Persian Gulf cease-fire doesn’t end letter war at UNL
Comparison of Kuwaitis,
Native Americans
lacks accuracy, reason
You are right, Pat Dinslage (DN, Feb. 28).
The United States’ treatment of the Native
American cultures is a shameful, crimson page
in our history. That is where your correctness
ends however. The American 1 ndian was not an
offensive military- machine, dedicated to in
creasing territorial claims at every turn. Yes,
we did destroy the Native Americans with
superior equipment, numbers and training, the
same way we defeated Iraq. However, we have
no territorial designs upon Iraq, only the elimi
nation of a dangerous army that has been the
aggressor against two sovereign nations in the
last decade. In doing so, we also restored free
dom to the Kuwaiti people (Yes, they live in a
monarchy, but a very benevolent monarchy at
worst).
As for what was done to the Native Ameri
can people, it was shameful aggression com
mitted in a less civilized lime. The United
Stales could never hope to repay them for all it
has done to them. And even the Iraqi people
deserve some pity . The vicious dictator that has
ruled Iraq with an iron Fist has served his people
poorly, damning their future for his own politi
C.sH Rut onp pannAt cimnlv/ Hicmicc th^»r.
as poor innocents, they did support Saddam
Hussein in this war, and if their culture suffers
for it, well, maybe they will be less warlike the
next lime around.
Robert T. Kutz
senior
finance
Leaders must be forced
to stop exploiting fears,
start proving ideas
The letters of last Friday (DN, March 1)
were so ridiculous on average that I hardly
know where to start. First, I am sick and tired of
name-calling. If you are right, name-calling is
not what makes you right, and if you are wrong,
name-calling only points to the weakness of
your argument. What does being a “peacenik
protester” imply that is such a threat, anyway?
We have become so lazy that we prefer to
step in a booth every few years, choose be
tween PR packages rather than statesmen and
women, and let them tell us what to believe.
We let them take our money, make secret,
illegal deals with brutal regimes of all political
bents and force on us such a poor set of national
policies that we become slaves to oil and fear of
people we’ve never met or even begun to
understand.
Worse yet, when our own government’s lies
catch up with them, our patriotic soldiers are
told to give their lives for a set of goals that are
inconsistent, immoral and perpetuate our slav
ery to oil and fear. My friends in the gulf
believe in their country, but I’m not sure that
they or we understand that the government is
not the same thing as the country and that our
elected officials rarely represent the common
good anymore. If our government were truly
of, by and for the people, why must grassroots
groups fightconstantly to keep our water clean,
wilderness wild and food pure for those who
have time only to pul it on their table?
Furthermore, if everyone is so tired of “no
• . . r • • utt t _ i j _i_j_:r
UHX.XJ lUiUll aiiu wuuiu wuiawwiivuiw u
Kuwait grew oranges?,” why not just answer
the question? Give us an answer that is real and
truly moral, not just a rehash of an “us or them”
paranoia.
My point is this. Until we can honestly
explain why our returning brutality for brutal
ity is moral, we should notpassivcly rely on our
leaders’ grandstanding assurances, especially
given their record of lies to us. It is not only our
right, but our duly to ourselves, our country and
all people to make our leaders stop exploiting
our fears and start proving their words. Then
wc won’t need to have people shouting “no
blood for oil.”
Eric Moss
graduate student
electrical engineering
Rodeos cause variety
of injuries to animals,
ignorance among fans
It is very good that Toby Brown has re
sponded to the joint statement by the Humane
Society of the United States and the American
Humane Association. In my recent letter (DN,
Feb. 12), I was representing the concurrence of
the organization, the Greater Nebraska Animal
Welfare Society, to this statement. I will,
however, be more than happy to respond to
Brown’s comments more specifically.
- LETTERS 7° EDITOR
Cruelty is inherent in rodeo; some of it is
hidden from the public view, and some of it is
blatant.
Our organization witnessed and videotaped
a calf that was injured and carried away on a
stretcher at the Ak-Sar-Ben rodeo last fall.
Calves roped when running up to 27 miles an
hour have their necks snapped back by the
lasso. There is no denying this occurs. It is quite
obvious. This often results in neck and back
injuries, bruises, broken bones and internal
hemorrhages.
This is the blatant and obvious part. But
what about that which is hidden from the pub
lic?
Electric prods, sharp sticks, caustic oint
ments and other devices arc used to irritate and
enrage animals used in rodeos. The flank or
“bucking” strap used to make horses and bulls
buck is tightly cinched around their abdomens,
where there is no rib cage protection. Tight
ened near the large and small intestines and
other vital organs, the belt pinches the groin
and genitals. The pain causes the animals to
buck, which is what the rodeo promoters want
the animal to do in order to put on a good show.
I don’t believe Toby Brown when he claims
to “know the animals involved” or that the
rodeo community arc “humanitarians caring
for our animals as if they were family.” These
are not their animals. The animals used in
rodeo are not fresh from the range, they are
captive performers owned by stock contractors
who make a living from supplying them to
rodeos. The animals undergo stress of constant
travel, often in poorly ventilated vehicles. Though
there are state laws requiring that the animals
be unloaded, fed and watered at specified inter
vals, enforcement is spotty at best.
Brown takes a different tack than most ro
deo promoters that I’ve spoken with. Most of
them try to tell me that rodeo portrays ranching
skills, to which I would reply that nothing
could be further from the truth. But Brown
contends that “rodeo is not ranching. It is a
sport... “ I think this is an even more ludicrous
description. To my notion, a sport is a compe
tition or event that includes willing partici
pants. Animals do not fit that description. Rodeo
cowboys voluntarily risk injury by participat
ing in the events, but the animals they use have
no such choice.
Brown also calls for a show of statistics on
the abuse of animals at rodeo. I can submit
hundreds of documented accounts, but in the
interest of being succinct, here are a few com
ments made by veterinarians, words that speak
volumes:
Dr. C.G. Haver, a veterinarian who spent 30
years as a federal meat inspector, worked in
slaughterhouses and saw many animals dis
carded from rodeos and sold for slaughter. He
described the animals as being “so extensively
bruised that the only areas in which the skin
was attached was the head, neck, leg and belly.
I have seen animals with six to eight ribs
broken from the spine and, at limes, puncturing
the lungs. I have seen as much as two to three
gallons of free blood accumulated under the
detached skin.”
Dr. E.J. Finocchio: “As a large animal vet
erinarian for 20 years 1 have witnessed first
hand the instant death of calves after their
spinal cords were severed from the abrupt stop
at the end of a rope when traveling up to 30
mph. I have also witnessed and tended to calves
that became paralyzed and whose tracheas
were totally or partially severed. Slamming to
the ground has caused rupture of several inter
nal organs leading to a slow, agonizing death.”
I’d like to add a comment to the student who
inquired whether I care about other animal
issues such as lab animal testing: The answer is
yes, I’m concerned about all areas of animal
exploitation and abuse, and I will continue to
address those issues as well.
Marcia Andersen
secretary
Greater Nebraska Animal Welfare Society
DN’s cult coverage
exposes overlooked
aspect of society
In response to Wendy Navratil’s writing on
cult activity (DN, Feb. 19).
It is very important for young and old people
alike to be aware of the dangers of so-called
Christian cull activities in the Lincoln area.
Often folks arc misled by the term Christian —
one would assume if you’re a Christian, you
can’t be a cultist.
This, though, is a false assumption. Many
who arc brought to Christian cults, and other
cults, arc searching and have often had a recent
loss of a loved one or spouse, or other tragedy.
These groups tend to fill a void brought by such
a loss, often injuring families further. Great
reporting, Wendy, on an often overlooked
subject.
James Johnson
Lincoln
Military requirements
should not obstruct
right to higher education
I would like to respond to the attitude ex
pressed by the university officials in “Military
means some drop classes” (DN, Feb. 14).
On the second day of this semester, I at
tended the First session of Criminal Justice 101
with Professor Chris Eskridge. His syllabus
said that the midterm was on March 14. He
explained, in the course of laying out his poli
cies, that he only gave makeup exams to stu
dents who were “in the hospital or in jail.” He
said anyone who couldn’t live with that should
drop immediately.
After class I explained that I was in the Air
Guard and that I was scheduled for participa
tion in an active duty exercise called “Red
Flag” from March 2 to March 16.
In the interest of graduating this spring with
my GPA intact, I dropped the course.
Subsequently, I found out that within uni
versity policy and legal principle he is clearly
within his lights to refuse me a makeup on
these ground.
It seems that military members make plenty
of sacrifice as it is. When you add the fact that
the only reason some of us can afford to attend
the university is because of the educational
benefits that the service offers, the attitude of •
the university is intolerable.
If the good professor had told anyone else
that he or she couldn’t be in his course because
-v-rTi—v y
he was black or homosexual or of a certain
faith, the university and the DN would have
been all over him like a bad smell.
At times like ‘his in particular, it wouldn’t
hurt the university to be a little more under
standing to the unique situations created by
some of its students discharging their national
duties. The right to an education should be a
benefit of, not a sacrifice to, the wish to per
form military service.
Scott Farber
senior
political science
Sexism not just words,
but subtle ingredient
in modern U.S. culture
So, Ms. Julie Naughton chose her own con
tinuation heading (DN, Feb. 25)? And because
she is a woman the heading, “He Said,” is
therefore considered appropriate. Is that what
you are trying to say? Among other things,
what we need to question is why she thought
that title was OK and why “She Said” was not
chosen. Is it simply because “He Said” was the
first half of the title? This would be a nice
explanation but one that doesn’t hold much
water, I’m afraid. After all, who is to say that
the first half is always the best half? The
argument could go on forever, each side giving
seemingly legitimate refutations. But that is
not what 1 wanted or want. Instead, I wanted
only for you (meaning the entire DN staff) to be
more aware of the subtle sexism that is embed
ded within us all, female and male and just as
importantly, to be more careful.
J.M. MacMillan
senior
general studies
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