THE LANCE mri
October 29,1987
Mzala Speaks
“Please help me!” She thought
her troubles were over when she hastily
grabbed the police officer. It was the begin
ning of the worst. If it were a nightmare
perhaps that would have been better, but
she was wide awake, and so were her fears.
As the Relationship Violence
Awareness week reaches its peak, let
Mzala take you for a whi'*; to '^d of no
appointments. We buzz : into the
heartland of South Africa. Please make
sure your Passes are in good order if you are
non-white, else you will remain in the
Apartheid’s jail when others come back.
The first striking thing we see is
the enormous numbers of blacks. How can
these folks be oppressed when they are so
many? TIME magazine put their number
at 26 million last May. Their white
counterparts were put at 5 m illion while the
other‘races’ formed only 4 million. What
amazing statistics in the land troubled by
violent apartheid! Do not be fooled, we
heard, this regime survives because of her
Western allies. The hostility toward the
West is so apparent we certainly have to
find out the reason behind.
Something bad has happened.
There is a catchy headline on the newspa
per. This time it is not the violence we can
expect to see on TV. It is a sad story
Recently, I visited the banned
books exhibit at the library expecting to
find some really atrocious material that
should actually be banned from various
communities. However, it was to my
shock and utter disbeUef at what is actually
banned to portions of the American public.
The first book that caught my
eye was the book, “Gone With The Wind.”
Though I thoroughly abhor the book and
motion picture, I see no reason for the book
to be banned. The worst part in the book
is the end when Scarlett says “tomorrow is
another day” or some rubbish that effect,
but other than that, there is truly nothing
wrong with book. I think that it is
ludricrous to ban “Gone With The Wind.”
The second book that really
shocked me as far as being a banned book
was “Jaws”. The caption insde of the book
telling why it was banned stated that it was
sexually explicit and had objectionable
On Violence
of an 18 year old Elizabeth Mokwena. She
had been kicked, beaten, raped and
stabbed to death. Gross? It is really gross,
but it is a true story. This is one of the
remote consequences of racial haUed in
South Africa. The same story can happen
anywhere in !he world under a different
guise. So, do not be deceived by the limited
security you have and ignore the voices of
those who \iy to warn you about the possi
bility of violence against you. Unfortu
nately for Elizabeth the four white guys
came under the guise of policemen. They
‘arrested’ her for not having a Pass, a docu
ment every South African black has to
carry around to be produced on demand by
any police officer. Instead of taking her to
jail, they took her by the riverside to molest
her and ultimately run over her bleeding
body twice by their truck. Her brother and
cousin, who were with her during the ‘ar
rest’, could not protect her since the ‘law’
calls for every black to produce a Pass on
demand by the white minority govern
ment. Thus, the obnoxious Apartheid law
served some idiots’ purposes. What ef
fects does her death have on her parents and
the whole black community? Devastating.
We move over from the
crowded street where the newspaper ven
dors are kept busy because of this
language. A masochist obviously made
that decision for only a masochist would
reason as to why a book about a tired Santa
should be banned.
In conclusion, I would like raise
the following question; “Who is to say
what is right and what is wrong when deal-
even think that a shark which devours
people is sexually explicit. It really makes
a person wonder who is making these de
cisions, probably someone who follows
Lyndon LaRouche. “Jaws” has always
been in my opinion a simple, though worn
out, horror story. What is the big deal?
Another very disappointing se
ries of books that I saw displayed were
some of Kurt Vonnegut’s works, namely
“Slaughterhouse-5.” I read this book in
high school and derived much enjoyment
from it. Truly, I feel Kurt Vonnegut is a
master of satire. Therefore, when I saw this
and another one of his books on exhibit.
saddening story. As we cross to the next
street, a deafening sound of chanting
protesters force us to wait and see what is
going on. Armored military vehicles are
stationed everywhere around that vicinity.
Only an order from the stupid commander
will set things into motion. Why protest?
Too many reasons. They are protesting
against the further imposition of the State
of Emergency. This State of Emergency is
a marshal law which gives any police
officer in command sweeping powers to
arrest whomever he/she perceive as a
‘threat to the state.’ There will be no trial in
such arrests. An order to disperse has
been issued to the protesters. Their
singing increases in defiance. In a short
moment we are all scattering in different
directions because of the teargas shot at
the protesters. Shouts, curses, cries,
screams, and gunshots all characterize the
unrest situation. Everyone seems to be in
an excited mood. Enough of that, how then
can we expect a peaceful resolution amidst
such a state?
As we listen attentively to the
speakers at the Sharpville Massacre com
memoration, calls were made to the Botha
government to dismantle the Apartheid
laws immediately, release political prison
ers, unban the African National
I truly began to doubt the sincerity of the
people who banned the books. Even a very
humorous book about a disgruntled Santa
Claus is banned. This particular book tells
the side of Santa that no one else talks
about, the side of a man who is just sick
and tired of climbing out of bed, going
through the snow and rain delivering junk
to little snotty brats who tear the presents up
the day after Christmas. Personally, I think
this side of Santa Claus should be brought
forth so that people appreciate what this
fictional character does for us all (let’s get
real, these people banned a book about a
man who does not exist because it cor
rupts the minds of children about this
non-existent person). Do you not think
that we are by far corrupting the child’s
mind by telling him or her that there is a
such thing as a fat elderly man running
around at night in a fire red costume,
flying through the air on sleigh without
Congress, the Pan Africanist Congress
and all other legitimate organizations
which oppose Apartheid, thereafter, invite
all recognized leaders of the people to
come to the negotiating table to find a
peaceful way to share power. Failure to
do that will result in the people’s increased
revolt.
As of present, the South African
regime has not taken heed of that sound
advice. The people’s patience is running
out, and a fertile ground for a bloody
revolution has long been cultivated. Men
and women, young and old, are leaving
the country in increased numbers to
prepare themselves for this revolution.
Most of them are already back in the
country mobilizing the masses. Students
are in control of their environment at the
moment, that is, if they have grievances to
raise, they do so in a demanding way.
Boycotts are used to back up their demands.
It is the same story with the workers.
National organizations are set up to unite
the people. These organizations are
decentralized to survive the mass arrests of
prominent leaders, ranging from students
to the most experienced veterans of the
struggle.
We can now safely conclude by
saying, if there be an opportunity for a
peaceful change, that opportunity is NOW.
any cover, pulled by eight reindeer who
can fly and lead by a reindeer whose nose
glows red. Ifyouaskmeitsound more like
something from a person on an LSD “trip”.
Therefore, in this case, I can really find no
ing with another person’s ideas?” If I say
that I think that pornography and maso
chism are great untapped money making
resources and if I market the concept, and I
then write a book about it, who is to say that
what I believe in is wrong? How can a
person or a group of people say that this
material is not fitting for others to read?
How can those people give themselves that
much power in a democratic society?
What essentially the banning of literary
materials leads to is the banning of any and
all information that a group of people feels
is not “fitting” for others to read or hear. I
think this issue supercedes the boundaries
of whether one is conservative or liberal
because at the heart of this issue is not how
people tend to affiliate themselves but a
very crucial component of the democratic
system, that being the freedom of speech
and the pursuit of happiness. And that
proposed happiness should be maintained
whether you derive happiness from read
ing the Bible, which in my opinion can be
banned along with the rest of the books that
people have banned, or from reading the
latest issue of Penthouse Magazine. I
encourage each student of this college to
view this exhibit and see the books, aside
from the ones mentioned above, that have
been banned in various communities and
schools in this country. Who would have
thought that such simple and great material
would pose enough of a threat to be
banned from people?
40,000 kjiikUk/,
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Ivrfl
Why Are These Books Banned?