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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 20, 1987)
Editorial Nebraskan University of Nebraska-Lincoln Mike Reilley, Editor, 472-1766 Jeanne Bourne, Editorial Page Editor Jann Nyffeler, Associate News Editor Scott Harrah, Night News Editor Joan Rezac, Copy Desk Chief Linda Hartmann, Wire Editor Charles Lieurance, Asst. A & E Editor AIDS discussion Cameron must be met for panel to work If the organizers of an AIDS panel discussion wanted to get some thing accomplished tonight, they would cut anti-gay-rights activist Paul Cameron from the panel. Cameron has said he is sur prised that public officials such as Sen. Don Wesely of Lincoln are shying away from a head-to head meeting with him in the panel discussion scheduled for tonight at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln East Union. The Daily Nebraskan doesn’t blame Wesely and others for not attending. Cameron, a Lincoln psychologist, has earned na tional attention for his views on AIDS. He has said that people with AIDS should be quarantined and that AIDS carriers should be tattooed so they can be recog razed as being infected with the disease. He also has pushed for AIDS testing for all hospital, restaurant and school staff members. Cameron’s ridiculous, homophobic ideas wouldn’t do anything to help the discussion. Panel organizer Virgil Na bity said Sunday he wanted to find someone representing ev ery angle of the AIDS dilemma in schools. The panel is spon sored by Taxpayers for Quality Education, a group formed for concerned citizens worried about AIDS. The purpose of the panel is to be a forum discussing AIDS policies in schools, but it will never achieve its goal if no one is there to square off against Cameron and put him in his place. Mate needs more jobs; LB775 is worth a try A controversial study by Donald W. Macke, sen ior partner of Econom ic Research Associates, said Nebraska’s new tax incentive law will set the state back 16 to 20 years financially. LB775, the Employment and Investment Growth Act, will provide tax incentives for cor porations based on the number of jobs created over seven years. Seventy-one companies have applied for these tax incentives so far. An article in the Sunday Omaha World-Herald reported that the companies plan to in vest $1.06 billion to create 8,962 jobs over the next seven years. Macke’s study claims corpo rate income and sales tax reve nue lost under LB775 won’t be made up by new employees’ taxes for 16 to 20 years. But Macke is overlooking at least three important points: First, as new employees move into Nebraska communi ties, their incomes will stimu late the local economy, possibly creating other jobs in the service sector. Second, if Nebraska is to compete with other states it must offer incentives for com panies to move here. Third, although opponents of the bill argue that it gives tax money away to companies that would expand anyway, actually it would encourage expansion from established companies and may provide the impetus needed for outside companies to move to Ne braska. Other opponents want the bill to be amended to force compa nies to disclose exactly how much tax money will be saved and how much money the com pany expects to spend on the project. Now, only the company name, the location of the proj ect, and the amounts of in creased employment and invest ment are reported. Economic development has long been a topic cm the lips of state senators, the governor and community leaders. Finally the Legislature has taken some steps to encourage investment in the state. Let’s give it a chance. Iranian student seeks peace and freedom I have been in this country for nine years without ever going back to Iran — my country of birth. Unfortunately, at the time I came here, Iran was involved in an Islamic movement and then the hostage crisis. Because of these issues, communica tion with my family was getting worse week after week. They weren’t able to send me money, so I had to support myself. I started as a dishwasher and have worked ever since. I worked as hard as anyone else, but I told myself things would get better. I was going to school and working at jobs that many people wouldn’t have done. I was doing them no matter how hard and humiliating they were because 1 was thinking of the light at the end of the tunnel. It was not just me doing all this; many Iranians were working at mini mum-wage jobs. Many others had high degrees and were very intelligent But we Iranians have no control over political issues. I personally anr not involved with these kinds ol things. I have other problems to solve I know it is my country and I do love it like lots of you in the United States But you don’t want to fight; mos people want peace and freedom, don’t like to see any Iranians, Ameri cans or Iraqians in the war. I don ’ t wan to die for someone else’s mistake. A few weeks ago, a story in the Loi Angeles Times reported dial an Ira nian burned himself in protest of th< Iranian president coming to the Unite< Nations and the war between Iran ant Iraq. He loved his family and life, bu he put an end to his life to tell u: something. Hassan Ferasati industrial educatior This is the real world, folks Some people, it seems, cannot accept anything "Out on the road today I saw a Dead Head sticker on a Cadillac. A little voice inside my head Said don’t look back ...” Don Henley, “Boys of Summer” Sure, I have trouble accepting reality. It’s been a problem of mine for some time now. For instance: • We live in a country where people pay $40 to wear a shirt that advertises a soft drink. The shirts look like this: • We go to an institution of higher education that gives exceptional ath letes free room and board, tuition, books, and many fringe benefits to play football. Football is a game where outcome will not stop wars, famine or disease. However, we do not offer excep tional scholars nearly as much in terms of room and board, tuition and books, or award them a hundredth of the rec ognition. Applied scholarly activity has cured many diseases and fed more people using less manpower and land. No one, it seems, can stop wars. A football looks like this: Often footballs will advertise a certain brand of sporting goods, like Spalding or Wilson. Many footballs are autographed by superstars of the game. I’ve yet to see a football that advertised a soft drink, though. • We live in a world where the national media deluges the airwaves with news about an 18-month-old girl who fell down a well. The whole coun try sends best wishes and follows the story closely until the little girl is st.fe. Disneyland sent her a giant stuffed bear. Yet, every day thousands of little girls never reach 18 months old be cause they die of starvation. Bill Allen Somehow, people are able to bliss fully ignore these children, unless someone writes a hit song or makes a hit video about starving people. That’s goodfora year or so, until the song gets old. A giant stuffed bear looks like this: Most of us have had a stuffed bear atone time in our lives. I still sleep with a teddy bear. Most of us have always had plenty to eat, too. • We live in a world where religious leader Jim Bakker had an affair and was kicked off the air because of it. Now, a few months later, he and his drug-addict wife are looking for a chance to get back on the air. His former church secretary and lover appeared nude in Playboy Maga zine. Playboy doesn’t usually print pic tures of ugly women in its magazine, but this was a sensational case and the publishers figured they would sell more copies with pictures of this woman even though she wasn’t a “bunny." A bunny looks like this: Obviously, this bunny and a Play boy “bunny” are not similar. • We live in a world made up of dis posable razors, diapers, napkins, plates, cups, forks, spoons and contra ceptives. All of which parallel our disposable lifestyle with abortions, divorces, fast food, casual sex and edible panties, or so I’m told. I have never eaten my own or any one else’s underwear, but I imagine the table would be set like this: Still, some people wonder why I have trouble accepting reality. Allen is a graduate student and Daily Ne braskan arts and entertainment editor. He drew all the illustrations for this column. Ethnic slurs promote faulty cliches A woman of Polish ancestry called me a few days ago, ranting about a terrible insult that had been directed at Poles by one of the broadcasters who handled a Chicago Bears football game earlier this fall. “He implied that Poles are stupid," the lady said. Were you watching the Bears’ scab game? I asked. “Sure, how do you think I heard him say it?” Then, if you were spending a fine afternoon watching that game, there might be something in what the an nouncer said about Poles. “Why, you’re just as bad ...” she began to sputter. I assured her I was just joking and promised to look into the alleged in sult And, as I discovered, broadcaster Dick Vermeil had indeed made a couple of remarks that offended Poles. About 15 Chicagoans were so in dignant that they complained to their congressman, William Lipinski, who called the CBS network to look into the matter. He received an apology from Vermeil. I’m sure that all incorrigible ethnic joke tellers are eagerly awaiting de tails of what Vermeil said. OK, I will satisfy your disgusting curiosity. [ At one point, a player was a little I slow in getting on the field for a punt . formation, and Vermeil said some l thing to the effect that it is OK for him to be late because he’s Polish. 5 And later, taking note that the Bears . had two wide receivers who were . Polish-Americans, Vermeil said they I were probably eager for the game to I end so they could go drink beer and eat l some kielbasa, which is sausage, j Some non-Poles — especially those of the WASP persuasion — might wonder why this should offend i anyone. So I’ll let John Czemiak of Joliet, 111., explain. He’s another Pole who was upset, and he dropped me a note. “I resent the fact that Mr. Vermeil was allowed to imply we arc slow, as if being Polish was a form of mental handicap. 1 also resent that Mr. Ver meil implied that the greatest aspira tion of a Polish employee is to finish work so we can drink and eat Polish sausage. I feel such bigots should be. removed from the broadcaster’s booth.” Mike R°yk° Firing is a bit harsh, since Vermeil really didn’t know he was being offen sive. As he explained in a phone inter view, he chatted with the two wide receivers before the game, and they merrily noted how unusual it is for two Polish-Americans to be playing that position on the same team. And they joked with him about going out aftei the game to have a cold beer and kielbasa. And it is unusual. Most wide receiv ers are black. But I assume that they are not eager to finish a game so that they can go drink whiskey and eat chitlins and black-eyed peas, although ii doesn’t sound like a bad idea. “In coaching (he’s an ex-coach), you joke about everything, including ethnic background, because people, the coaches, the players arc so secure in their relationship that people aren’t that concerned. I should have been concerned, because obviously it of fended someone.” To be honest, I am disappointed. The only reason I bothered to check out the complaints of the Polish American readers is because I was curious and thought Vermeil had told a couple of really terrible, offensive, cruel jokes. Which would have proba bly had me splitting my sides. I mean, there’s the one about the two Polish astronauts. Oops, but I can ’ t tell that one in a newspaper. Or the one about the Pole and the birth-control device. I d< finitely can’t tell that one, either. But Vermeil’s remarks were not nearly as gross as the Polish jokes my Irish friends tell me, although I some times have difficulty understanding them, since they often talk with two or three potatoes in their mouths. What Vermeil has learned, to his discomfort, is that ethnic, racial or religious humor is no longer accept able on the public airwaves or in the print medium. That is both good and unfortunate. It’s good because many of the jokes perpetuate inaccurate and unfair stere otypes. It unfortunate because so many of the jokes are funny. Anyway, Vermeil says he is sorry and he apologizes to any Poles he may have offended. Since I am half Polish, from my mother’s side, I accept half of his apology because Ukrainians like to tell Polish jokes. Incidentally, Vermeil says his name is French. So if he really wants to make amends, during the next game he should single out some player with French ancestry and say something like: “He’s a little slow in getting out on the field, but that’s OK — he’s waiting for the American Army to show up.” Now I’ve done it. AH the snail eaters are going to be calling my boss. Royko is a Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist for the Chicago Tribune, c 1987 by the Chicago Tribune