Opinion
Nebraskan
Editorial Board
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Chris Hopfensperger. . .'.Editor, 472-1766
Dionne Searcey.,....Opinion Page Editor
Kris Karnopp.Managing Editor
Alan Phelps.Wire Editor
Wendy Navratil. Writing Coach
Stacey McKenzie.. Senior Reporter
Jeremy Fitzpatrick.*..Columnist
Act I
No candidate stands out in debate drama
It wasn’t a debate. It was a staged presentation, and each of
the players played their parts well.
President Bush was well-rehearsed in the lead role. Bill
Clinton, the up-and-coming understudy. And Ross Perot, the
comic relief.
Bush, comfortable in his role after four years in office, empha
sized his strength in foreign policy, took the credit for victory in
the Cold War and blamed his troubles on the congressional
\r i n ainc
The president took advantage of the spotlight to attack Clinton.
He played his patriotism card, making reference to Clinton’s anti
war activities while the Arkansas governor was studying abroad.
Not wanting to be outdone, Clinton threatened to steal the
show with his tear-jerking reflections. He played the audience —
and the camera — well.
Clinton, taking up the banner of change, did well on the
domestic issues. His soljloquies on health care and family values
were straightforward and well-received.
Perot, the outsider, warmed up the crowd quickly with his
witty one-liners. The non-candidate laid his candidacy on the line
by being honest — a role true politicians are not often willing to
take.
Being left out of the early mudslinging was good for Perot,
who obviously gained more supporters with his jokes.
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plan to raise the gas lax 50 cents over the next five years.
Questions also were raised about Perot’s ability to blend in
with the cast in Washington. His answers were vague and nebu
lous. The question will come, however, when Americans ask
themselves if they arc ready to lake Perot’s plan seriously.
It was a stirring beginning, but the auditions were too close for
any cuts to be made. „
Numbers game
Bush’s claims don’t match statistics
It appears as though President Bush’s numbers just don’t add
up.
In a recent speech while stumping for votes in South
Dakota, Bush said farmers have made more money during his
administration than ever before.
uuc, ai uic u.o. L^epunmeni ui /Agricul
ture.
USDA analysis say the average net farm income during the
Reagan and Bush years actually rank last when compared with
rates during the administrations of Presidents Kennedy and
Johnson, Nixon and Ford and Carter, according to an article in
The Dcs Moines Register.
Kind of makes one question the validity of the other numbers
Bush tosses around.
For example, Bush has a new commercial out that uses a lot of
numerical data in an attempt to show that Bill Clinton was a
rotten governor. Where do these numbers come from? Probably
the same place where Bush got the idea that farmers made piles of
„ money during his administration. 1
Even if farmers did have larger profits while Bush was in
office, who’s to sav that it was the result of his leadership?
It’s time for Bush to forget about the number-crunching game
and start to accept the idea that he might as well crawl in a hole
and lose this election with what grace he’s got left.
— Iowa State Daily
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Racism
In regard to the Joyce Joyce issue,
I totally agree with Leo Sartori (“Joyce
guilty of violating rights,” DN, Oct.
5).
Her class was the only class I pur
posely flunked besidesaGerman class,
which I flunked because of illness.
From the first day, I believe she
had me pegged as a naive white per
son who needed to be reprimanded for
racist activities of which she said I
was guilty.
It didn’t matter that I had been
making a 20-year or so concerted
effort to overcome subconscious ra
cial attitudes within myself, IF I had
them. She told me I did, and that was
whatmattered. She stood within inches
of me and in an extremely intimidat
ing way, told me that I must really be
racist because “if a black man were
leaning over me like that,” I “would
be afraid that he would rape me.”
NOT TRUE!
For three days, 1 endured her taunts
of me and my “racist” altitudes, and I
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wrong in her assessment of me. Fi
nally, on the fourth day of the three
week pre-session class, she attacked
me full force.
I was taking notes on a poem we
were discussing and must have writ
ten a statement of hers incorrectly and
in order to understand it belter, ques
tioned her about the accuracy of what
I had written.
She immediately lit into a tirade
that I was stupid and incapable of
understanding the black experience
... as arc all white people.
She refused to clarify her state
ment even when 1 practically begged
her because I really did want to under
stand, but I was aware that I needed to
be taught and that was the purpose for
my taking this Alro-Amcrican litera
ture course. I was in the process of
fulfilling credits for an Africa minor.
She said that il l didn’t understand
“by now” I would never understand
because, alter all, I was white. She
hinted that the time would coinc when
whiles will be subjected by blacks and
then it won’t matter if we understand
or not. I simply assumed at that lime
that she was a Black Supremacist.
I left the class trying to manage my
uncontrollable tears at having been
accused of being stupid and incapable
of learning. I did not go to the om
budsman because it would have done
no good. Besides, it took me nearly
three months and counseling at the
health center to feel good about my
self again and before I could stop
weeping at the thought of failing so
miserably in her class.
It was my psychological problem.
I also understood that it would do no
good to approach the ombudsman
because Joyce is black and a woman
who had the legal system by the horns.
A11 she had to do was c ry “rac ism ” and
if that didn’t work, she could cry
“sexism.”
All I had to do was prove to myself
that I wasn’t stupid, but that is ex
tremely difficult because even with
an A overall average, I still feel tre
mendously stupid. If a professor senses
1 have brains and am intelligent, I am
capable of working to achieve an A+,
which I have done.
-44
I don’t understand how
you can judge a 16th
century man with 20th
century standards. I’m
sure that Columbus
was considered a man
of his time.
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But if a professor hints that they
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B+ s or B’s. My only C+ came from
a woman who really thinks that I am
stupid — because she told me that a
woman with long hair cannot be a
scholar. Well, that is beside the point.
I have discovered, however, that
all the sympathy 1 did feel for her
because in fact, she is a black and a
woman who has had to fight her way
up the white ladder... I no longer feel.
I have realized that her problems
do not stem from racism, as she be
lieves, but from the fact it appears she
is a mean, narrow-soulcd, small
minded person who blames all her ills
on racism.
We don’t need people like that on
this campus, and I, for one, am glad
she is gone. Unfortunately, I really
would like to take that class.
Constance M. Bachus-Yodcr
music, anthropology and religion
Columbus Day
I hate to burst your bubble but what
exactly did you think the Europeans
were going to do? Advance into the
20th century, launch their first space
craft and not notice the fact that we
missed discovering two whole conti
nents?
My biggest complaint about Co
lumbus bashers isn’t that they point
out all the bad, nasty things that Co
lumbus did. 1 have little doubt that
Columbus enslaved the natives and
helped plunder the New World.
I don’t understand how you can
judge a 16th-century man with 20th -
century standards. I’m sure that Co
lumbus was considered a man of his
time. I’m also sure that if you asked
average citizens of the 16th century,
they would think that the conquest of
the New World was totally logical.
Spain was at war when Columbus
discovered America. For several hun
dred years around this lime period
clobbering their neighbors and steal
ing their stuff was the thing to do.
Remember also that the more ad
vanced Native American tribes, par
ticularly the Central and South Ameri
can Indians, engaged in wars with
each other for slaves and other pur
poses.
I suspect that given another couple
hundred of years, the Aztecs would
havi* hrsinrhf*H mil anrl r.nntmlled a
considerably larger area than they did
when they met Ibc Spanish.
It seems to me there is a movement
in this country to become pvcrly sen
sitive. Anything that is found to be
offensive is changed to the point of
rewriting history.
I’m surprised with all the abundant
kindness and understanding floating
around, some of it wouldn’t be di
rected at Columbus. Give Chris a
break, he was raised in a dysfunc
tional era, it’s not his fault. Docs this
sound familiar?
Don’t kid yourself. Americans are
one of the most progressive groups of
people in this planet. If you don’t
believe me, watch some CNN. At
least when we have a problem in the
United States, we don’t raid the Na
tional Guard armory and start passing
out ammo.
Paul Gcbhart
, sophomore
general studies
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