Newspapers / Daily Tar Heel (Chapel … / Nov. 14, 2000, edition 1 / Page 14
Part of Daily Tar Heel (Chapel Hill, N.C.) / About this page
This page has errors
The date, title, or page description is wrong
This page has harmful content
This page contains sensitive or offensive material
14 Tuesday, November 14, 2000 Concerns ot our coverage? Contact the ombudsman at ombudsman@unc.edu Of call 933-4611. Kelli Boutin EDITORIAL PAGE EDITOR Kim Minugh UNIVERSITY EDITOR Ginny Sciabbarrasi CITY EDITOR Board Editorials Dine Out Tonight R.S.V.V.P. offers local residents an easy opportunity to help out in the fight against homelessness in Chapel Hill. Take advantage of it. Homelessness is a visible problem in Chapel Hill. One walk down Franklin Street provides more than enough evidence of the ongoing problems of the poor in our own backyard. But one local organization consistently and thoroughly provides food and shelter to the homeless and working poor: the Inter- Faith Council. And today they are asking for your help in what will be one of their most significant fund-raising drives all year. Restaurants all over Chapel Hill and Durham will be donating 10 percent of today’s sales to the Inter-Faith Council’s shel ters in Chapel Hill and Durham and to the North Carolina Food Bank through the annual R.S.V.V.P. (Restaurants Sharing 10 Percent) charity night. By participating in R.S.V.V.P., you are contributing to a worthy nonprofit organiza tion. The IFC has done a wonderftil job offering the homeless and working poor meals and shelter throughout the years. But budget shortfalls last year forced the IFC to cut back on its services, making fund raising drives like this one even more impor tant than they otherwise would be. R.S.V.V.P. is also more of a secure invest- A Step Backward Outdated and small-minded thinking led Nevada and Nebraska to amend their state constitutions to ban same-sex relationships. When it comes to civil rights, we still have a long way to go. On Election Day last week, voters in Nebraska overwhelmingly approved Initiative 416, the so-called “Defense of Marriage” initiative. A similar referendum in Nevada also easily passed. In effect, the two states have added a little piece of discrimination to their state consti tutions by banning same-sex marriages, as well as civil unions, domestic partnerships or other similar same-sex relationships. But by recognizing one relationship as “valid,” while condemning -and banning - other types of relationships, Nebraska and Nevada only reinforce and endorse small minded and outdated thinking regarding love and marriage. But these two initiatives have a darker con sequence as well. In singling out gay and les bian couples, these new amendments pro mote a culture of hate and discrimination tar geted toward homosexuals. Many call for hate-crime legislation to pro tect gays and lesbians from violence. But hate-crimes stem from initiatives like these, which seem to give state sanction to discrim ination based on sexual orientation. And unfortunately, with the hoopla over the presidential vote, little attention has been For the Record The Nov. 13 board editorial “Switch the System” incorerectly stated that Samuel Tilden won the pop ular vote but lost the presidential election to Benjamin Harrison based on electoral votes.Tilden lost the election to Rutherford B. Hayes in 1876 after winning the popular vote but losing the Electoral College. The Daily Tar Heel regrets the error. Readers' Forum Israel-Palestine Panel Was Not Biased In Favor of Palestinians TO THE EDITOR: As outsiders to the Israel-Palestine con flict, we feel that last Thursday’s panelists in the Palestine-Israel discussion were not necessarily pro-Palestine. We agree it is a fact that the historical presentation lacked Israeli perspective. There were also individual panelists who spoke with great emotion against the action of the Israeli government. But to say the panelists were pro- Palestine is grossly simplifying the issue into only two sides, pro-Palestine and pro- Israel, which is utterly untrue. There are many people such as Palestinian civilians, Jewish settlers, Israeli Arabs, women and children whose views are not necessarily represented by one of the two sides. But they are the ones who are caught in the violence. If the panelists were advocates to one particular side, they were surely pro-human rights, pro-peace, pro-justice and not pro- Matt Dees EDITOR Office Houis Friday 2 p.m. -3 p.m. Kathleen Hunter STATE k NATIONAL EDITOR T. Nolan Hayes SPORTS EDITOR Will Kimmey SPORTSATURDAY EDITOR ment than donations to panhandlers on the street. When participating in the event, you know that the money will be put to good use. The IFC is an established organization that helps out Chapel Hill’s homeless in a sys tematic way year after year. And it’s so easy. You now have a great excuse to eat out on a weekday while getting a great meal and helping the IFC - all in one night out. Thanksgiving is right around the comer and appeals to the “season of giving” during the weeks between now and Christmas will become more frequent. But tonight’s event will undoubtedly be one of the easiest ways to give something back to the community this holiday season. So do not pass up the opportunity while it’s here. R.S.V.V.P. is an admirable effort among community businesses and the IFC to raise money combating the problem of homelessness and poverty. Do your part and eat out on Franklin Street tonight. It will probably cost less than a meal at Lenoir Dining Hall, and you have the oppor tunity to help out the IFC at the same time. That’s quite a bargain. paid to these measures. They are not receiv ing national condemnation, as they deserve. Think about how ridiculous it is to add an amendment to a state constitution -a docu ment that is meant to outline the rights and privileges of the state’s citizens - that specif ically refuses one segment of the population the same opportunities afforded to the rest of the state. If you are not “a man and a woman,” then your love is not valid, accord ing to Nebraska and Nevada. And just to make sure you do not forget, we have pegged your partnership as unconstitutional. Traditionalists and the Christian right - two groups instrumental in getting these ini tiatives passed - often stigmatize gays and lesbians as “loose” and promiscuous. Yet when a gay couple seeks to enter into a stable union, as marriage or domestic part nerships provide, they are denied by the same state that willingly takes their tax money. Those looking to take advantage of domestic partnerships or civil unions have a stable relationship and seek the same status given to heterosexual couples. But they are rebuffed. Ironically, Nebraska’s state motto is “Equality before the law.” Perhaps next year, a referendum can amend it to correct that bit of hypocrisy. Palestine -as accused by some people. The panelists condemned the excessive use of force by the Israeli government, but they also detested the violence used by Palestinian radical groups against Israeli civilians. The neutrality became very evident when Rania Masri and Majd Aburabia talked about their views on a possible solu tion to the issue. They demanded the right of return of the Palestinian refugees but at the same time they recognize that the Jewish settlers could not be forced to leave the homes they already settled in. Rania suggested a bi-national state, which will be truly responsible to all of its citizens, Palestinian and Israeli alike. This illustrated the fact that they spoke with everyone’s well-being in mind, not just Palestinians. One reason that some people felt even the fair statements of Rania and others to be pro-Palestine is the fact that American mainstream media is strongly biased toward the Israeli government due to many factors, including the American-Israeli Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) lobby. After daily influence by lopsided media Opinion airp lath| (Tar Itel Established 1893 • 107 Years of Editorial Freedom www.dailytarhed.com Jermaine Caldwell FEATURES EDrTOR Ashley Atkinson ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR Carolyn Haynes COPY DESK EDITOR Addressing the Problem of Racism Ah, the joys of public debate. Last week, I devoted my column to the volatile subject of racial discrimi nation. Understandably, some people dis agreed with my opinions on the matter. And predictably, an extreme minority of those people chose to take the low road: Instead of offering an intelligent rationale for their dis agreement with my ideas, they resorted to name-calling. Asa result, my column was denounced in several letters to The Daily Tar Heel as “racist,” despite the fact that its entire (obvious) point was to highlight those realities that I believe are standing between us and the end of racial discrimination. Accusations of racism are very serious busi ness. So despite the absurdity of the few charges of racism that were leveled against this column last week, I feel it necessary to re emphasize my feelings on the subject. In last week’s column, I noted that racial discrimination still exists in America -some of it due not to overt racism, but rather to rational fear. For example, cab drivers in New York (many of them black) often refuse to pick up young black men. The drivers insist they are not racists; instead, they are merely afraid for their safety because of the high black crime rate. I concluded that this sort of discrimination - based not on racist ideology but on a ratio nal concern for one’s own safety - cannot be effectively stopped with legislation and lec tures against racism. Instead, I argued, we need to focus our energy toward eliminating the reasons that cabbies are afraid of young black men - by finding ways to reduce the black crime rate. Despite this departure from the liberal “conventional wisdom” on discrimination, my entire column was written with the explicit assumption that racism and racial discrimina tion -of any sort - are immoral and unfair to law-abiding black Americans. Thus, although I certainly expected some healthy debate over my ideas, I was genuinely mystified when critics leveled accusations of racism against my column. In my humble opinion, the backlash is indicative of a prob lem among certain groups at UNC: They are reports, one will feel even true neutrality to be off-centered. It is unfortunate that even The Daily Tar Heel’s article on Friday (“Talk on Conflict Angers Pro-Israel Panelist” Nov. 10) re-enforced the off-bal anced reporting method. Finally, we encourage anyone to partic ipate in future discussion - even if they dis agree with me and feel that their opinion was under-represented in Thursday’s event. After all, dialogue and communication is the only way that we can move forward as a society. Last Thursday night’s historical panel with an audience of 125 people from all parts of UNC and the Triangle communi ty was a great beginning. Anyone who would like to get a cassette tape of the event can contact SURGE. Tung Siu Freshman Dennis Markatos Senior SURGE Organizers of the Event The length rule was waived. Sefton Ipock PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR Cobi Edelson DESIGN EDITOR Saleem Reshamwala GRAPHICS EDITOR ■ CRAIG WARNER HARSH LIGHT unable to recognize that some good people, with good intentions and good motivations, hold different opinions than they do. However, for those who recognize that an unorthodox opinion is not always a surefire indicator of Nazism, I’d like now to offer a few thoughts about “rational discrimination.” To begin, it is not “racist” to acknowledge the facts. One of my critics suggested that it was “racism” for me to observe that there is a high crime rate in black communities. I dis agree - in reality, it is our refusal to acknowl edge such problems that is the biggest hin drance to racial harmony in the United States. The current tendency to blame white racism for every instance of unfairness only prompts bitterness and apathy - especially when such accusations are not supported by the facts. Many whites with good intentions become insensitive to instances of genuine racism when the specter of racism is constant ly (and inaccurately) invoked. We must be absolutely honest about the facts, so that racism will be taken seriously by all Americans when it really does appear. That means facing the reality of some harsh statistics. Black Americans make up about 12 percent of the U.S. population. At the same time, according to FBI statistics, blacks comprise 39 percent of those arrested for aggravated assault, 43 percent of those arrested for rape, 55 percent of those arrested for murder and 61 percent of those arrested for robbery. Even allowing for some racial bias in criminal arrests, these numbers are staggering. When one considers that the vast majority of these violent crimes are committed by young men (women and the elderly rarely Media’s Election Coverage Indicative of Liberal Bias, Lack of Professionalism TO THE EDITOR: I always used to dismiss the conservative claim that the media displays a liberal bias. However, the recent lack of professional ism by the media in reporting voting in the presidential election lends credence to this claim. Two examples come to mind. The first occurred Sunday night in an hourly news update by National Public Radio. NPR reported that a leading Democratic activist committed voter fraud by coercing home less people in Detroit to vote for AI Gore on absentee ballots in exchange for packs of cigarettes. Luckily, a bystander video taped this fraud. Interestingly enough, this story has not been repeated since then on NPR, any of the networks or even the “The News Hour Withjim Lehrer." Contrast the relative lack of reporting on what should, in any objective analysis, be a major story, with the current overreporting of Democratic voters’ mistaken votes for Pat Buchanan instead of Al Gore in Palm Cate Doty & Lauren Beal MANAGING EDITORS Josh Williams ONLINE EDITOR Brian Frederick OMBUDSMAN Laura Stoehr SPECIAL ASSIGNMENTS EDITOR commit murder or rape), it becomes clear that cabbies in New York have a very legitimate statistical basis for fearing young urban black males. Most of these taxi drivers are not discrimi nating based on racist assumptions of black biological inferiority, but because they have a grim understanding of the statistics. It will do us no good to pretend that these taxi drivers are vicious racists when in fact they are mere ly afraid for their safety. For the record, I don’t think that rational discrimination is moral or acceptable, and I believe that it is just as horribly unfair to the vast majority of black Americans (who are absolutely law-abiding) as discrimination based on racist ideology. This is why we should work together to end it But while legislation and denunciation are relatively effective in combatting discrimina tion based on old-style racist ignorance, they are much less effective in stopping discrimina tion based on rational fear. No matter how many laws we pass, people will continue to act to protect themselves when they feel threatened. Thus, the way to stop rational discrimination against black Americans is - quite simply - to lower the black crime rate. Improved education, stronger families and decreased violence in entertainment are all important aspects of this process. Right now, honesty is needed perhaps more than any other virtue in the effort to bridge the racial gap. That means acknowledging that racism is still a serious problem in America. It also means recognizing that racism is not responsible for every case of hardship faced by American minorities. Most importantly, it means being willing to listen to ideas about the racial gap that differ from our own - without trying to brand those who disagree with us as racists. For my part, I intend to practice what I preach. You know where to reach me. Craig Warner highly recommends the new U 2 album. Reach him with any questions or comments at cmwarner@email.unc.edu. Beach County, Florida. Secondly, the early and wrong call that Florida went to Gore Tuesday night by all of the major networks is worse than unpro fessional. It borders on criminal. Misleading the public that the crucial 25 electoral votes in Florida went to Gore cer tainly could have made Republican voters who hadn’t yet voted in that state stay home or get out some of the long lines at many polling stations. I find this argument much more plausible than Gore’s recent racist claim that Bush would appoint Supreme Court justices who would some how re-establish the 19th century law hold ing that every black male was only three fifths of a person. Asa former Tennesseean and supporter of Sen. Gore, I am shocked at his reinven tion of himself and his egomania. Ben Stein’s recent claim that Gore doesn’t have the emotional stability to be president seems increasingly true. As it turns out also, the major news media may not have the objectivity to report presidential elections. Richard Rankin Russell Teaching Fellow Department of English ®hr Baily (Ear Hfrt i? The Daily Tar Heel wel comes reader comments and criticism. Letters to the editor should be no longer than 300 words and must be typed, double-spaced, dated and signed by no • more than two people. I Students should include I their year, major and phone, number. Faculty and staff should include their title, ;* department and phone number. The DTH reserves the right to edit letters for space, clarity and vulgarity. Publication is not guaran teed. Bring letters to the DTH office at Suite 104, Carolina Union, mail them to P.O. Box 3257, Chapel Hill, NC 27515 or e-mail forum: editdesk@unc.edu.
Daily Tar Heel (Chapel Hill, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
Nov. 14, 2000, edition 1
14
Click "Submit" to request a review of this page. NCDHC staff will check .
0 / 75