcolm X stated, “All we need is
African-Americans people who believe
in the brotherhood of man.”
African-Americans power focuses on
African-Americans and the accomplish
ments of African-Americans.
Malcolm X was a extraordinary ora
tor and leader. He inspired pride in his
people and should be respected as a
American hero because of his climb
from the slums of Detroit to one of the
most visible civil rights leaders in the
country. America boasts aboq_t being
the land of equality and justice, but
even today African-Americans do not
have the human rights guaranteed to
them under the law.
Americans live in a society where
there is discrimination in wages, the
criminal justice system and education.
When some look at the societal incon
sistencies, they wish that another Mal
colm X would come along and open
our eyes to the truths of the present.
Christian Robbins is a junior speech
communications major.
^United States needs to take Russian interests
Seriously, should not underestimate threat
jispla'
MAIL CALL
RICES
n the past year, the
United States and its al
lies have often stomped
nj the toes of the Russian
ear with surprising un-
oncern. Still intoxicated
Western victory in the
Told War, no one seems to
ptaking Moscow serious- Caleb
I anymore, an attitude MCDANIEL
hssians are beginning to
gird with bitter resentment.
n
• 69 ’' 1 tu
sarf#*
■ 111 In the most recent conflict in Kosovo be-
ween the Great Bear and its old nemesis,
__ 4ATO. this resentment has threatened to turn
ato violence, as Serbian sympathizers in Boris
rPd^lfin’s splintering government have aroused
1 larming anti-Western sentiments in Russia.
.|!(|''he American embassy in Moscow has been
■OUl^ombarded with angry protest, and as a New
• /or/c Times headline blared earlier this week,
ML Hostility to U.S. is Now Popular in Moscow.”
The blame for this precarious diplomatic
ituation lies largely on the doorstep of the
Vhite House, where President Clinton has
" ince again proven his unique ability to turn
lerations for peace into occasions of pugnac-
- n udy. Unless the West wants Russian relations to
_ prov ink into another deep freeze, President Clin-
EOlWfnpnd NATO must finally start to treat the
' de$i^^ uss ' an b ear as ^ its opinion mattered.
They will have to begin by rebuilding sev-
Tal bridges that have already been burned.
;—;AjditNATO has already made Russian nationalists
m jcHejsgdervous by its expansion into the former Sovi-
—jheodcf client states of Poland, the Czech Republic
—^ques 'Tnd Hungary, which has brought the old bas-
ion of Western liberal democracies to Russia’s
wn border. The senseless exclusion of Russia
torn this expansion enraged Moscow and de-
ivered a major blow to diplomatic relations
yith the West.
:|T1h' next blow came over the now all too
, i.amiliar skies of Iraq. Russian opposition to air
Ptrites against Saddam Hussein earlier this
ear was flippantly disregarded by U.S. De-
US
partment of State officials. At first, the vocal
Russian dissent was all but ignored by hawk
ish American diplomats, and when the Russ
ian disagreement was addressed, it was not
with a conciliatory explanation of Western
reasoning or a friendly agreement to disagree.
Instead, the Russian protest was greeted
quite bluntly with indifference. The Russians,
Westerners were told by their diplomats in no
uncertain terms, are harmless — all bark and
no bite. So the jilted Russians barked even
louder.
Now some Russians appear ready to bite.
Russian nationalists have ancient cultural ties
to ethnic Slavs, as well as an uncomfortable
feeling that problematic breakaway move
ments like the one in Kosovo are all too close
to home. (Think Chechnya.)
After firing blustery rhetoric at NATO at
the beginning of its air campaign against Slo
bodan Milosevic, Moscow has begun to take
some ominous actions.
A flotilla of Russian ships has been dis
patched to the Adriatic Sea for a “routine”
naval exercise.
Earlier this week, panic erupted for a few
hours when a leader in the Communist Party
claimed — falsely, as it turned out — that Rus
sia had aimed its nuclear missiles at the Unit
ed States.
President Yeltsin, caught politically be
tween the need to strike a deal with the West
for more financial aid and the need to appease
a Communist-controlled legislature, has vacil
lated on the crisis.
But the latest word from the Kremlin is a
thinly veiled threat that any ground troops in
Kosovo would be met with active resistance
from the Russian military.
Apparently, the more American officials
have tried to make Russia look like a silly old
bear, the less like Winnie the Pooh it has be
come.
Lest the Western diplomatic corps fall once
again under the delusion that Russia is just
doing some harmless spouting off, they
should consider a few facts.
First, the generally pro-Western Boris
Yeltsin is on his last legs, physically and politi
cally. The Russian President’s ailing health
seems to worsen daily, and this might not be a
major cause for concern if there were a pro-
Democracy successor waiting in the wings.
There is not. Instead, the resurgent Com
munist Party is chomping at the bit for the
reins of power, and they have widespread
public support. Although they have not yet
succeeded, they have been trying diligently to
impeach President Yeltsin. Clearly, Yeltsin is
up against the ropes, and there is no telling
what desperate attempts he might make to
muscle his way back into political favor.
Secondly, the stakes involved in these dan
gerous conditions are high. Americans have
been given the false impression that because
the Cold War is over, the threat of nuclear cat
astrophe is gone, too.
This is far from the truth. Russia still has
thousands of perfectly active nuclear war
heads, and its Parliament has yet to ratify the
START II non-proliferation treaty negotiated
years ago with the United States. The likeli
hood that the treaty will be signed, of course,
decreases the more that Communist-spon
sored anti-Americanism increases.
And these are serious potentialities indeed.
Russia is definitely not a pushover, and it
cannot be ignored by Secretary of State Made
line Albright and company. The more it is
treated like a non-player in world affairs, the
more it wants to play.
Before President Clinton botches his mis
sion in Kosovo by destroying Russo-American
relations indefinitely, his administration must
wise up to these concerns. If the United States
intends to be the world’s last Boy Scout, it
should at least remember a lesson that every
scout learns even before he can tie his shoes:
never tease the bears.
Caleb McDaniel is a sophomore
history major.
Corps practices
not out of ordinary
In response to Lesley Haddella’s
Apr 14 mail call.
I was very interested to read a
comment by Lesley Haddella that
Corps members are harassed into
voting for the Corps. Now Lesley, I
love you, but I have to disagree.
Corps members are encouraged
to vote Corps just as frat mem
bers are encouraged to vote frat.
As a member of an organization
you are expected to support those
in the organization. Some individu
als may not, because they have the
courage to stand up against the
crowd, if they feel the need to.
The Corps of Cadets is an orga
nization, like any other on cam
pus, and members of organiza
tions support each other,
especially in elections. So for
once, let us quit dismissing the
Corps for doing what is a common
practice among all organizations.
After all, is it any different than
looking down on the Democratic
National Convention because they
expect their members to vote the
democratic ticket?
Jerilyn Gragg
Class of ’01
Corps practices
not out of ordinary
In response to Michael Palmer’s
Apr. 14 mail call.
Protecting their country? How,
Michael can you believe something
like this. But wait, if you think
protesting your country means mur
dering innocent civilians to rid Ser
bia of ethnic Albanians then you
might be on the right track to under
standing “protection."
The truth of the matter is that
the Balkan region continues to
destabilize the eastern Europe,
and by implying that Slobodan
Milosevic is doing some sort of
moral deed for his country is an
atrocity in itself.
NATO (i.e. The United States) is
the one protecting here. The
strikes against Serbia have limited
their military capability, and is
slowly forcing Milosevic to rethink
his whole idea of ethnic cleansing.
A half-million Albanians have been
driven out of Kosovo due to their
religion. You forgot to mention
that. Oh, I forgot. That is Slobo
dan's “protection” for his country
and people. Protection from what?
It disturbs me that you should
bring up the train incident. War is
a nasty business, and accidents
do happen. Please take into ac
count the fact that NATO has
flown over 5,000 missions, and
over 1,500 of them have been
live-fire cases. Not every weapon
that we fire is foolproof.
I am not belittling your defense
for the Serbians, if in fact that is
where you stand on the matter. I
am, however, going to say that
most of your statements had no
substance, and please inform
yourself on a subject before you
publish your beliefs.
Jonathan Reid
Class of ’02
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