Opinion
Monday, February 20,1995 Page 4
Daily
Nebraskan
Editorial Board
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
JeffZeleny. Editor, 472-1766
Jeff Robb.Managing Editor
Matt Woody.. Opinion Page Editor
DeDra Janssen.Associate News Editor
Rainbow Rowell.'.Arts & Entertainment Editor
James Mehsling.Cartoonist
Chris Hain.Senior Reporter
Hasty healing
Reconciliation process needs more time
Conciliation.
“To overcome the distrust or animosity of; appease. To regain or
tiy to regain (friendship or goodwill) by pleasant behavior. To make
or try to make compatible; reconcile. See pacify.”
In the city of Lincoln, this word has become important.
It is the driving force behind efforts to mend the wounds of this
community caused by the death of Francisco Renteria.
The Community Conciliation Process, created by Mayor Mike
Johanns, is intended to examine
existing city programs, policies and
procedures in light of the Francisco
Renteria death and grand jury pro
cess in order to identify:
• strengths of the existing ap
proach
• how the current approach can
be strengthened and enhanced
• how city programs, policies
and procedures can be better un
derstood by the public
• the need for additional or on
going community forums.”
What does all of this mean?
Amy Schmidt/DN A group representing the many
branches of city government, mi
nority groups and the public is charged with finding a way to bring
understanding, healing and normality to the city of Lincoln.
As if their task wasn’t difficult enough, now they have another
volatile issue to contend with—the reinstatement of Tom Casady as
chief of the Lincoln Police Department.
The conciliation committee will no doubt discuss the reason why
the misdemeanor indictment against Casady was dropped. However,
members of the group shouldn’t focus too much of their time on the
chiefs reinstatement.
Granted, it is another major issue in the Renteria case. But if we
second-guess every step made by the judicial system, little progress
will be made.
We can’t say justice only works when we like the outcome.
It really seems like something is being accomplished at the con
ciliation meetings. Let’s hope it is.
But in wake of the enormousness of the issues with which the
committee must deal, the April deadline set by Johanns is probably
unrealistic. Problems of diversity are deeply rooted in Lincoln. It
will take more than a few months to understand them, let alone begin
to work them out. '
The deadline should be extended, or the entire process will have
been for naught.
In one breath
The Program Board at George Washington University has planned
a Feb. 27 showing of the X-rated “John Wayne Bobbitt... Uncut” as
a way to prompt an academic discussion about pornography.
But so far, the board has only started up a controversy. Oppo
nents have scheduled a demonstration before the movie. For fmding
a valid way to voice their concerns, they should be applauded. And
so should the university, which has done the right thing and stayed
out of the matter, hopefully realizing that it shouldn’t censor the
Program Board’s functions, no matter how tasteless they may be.
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Men and women
I am writing in response to
Jamie Karl’s column “Ladies, men
have it bad, too” (Feb. 16). I am
saddened not only because someone
in the 1990s actually has these
narrow-minded, ultra-conservative
views, but also because the Daily
Nebraskan is willing to give
Neanderthal commentaries like
Karl’s a public voice.
The points made by Karl in the
column, as labeled in succinct
fashion by little dots, are all
appalling. I do not have the space
to refute them all, though that can
certainly be done.
Has Karl taken the time to
investigate these statistics to check
their accuracy? Obviously not. Had
he done so, he would have seen that
men do not do more household
work than women, and domestic
violence is not an equal distribution
between men and women because
women are more severely injured
than men. Until a woman can walk
up and push down or punch out her
husband or boyfriend with one blow
as men can to women, I’m afraid
men simply don’t have it as bad.
And then to say that women do
not compose more of the teaching
faculty because men are better
instructors is just a 1950s mentality
that sidesteps the real issue called
sexual discrimination.
Women have “rested” since the
beginning of time, and we are not
about to back down now. So get
used to us coming out of the
kitchens and someday being^your
boss, because it will happen.
And Karl had better slow down
before he starts telling other groups
like African Americans “it’s time
you take a rest,” because then
they’ll have to add racism to Karl’s
repertoire of sexism and
homophobia.
Ashley P. Finley
senior
English and sociology
Images of women
The letter “OfTensiveness” by
Funkhouser, Ripley and Grady
(Feb. 10) asks women, “Without
such ads (like the ‘Strip Pool’ ad)
appearing, what would you do?”
Unfortunately, I can’t fathom the
idea of such ads existing. The
American people are constantly
bombarded with such ads by the
media, so much so that many
people (apparently including those
three) consider them commonplace
and become confused when others
claim their objections to them.
Please note that my objection has
AmySchmidt/DN
nothing to do with the idea that sex
is a taboo subject; I certainly don’t
believe that women who engage in
sex are bimbos. That word is one of
many labels placed on women who
are considered promiscuous. Such
labels and images contained in the
“Strip Pool” ad portray the sexual
role of women as something
unnatural and implies that women
who engage in intercourse are dirty.
I am also concerned with the
spiteful, childish and blatantly
unprofessional manner in which
three educated men composed a
letter that came across as nothing
more than a collection of hateful,
unenlightened scribblings.
Melissa A. Borman
senior
art
Libertarians
It looks like we’ve got a live one.
Why are political science and
women’s studies majors so easy to
sucker in?
In response to Jonathan R.
Strand’s letter ‘“Strip Pool’” (Feb.
15), we are sorry for such a “sopho
moric response.” By the way, none
of us have bought the video. Good
one, though.
Leave it to a graduate student in
political science to assume that one
must have a personal interest at
stake in order to care about a
liberty. But let’s go right to the only
argument that Strand makes.
He argues, with regard to our
consent position, that “one need
only think of how this logic would
sound if applied to heroin addicts.”
Unfortunately, we see no
problems here. Legalize heroin, we
say. Can’t a graduate student in
political science recognize a
libertarian when he sees one?
It’s scary to think that Strand
believes an argument based on
aesthetics is pertinent. But we do
not think that our personal tastes
should dictate what rights others
exercise. We’ll leave the judging of
what is offensive and “degrading”
to Strand and his cronies.
We can only say that the women
in the ad have no need for your
pity.
Eric Funkhouser
senior
philosophy
Jeremy Ripley
junior
art
Mitch Grady
junior
art
