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The Battalion
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Page 5 • Monday, August 2, 1999
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CYBERHATE
Racists use Websites to propagandize young people
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Beverly
MIRELES
he Internet is
more than
just an enter-
■iment-soaked
■traction. It is a
tool. An exception-
BL’ easy tool, es-
•pei i.)l:y for the
2l00 hate groups
Ht have sprung
up on the Web
slice 1990.
■These Websites support the links
that can make bigoted software, para
phernalia and countless manifestoes
available with the click of a mouse.
■The sites are exceedingly easy to
reach. If one wanted to find sites relat
ing to anything racial, it seems almost
certain that they would come across
Bbsites such as the World Church of
the Creator site, White Pride Network
or the homepage of the ironically
named National Association for the
Advancement of White People.
Bpor those with a commitment to
spreading hatred and intolerance, Web
sites are easy to acquire and easier to
Kintain.
B Positive things about the “informa
tion superhighway,” such as accessibil
ity and its low cost, have taken a decid-
ledlv ugly turn on the Internet, where
hite groups have used the Web’s ac-
Icessibility to reach out to not only chil
dren but the youthful and educated.
■ Much has been made of the obvious
attempt to target children by hate
groups. Kids are malleable, and unfor
tunately, it does not take much con
vincing to teach a kid that he is superi
or to people that are different.
B However, there are ways to fight
back. For parents, there are “Hate Fil-
tas” supported by the Anti-Defama
tion League that can block certain
marked hate group sites.
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km season s University of Minnesota.
Clifton Cook
rM MINNEAPOLIS. Minn. — The
Nun: HIT- H,iuse Passed Friday a tax-cut
■hoMrslupsiibfPPP^^f 0,1 y he P'°jePted
ie departed pli'| d ®J' a ^ uc *6 et surplus,
from Brown's! Tl \ e proposal however, is ill-
tis formerco t,med ancl based upon unsound
itely college £ economic .P oli cy- -
aess ’’ McFalb Assuming the economy con-
g more and tinues t0 g row - the Projected gov-
ously there is: ernm e n t surplus will total $2.9
ut there areur ^^ 01 " 1 over the next decade,
ons. The quesi Rather than cutting taxes,
me of the cor there are a few more pertinent
p 5 es t interest uses for the anticipated surplus,
such as the solvency of
Medicare and Social Security
and the reduction of the national
Hebt.
If Funds for Medicare and So
cial Security are quickly being
ved commit d(J P |e1:ed b y the demands of ag-
her forwards 'hg baby boomers.
Brown, a irf' The national debt, which is
transfer from currently $3.6 trillion, should be
ned during the largest recipient of surplus
ly signing pert Proceeds.
16’6” forward* The proposed tax reduction
ryland, signed disproportionately affects the
i Bean transTWealthiest Americans,
olina State and Households in the highest
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Also, many Internet service
providers (ISPs) have parental controls
that can block any Website, making
parental discretion the most formidable
control.
Hopefully, those types of blocks will
keep children from reaching the sites
dedicated to turning them into young
hate-filled zealots.
But those devices rarely stop the av
erage college student from delving into
the hateful underbelly of the Internet.
It is something that is overlooked,
but college students happen to be par
ticularly susceptible to the rallying cry
of hate groups.
Most Aggies are from Southern
states, and a large percentage are from
small towns.
Aggies know better than most how
insidious racism really is. Personally, it
is hard not to notice when your town
had a white and non-white cemetery
until just recently.
On a college campus, it is hoped the
presence of so many different types of
people would lead to a certain racial
equality and understanding.
But we have to have noticed how
many Confederate flags can be seen on
assorted belt buckles, trucks and in res
idence hall rooms.
The sad truth of it is that some Ag
gies are bigots. When you have such a
large population of Southern white
people, there are going to be racists.
And due to the fact that we are sep
arated from parents and other mentors,
the possibility that those previously la
tent thoughts of racist origin will thrive
increases.
It is disturbing to think some college
students, being intelligent enough to
get into universities in the first place,
could harbor views that are so back
ward, but that is what hate groups are
relying on.
They desperately need not only chil
dren, but somewhat educated people
who can rationalize their horrible be
liefs with pseudo-intellectualism.
College is a time where one can
break out, learn new things and be
come cemented in certain beliefs. The
behavioral rebellion that often comes
with being away from home can spark
a continued interest in racist propagan
da.
College students have a tendency to
fiercely support their convictions, and
if those convictions happen to
be racist, the possibility of those
beliefs strengthening with age is
great.
We cannot ban racist propa
ganda on the Web — ignoring
the freedoms of the First
Amendment would be as
bad as supporting intoler
ance itself.
But there are ways of
combatting it. Nonviolent
methods might including
contacting local equality
groups or visiting civil-
rights Websites.
If racists can use the Internet to
their advantage, so can those of us
who seek out equality.
Racism should not exist. But un
til the day it does not, we cannot just
stand idly by while hate groups con
tinue to recruit members.
As educated citizens, we have to
fight back against racism in any form.
With education comes responsibility.
As people who support equality of
all groups, we have to keep up an even
greater level of intensity than racists
do if we are to discredit their hate-filled
Beverly Mireles is a junior
microbiology major.
Mark McPherson/The Battalion
nter or
COLLEGIATE ROUNDUP
from U-Wire editorial reports
receive almost 80 percent of the
income tax reductions. The low
est one-fifth would receive only
0.3 percent of the income tax re
ductions. ...
The House’s tax bill is only an
attempt to appease voters dur
ing the upcoming elections, and
not a result of considerate delib
erations. ...
Rioting must not
define generation
From The State News at
Michigan State University.
EAST LANSING, Mich. — The
riots that broke out at the con
clusion of Woodstock ’99 are
only part of the problem with
how our increasingly violent gen
eration reacts when a large
group is assembled. ...
The root of this riot is the
mob mentality that is giving our
generation a bad image.
Regardless of whether the
reasoning behind it is justified,
rioting seems to be growing
more common among today’s
generation. ... The only way to
prevent more riotous behavior is
for people to stop and take a
look at themselves and the con
sequences of their actions.
2000 Olympics
deserve support
From The Daily Universe at
Brigham Young University.
PROVO, Utah — Ever since
December of last year, the
Olympic spirit has burned about
as bright as a $1.99 flashlight
sold at a countryside gas sta
tion. The Salt Lake Organizing
Committee scandal had a lot to
do with it. ...
In the midst of the scandal,
the integrity of both the IOC and
SLOG as well as the ethics of
the entire selection process
were called into question on an
international scale.
Naturally, the Olympics as a
whole was cast in a negative
light.
But have we forgotten about
the year 2000? ... While Salt
Lake City has been withering
under the heat of the scandal,
the anticipation for the 2000
Summer Games in Sydney has
also suffered. ...
Yes, scanddl will alwayd grab
the headlines, but perhaps we
should now shift that attention
back to Sydney. ... Scandal or
no scandal — it’s time to feed
some enthusiasm back into the
Olympic spirit. ...
Outcome of Iranian protests
holds great consequence for U.S.
Mark
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B ack be
fore
Saddam
Hussein’s
leadership led
Iraq to the top
of the “Islam
ic Nations We
Can’t Stand”
list in 1990,
the Islamic
Republic of Iran was considered
the greatest threat to American
interests in the Persian Gulf re
gion.
Under the Ayatollah Khomei
ni, the Iranians had taken
American citizens hostage in
side the U.S. embassy in
Tehran, had financially support
ed terrorist organizations and
had threatened American allies
such as Bahrain and Saudi Ara
bia.
Under Khomeini, Iran had be
come a theocracy — that m—m
is, a nation whose law is
based upon religious
tenets.
Since 1979, Iran’s laws
have come directly from
the Koran. These rules re
quire women to dress
from head to toe in black
and do not allow them to
do many things that West
ern women take for grant
ed.
Also, Iranian schools
from newspapers loyal to him.
He has also stated he would like
Iran to improve relations with
the West, including the United
States.
The prospect of having a
more open nation while still
clinging to its Islamic ideals has
captivated young Iranians, just
as Khomeini’s message did their
parents.
However, Khatami is not go
ing to get what he wants with
out a struggle.
Khomeini and his fellow reli
gious leaders are still strongly
conservative and are also in con
trol of the military.
Acting on orders from
Khomeini, Tehran police haVe
arrested the city’s mayor (an ally
of Khatami) and have shut down
several of the more moderate
newspapers in the past three
months.
'The current situation in Iran
may well come to dictate
America's policy toward the
Persian Gulf region for the
next 20 years."
ly. An eruption of violence in
Iran could lead one of two ways:
the collapse of the theocratic
state or a repeat of Tiananmen
Square.
Both of these could have pos
sibly negative consequences for
the United States.
If Khatami and his supporters
win, the United States may be
able to resume a friendship that
had existed long before 1979.
If they do, however, many
conservatives who are opposed
to America will become very
powerful nomads, much like the
Saudi terrorist Osama Bin
Laden.
Almost certainly, America
would be blamed in some part
for the fall of the Islamic state,
which may lead to a new rise in
terrorist activity.
But if the conservatives suc
ceed, then it is very possible
Iran will retake the mantle
as America’s greatest
threat in the region.
Unlike Iraq, Iran can
still export its oil and im
port weapons. With insta
bility rampant in the for
mer Soviet Union, it is not
out of the realm of possi
bility that some very po
tent weapons could move
south, across the Iranian
border.
The current situation in
emphasize religious studies
over other areas. In order to
prevent the corruptive influ
ences of the outside world (pri
marily of the “Great Satan,” the
United States), very strict cen
sorship has been set in place.
Iran has become a police state
by using Islam as a pretext.
Now, two decades after the
revolution that ousted the Shah
from power, forces for change
have started to appear.
The Iranian people elected
Mohammed Khatami president
in 1997 after he promised to re
form the current system. Khata
mi was elected over the objec
tions of Iran’s powerful spiritual
leader, the Ayatollah Khomeini,
Khatami’s proposals of
change in Iran can be considered
staggering. Khatami has loos
ened some of the restrictions on
the media and has allowed some
negative coverage to emanate
University students have tak
en to the streets to protest these
moves and have been met with
considerable resistance.
Khatami supporters have
been beaten by police and had
their dormitories raided. Over
1,000 of them were taken from a
protest two weeks ago and have
not been heard from sense.
While the students continue
to protest by the thousands, the
military has come out and pub
licly told Khatami his attempts
at reform must stop.
Their message, which they re
leased to the media, stated that
they would not take further dis
sent. Khatami has refused to
budge, and the youth of the na
tion (people under age 25 make
up 66 percent of the population)
seem to be prepared to stand
with him.
This situation is one the Unit
ed States must watch very close-
Iran may well come to dictate
America’s policy toward the Per
sian Gulf region for the next 20
years.
If Mohammed Khatami and
his supporters succeed in creat
ing a new, more approachable
Iran, the United States would
have one less foe to deal with
and perhaps a springboard from
which to fight terrorism and
arms smuggling.
If Khatami fails, tension be
tween Iran and the United States
would almost certainly return.
Frofn a purely American
viewpoint, it certainly would be
preferable to have Khatami suc
ceed in his quest for reform.
If he does, a chance for a new
start with an old foe is possible.
If he does not, the consequences
could prove catastrophic.
Mark Passwaters is an electrical
engineering graduate student.