friday, October 9, 1981
daily nebraskan
page 5
Hinckley's not crazy. . .
Continued from Page 4
Hinckley: . . because Travis (the character that
assassinated a politician in Taxi Driver) brought so many
handguns. Ask him not me.
Newsweek: . . Which Americans are being helped
most by Reagan and which are being hurt most?"
Hinckley: "I believe all Americans will eventually be
helped by Mr. Reagan's changes. He is the best president
we've had this century. Let's give the man a chance."
Yeah, let's give the man a chance, Hinckley says. Only
he means himself, not the president. In fact, the whole
interview is a plea for himself.
It's exactly the plea he'll give when tried for the assas
sination attempt of the president of the United States:
innocent by reason of insanity.
Hinckley's answers to Newsweek are so calculatingly
absurd, so predictably "crazy," that he blew his cover.
They cry out, "Hey, look at me. I'm in love with a movie
star. I tried to kill the president. I'm insane."
Trouble is, he's trying too hard. He's like Klinger in
television's MASH, wearing dresses, pantyhose and
high heels to put his insanity on display. Klinger's looking
for a discharge; Hinckley's looking for a lenient sentence.
That's why the Newsweek article will probably hurt
Hinckley. He comes off not as insane, but as smart. Lines
like "I don't admire any political leaders, except perhaps,
Mr. Reagan" are too crafty to be crazy.
It's gotten to the point where it sounds like a game to
Hinckley. It's like once he got the Jodie Foster story roll
ing, it was too much fun to stop. "Doing it for Jodie"
seemed as insane an alibi as any, and insane is the ruling
the man wants.
Now, if he tried to put his game to the test in a trial, it
will most likely (and hopefully) explode in his face. If he
parrots the Newsweek article - parading his insanity as
proudly as Klinger wears his dresses he's sure to lock
himself out of the looney bin and in to a federal prison
forever.
Liberals threatened by loss of status
4m . v
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1
THE
Visit the Clipper
barbershop for your
hairstying needs.
"Hi, I'm Kim and we want to help you
with your hair care needs."
2 blocks south of campus
Monday-Friday 8:00 - 5:30
Saturday 8:00-4:00
124 North 12th
474-4455
By Joseph Sobran
My colleague in the
column-writing business.
Carl Rowan, has launched
an extraordinary attack on
Thomas Sowell, the black
economist, likening him to
Vidkun Quisling, the Nor
wegian collaborator with
the Nazis, charging that
Sowell is helping those who
Rowan says are "taking
food out of the mouths of
black children."
Sowell's offense? He
favors the free market and
opposes, as self-defeating,
federal poverty programs.
Note that Sowell, who can
speak harshly himself, has
never accused people like
Rowan of helping to snatch
food out of children's
mouths. Why does Rowan
find it necessary to resort to
such violent imagery?
The president of Yale
University likewise couldn't
content himself with simple
criticism, on rational
grounds, of the religious
Right: he called them "vio
lent," "racist," and "coer
cive," and linked them to a
recent increase in acts of
antisemitism. Why? When
has any Moral Majoritarian
engaged in the sort of be
havior the gentlemen
alleges?
Never, as far as I know.
Heaven knows there are
plenty of violent acts com
mitted daily in this country.
But they are not the work
of Thomas Sowell, or Jerry
Falwell.
Again, why? These are
serious charges. The men
who make them should be
called to account. Where is
their evidence?
Poses threat
The answer, I think, is to
be sought in the imagin
ations of the accusers. Carl
Rowan belongs to a political
and cultural establishment
that has staked its prestige
on the social policies Sowell
is criticizing.
In that sense, Sowell
poses a kind of threat to the
social status of Carl Rowan.
Rowan, naturally, reacts
with violent emotions. But
he projects his reaction onto
Sowell in the form of a
violent metaphor - snatch
ing food from children.
That is Rowan's rhetorical
way of trying to share his
sense of menace with
others.
Likewise with Yale's
president. The psychology is
the same. The new religious
Right poses a threat to the
liberal cultural values Yale
represents. If Falwell rises,
Yale declines in importance.
Yale too feels menaced.
To communicate its fear
to others, its spokesman
tries to represent the Moral
Majority as an actual physi
cal threat to all citizens, Ivy
League or not.
Silly, of course. But this
is a natural reaction, and to
understand it is not neces
sarily to condone it. Declin
ing establishments often
react to their status rival by
portraying them as "danger- liberals principles are
ous radicals" - dangerous wrong, as Thomas Sowell
not just to the establish- does and Jerry Falwell does,
ment, but to the society at And of course I wish they
large. By portraying conser- would tone down their
vatives as actual physical language,
threats, liberals are trying to But they are not cynics,
rally the public behind them They are idealists with a
in their own peculiar hour heavy stake in their ideals,
of peril. Having been on the losing
side myself for quite a
Collies vs. dachshunds while, I know what they are
During the 1980 camp- going through. And for all
aign, Jimmy Carter tried to their mistakes and excesses,
portray Ronald Reagan as a I think they have earned a
racist and war monger who little compassion for them-
would set race against race, selves.
Jew against Christian, and
collie against dachshund. A
grain of salt, in such in
stances, is recommended.
Carter was roundly
and rightly chastised for
his rhetoric, but I doubt
that he would have said
those things if he hadn't at
least partially believed
them. Losing status is a
painful experience.
In 1929 Wall Street in
vestors leaped from build
ings, not because they faced
starvation, but because they
faced what was for them
unbearable social ruin. Of
course that ruin was only
symbolic, but "only" is a
heartless word for pain that
is all too real.
At the moment liberals
are losing more than per
sonal status; they are seeing
the failure of ideas they
have believed in. The so
called battle of the budget is
actually a battle over
important social principles.
I devoutly believe the
(c) The Los Angeles
Times Syndicate
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A qteoi way Me
Unpack that pizza
Therms a Valentino s in
Manhattan. And Topeka,
If you've been known to take
Valentino's pizza to out-of-town
Big Red football
games, you can leave it home
this Saturday.
As you can see from this
handy little map, there's a
Valentino's in Manhattan.
There's also one in Topeka.
That means you can enjoy Val's
pizza, pasta, salads and ice-cold
tcer before and after the
NUKSU game.
This Saturday, leave the
pizza at home, and bring lots
of Big Red Spirit.
Open every day at 11 a.m.
lii Manhattan
3019 Anderson
In the Village Plaza
Shopping Center
537-4350
In Topeka
29th & Gage
In the Market Place
Shopping Center
273-3780
Opening soon
injunction City
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PIZZA. ..and so much mora