6
Wednesday, November 21, 2001
Opinion
oJ)? iailxj (Tar Mai
E stabksM 1893 • 108 Year* of Editorial Freedom
• ttahUiheeiiw,
Katie Hunter
Editor
Office Hours Friday 2 p.m. • 1 p.m.
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Concerns or comments about our
coverage? Contact the ombudsman at
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Readers' Forum
Religious Studies Student
Points Out Problems
With Column Argument
TO THE EDITOR:
I am writing in response to Josh Baylin’s
column “Religious Right in America -
Time to Leave.” I agree that any person or
group of people who seeks to systematical
ly hold down another group of people in
the name of religion can and should be
compared to the Taliban. But I think that
the premises he uses to single out these
groups in American culture are flawed.
Let me be absolutely clear that I in no
way support bombing abortion clinics in
the name of “life,” nor do I advocate the
sort of backwoods bigotry Baylin seems to
equate with all Christians. But I do support
honest pursuit of truth. Though I think that
the “religious right” has been guilty count
less times of that bigotry Baylin notes, it is
tragically flawed and equally bigoted to
force fundamentalists to leave. It is tossing
the baby out with the bath water to say that
because one fanatic bombs an abortion
clinic that ail pro-lifers are fanatics.
To get rid of all the bad things that peo
ple have done in the name of Christianity
throughout history would be great.
Unfortunately, you would also have to
Board Editorials
The American Red Cross stumbled badly by misleading donors, but it's getting back on track
In response to the Sept. 11 attacks,
Americans gave what they could, bravely
and generously.
The American Red Cross assumed the
role of charity headquarters as its name
recognition and history of service provided
Americans with a trusted entity.
But recent events have shed light on the
Red Cross’ mismanagement of its respon
sibilities. It has since undergone changes in
management and policy, but public and
government scrutiny will not forgive any
further disregard for the intentions and
wishes of the American people.
Charitable donations, once the domain
of those with disposable income looking for
a tax write-off, flooded the Red Cross from
all walks of life. Working-class families and
elementary school classes took pride in
their gifts, knowing they could never heal
the victims or their families but they could
spare some money, which might provide
some relief. h-
The money formed a $543 million
Threats Foreign and Domestic
Americans have come to view certain foreigners with suspicion —but what about the threat from within?
Terrorism has many forms and incarna
tions. Al-Qaida is terrorism. The IRA is ter
rorism. Anti-government militias are ter
rorism. ALF is terrorism.
ALF? Yes, ALF is terrorism. This ALF is
not the loveable, brown
furred, spaceship-fixing, cat
eating alien from the planet
Melmac that so many grew up
watching on NBC. This ALF
is one of the largest terrorist organizations
in the United States.
According to the FBI, the Animal
Liberation Front (ALF) is one of the most
active domestic terrorist organizations in
the country.
Since 1976, ALF and its numerous sub
groups have claimed responsibility for the
firebombings and arsons of hundreds of
laboratories, farms, butcher shops, fur
stores and fast food restaurants throughout
the United States and the around the world.
ALF serves as an umbrella organization
eliminate 90 percent of the hospitals coun
trywide, almost every university (including
this one), countless orphanages, soup
kitchens, the International Red Cross
(founded in part by Henry Dunant - who
was quoted late in life as saying “I am a dis
ciple of Christ” not exactly a Darwinist),
and even the YMCA and YWCA. So yes,
let’s get rid of intolerance. Let’s crush an
ideology that idealizes a self-righteous
Christian subculture (of which I am a part).
But let’s not forget that Christians, no mat
ter how radical, are still citizens. To force us
out in the name of “tolerance” seems a lit
tle awkward. Incidentally, the meaning of
the word “university” should lend a bit
more direction to our pursuit. “Uni,” -one;
“versity” - truth.
Ben Meredith
Senior
Religious Studies
UNC Hospitals Thanks
Sports Clubs for Their
Platelets and Plasma
TO THE EDITOR:
The past two weeks the members of
UNC Sport Clubs put their feet up for an
hour or two and donated platelets and plas
Seeing Red
“Liberty Fund” for the injured, displaced
and families of those who died in
Washington, D.C., New York and aboard
the hijacked planes. But questions were
soon raised about how the money was bing
used. A congressional oversight committee
examined why nearly half of the donations
to the fund were being diverted into other
Red Cross projects and future plans.
Meanwhile, the Red Cross’ aggressive
campaign for blood donations resulted in
record numbers for reserves around the
country, but blood banks were forced to
dump thousands of pints for which there is
no storage room.
Philanthropic organizations usually do
not need to worry about public relations or
image concerns, but the cumulative effect
of these events has pierced the altruistic
facade of one of America’s most trusted
charities.
The Red Cross did not earn its reputa
tion through fraud, it certainly did not set
out to deceive the public at a time when
for a large number of radical animal rights
groups. The organization’s members
believe that society is built around the
unnecessary killing of animals and that it is
their moral obligation to use all means pos
sible to stop the wholesale
killing of animals.
While ALF claims to be a
non-violent organization, a
large number of its associated
Niel Brooks
Editorial Notebook
and sponsored groups or cells rely on vio
lent means to get their point across. This
cannot be tolerated.
Earlier this year, an ALF cell went on a
bombing campaign and sent numerous let
ter bombs to fish and chips shops through
out England to protest the fishing industry.
One of the bombs exploded in the hands of
a six-year-old girl, while another blinded a
woman in one eye.
Another ALF cell threatened to kill ten
scientists if one of its leaders, Barry Home,
who was jailed for 18 years because of a
ma for the patients of UNC Hospitals.
In an effort to avoid a chronic platelet
and plasma shortage over the Thanksgiving
holiday, over 85 pints were collected from
the UNC Sport Clubs Nov. 5-17.
This is the third year the Sport Clubs
have chosen the UNC Hospitals Platelet
and Plasma Donor Program as a service
project.
This year over 100 appointments were
scheduled by the Sport Clubs to donate,
which is double the number of appoint
ments from last year. Among the major
blood products, platelets are the most
important for keeping a patient in critical
condition alive.
These blood cells are used to regulate
the blood clotting mechanism and to pre
vent patients from hemorrhaging after surg
eries or during intensive chemotherapy.
But because platelets have a shelf life of no
more than five days, the supply must be
replaced constantly to avoid shortages.
Plasma is primarily used for patients with
severe bums and liver failure.
These students have affected many lives
this Thanksgiving.
Only 5 percent of the eligible population
donates any blood product, and that num
ber is even less for platelet and plasma
donors.
The need for a reliable supply has never
their service is needed most.
Interim chief executive Harold Decker,
who was appointed to the post after
Bernadine Flealy resigned Oct. 26, has
pledged to dedicate the entire $543 million
to those affected by the Sept. 11 tragedies.
Decker’s plan covers a full year of living
expenses for the affected families and a
coordinated effort, with other charity orga
nizations, to cover their needs. The new
policies should restore public faith in the
Red Cross and charity in general. And in
return, the Red Cross can take this oppor
tunity to restore pride in its donors.
The blood drives rehabilitated the state
of the nation’s blood banks, but those
resources are being used faster than the
money. Although some of the blood col
lected after Sept. 11 has gone to waste, the
general need for blood renews itself peri
odically.
Americans should not hesitate to give in
the future because of clerical mistakes of
the past.
firebombing campaign, died in a hunger
strike. Home died Nov. 5. As of yet, no sci
entists have been killed, but many worry
about the possibility of a backlash.
After Sept. 11, many people thought
ALF would tone-down its actions, but that
has not been the case. Since the attack on
America, ALF has taken credit for six acts
of domestic terrorism including the bomb
ing of a federal corral for wild horses and
a fire at a primate research center.
If anything, ALF has used Sept. 11 as a
tool in their battle. With federal agents
focusing their attention on a foreign men
ace, ALF has taken the opportunity to oper
ate more freely. Even though the nation’s
resources are taxed, the country cannot
allow this.
Americans do not tolerate terrorism of
any form, foreign or domestic. As the
nation faces this trying time in our nation’s
history, citizens must remember that the
enemy is not always an ocean away.
been more acute as hospital usage increas
es.
The Sport Clubs members who partici
pated are not only juggling schoolwork but
also part-time jobs and sport schedules.
Still, they found the time to commit them
selves to donating.
They have truly given thanks this
Thanksgiving, and we encourage others to
do the same!
Laura Shook-Marino
Donor Recruiter
UNC Hospitals Platelet & Plasma Donor
Program
Harry Potter Movie Robs
Readers of Imagination,
Spoils the Book’s Magic
TO THE EDITOR:
Last Friday, Harry Potter changed for
people all over the world, forever. Last
Friday was the death of the magical, imag
inary realm of Harry, Ron, Hermione,
Hagrid, Quidditch, Hogwarts, Muggles,
Dumbledore and The One Who Shall Not
Be Named.
For those of you that went to see the
Harry Potter movie, the magic was taken
out of your mind’s eye and replaced with
The Buck Stops
Here Why
Life Is So Deer
It was a day that changed the face of our area and
altered the perceptions of those who live here. It was a
day that made us re-evaluate everything we knew - or
thought we knew.
I’m talking about Oct. 9,2001- a magnet to the hard
drive of our complacency. And probably most of us heard
nothing about it. "
Here’s what happened: At about 1 p.m., an 8-point buck
walked from Kenan Street, down
Franklin Street and then choose to
bypass the open door and leap
through the plate glass store front of
Paint the Earth, a make-your-own
pottery place located on West
Franklin Street.
Apparently it burst through the
window with a sound “like a bomb,”
said owner Barry Slobin. The deer
shook off the broken glass and then
trotted out the back door of the store,
maneuvering through a maze of frag-
ile pottery without breaking even one, then headed
towards Breadmen’s Restaurant on Rosemary Street.
I’ll quote Dave Barry in saying “I am not making this
up.”
There are still so many unanswered questions. For
example, why would an animal with no (I assume) table
manners or opposable thumbs have a burning desire to
make his own high-gloss cereal bowl?
I can just see it: “For the love of God! I simply must
hand-paint a bud vase right now!" Who gets that passionate
about personalized, dishwasher-safe gifts, as nice as they
are? I always thought that sentiment was reserved for die
hard Martha Stewart and Christopher Lowell fans.
I think the situation is incredible. Why didn’t we hear
about it? Seems like there should have been a screaming
headline in the DTH, but nary a word was written. That
beast was raising hell, Bambi-style. How can the redistrict
ing debate continually snag a spot on our front page when
there is rampaging wildlife to be covered?
There’s only one thing I know to do in a situation like
this.
Make it into a metaphor about life.
Like the forest deer boldly strutting through our urban
center, we too should venture out of our comfort zones. We
need to smash through the plate-glass windows of our limi
tations, trot past our store of troubles, exit out the back
door of our regrets and head toward the Breadmen’s of
expanded horizons. We can learn a lot from going out of
our usual environment.
Slobin, the owner of Paint the Earth, said the deer “was
n’t angry but a little confused and afraid.” He continued to
say that he could tell “it wasn’t going to hurt (him).” The
deer, obviously out of its environment and untrained in
ceramic painting, chose to take the calm, moral high
ground by adjusting to the new situation and acting intelli
gently and nonviolently. He took a giant leap of faith (liter
ally and figuratively) and was left perturbed but unhurt -a
better mammal for it.
Slobin, amazingly enough, did not even close his store
and had anew window within three hours. The deer and
the owner were placed in a decidedly surreal situations,
and both rose to the occasion. The deer found his own way
out without causing extensive damage, and Slobin used
some “creative retailing” to keep the event from becoming
a problem - decorating his window with a sign proclaim
ing “The Buck Stops Here.” See, we can leam from this.
His thoughts on the meeting of man and beast? “It’s just
a culture clash,” Slobin said.
He described how he did not corral the deer or influ
ence it to leaving out the front door but respected its needs
and allowed it to exit out the back. It’s a perfect example of
diverse groups getting along with ease.
We’ve established that leaving one’s comfort zone is a
fast-track way to personal betterment What can we do here
at UNC? Our chancellor runs like a panicked deer from
student input in major decisions (Did I just say that?) - per
haps he could step out of his comfort zone a bit. And so
could the rest of us.
What did the deer leam from its ordeal? I assume it got
a first-hand tour of our urban jungle, broke through the
glass ceiling (wall anyway) and realized that to respect oth
ers was the only way to go.
I’d say in the great smorgasbord buffet of life, the
Franklin Street buck had a heaping helping of wisdom
paella and pan-fried enlightenment.
I’ll be having the venison.
Erin Fornoff is frozen in front of some car headlights.
Reach her at fornoff@email.unc.edu.
what flashed on that flat screen. Where
there used to be a million different Harry
Potters now there is only one.
Do you think that kids not yet old
enough to read will read the story of Harry
Potter or see the movie?
I am not a maniacal radical yelling kill
your television and rock ’n’ roll is the
devil’s music.
I like movies. I love AC/DC.
Nor am I saying that the Potter movie
will be bad. There is certainly a wonderful
story behind it. It is, however, destroying
the world that you created. There is no
going back.
Volume five of the series, if it is released,
will be the story of the characters that you
see in the movie. Your imagination has
been robbed.
The beauty of the story and most any
story is in the individual creation of the
characters, scenes and events. It is what
makes writers into authors and readers into
artists.
I know what Harry Potter looks like. J.K.
Rowling wrote his story, and I created him.
P.S. If you think it is OK because J.K.
Rowling had a hand in the casting, you just
missed the point.
Michael Smith
Class of 2001
(LJje Saily ®ar Hppl
. i
ERIN FORNOFF
SWEETNESS AND
LIGHT
0
A
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