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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (April 29, 1996)
That’s history Decade’s oddities usher in next millenium I’ve been mulling over a few issues, in light of the upcoming westernized gala celebration marking (or marketing, whichever you prefer) the coming of the big 2000. But before I say anything else. I’d just like to credit film director Kathryn Bigelow for tackling it first in “Strange Days.” She gives the assertion that truth is stranger than fiction a good run for its money. Movies aside, as we progress into the big 2K and beyond, each of us is going to look back on this time and place with particulars that stand out among all the rest. Here arc a few of my particulars from the ’90s that I think will stick around for the duration: Women in the military Mona Charen did a column on Shannon Faulkner a little while back, after the Citadel cadet resigned her position at the previ ously all-male military academy. Charen seemed to think that having females serve in the U.S. military was generally a bad idea and that Faulkner’s leaving the Citadel didn’t do a whole lot to further the women’s cause. For the record, Mona, the performance of one individual doesn’t reflect the value of that individual’s categorical group in any regard. Your analysis of Shannon Faulkner’s case ignores the thou sands of women serving in the armed forces today. A post-2K military may finally come to capitalize on the fact that, on average, while they may not be as physically strong — a claim Charen made in her editorial — women are as a rule more dexterous. Could come in handy, say, in the targeting of a tank’s gun, or at the Fred Poyner 7 hope that the next century doesn't have in store for me some infected Snow Monkey or other disease-ridden animal sitting on my doorstep when I go to get the morning paper." \ - helm controls of a sub, hmm, Mona? At any rate, I believe having women serve in all types of combat situa tions involving U.S. troops is only a matter of lime, despite Pentagon worries over women being injury prone. Ebola At the start of the semester, I wrote an editorial on the prolifera tion of diseases that don’t have known cures. Among those ad dressed was the Ebola virus from Africa. Well, the virus is starting to make its rounds. Just last week, a research facility down in Texas had to destroy approximately 70 monkeys in order to contain the “threat” of an Ebola outbreak. (The monkeys were suspected of harboring the virus). Texas, by the way, also just happens to have a major problem with a rampant population of Japanese Snow monkeys that originally escaped from one of these same research facilities, and are now breeding in the wild like crazy. If (or rather when) they are ever infected with something like Ebola, they would be a pretty effective vector for the disease. I don’t know about you, but I hope that the next century doesn’t have in store for me some infected Snow Monkey or other disease ridden animal sitting on my doorstep when I go to get the morning paper. The Ocean Forget off-shore oil drilling; consider how long the ocean has been the Food of the Gods — and . now it is perhaps the solution to world hunger. Isaac Asimov predicted algae colonies would someday come to be relied on as humanity’s primary food source because (a) we will have eaten everything else and (b) we won’t have the resources to produce anything else in sufficient quantities to feed everybody. Seriously, though, seaweed was considered a delicacy in Asia long before the last millennium, so plan your children’s future careers as Water Estate agents today! On the eve of the 2K, I think I’ll just find a nice, quiet place to usher in the next 1000 years, and drink a silent toast to all those countless individuals who helped to build the last 1000. We owe them that much consid eration. Poyner is a graduate student in museum studies and a Dally Nebraskan columnist. Parental Guidance • ■ i ; Television distracts children from mischief Benjamin Joseph Parker made his appearance three and a half weeks early, weighing in at a robust 7 pounds, 5 ounces on Feb. 27, 1996. He is beautiful and perfect in every way, and we are overjoyed. But this is not the baby I ordered. No, sir. This child is fussy. I am not getting more than five hours of sleep a night. 1 sat down at 10 a.m. to write this column. It is now 11:40, and he’s finally asleep. Doesn’t Ben realize that we have two older children, 4 and 2? Docsn’i he know that in order to smoothly accommodate another child into the family, we needed a placid, per fectly easy baby? Someone failed to get that message to Benjamin. He thinks being cute and having gorgeous big dark eyes is sufficient. There were moments, in the first crazy days after we brought Ben home from the hospital, when I would awake in the morning at Jonathan’s insistence (“I was talking loud to wake you up,” he offers cheerfully), listen to David in his crib shouting, “Get me out,” hear Benjamin crying to be nursed and think, “What ever made me think I wanted three children?” Living with three little boys isn’t just demanding or busy. It’s a more or less permanent state of mayhem, sometimes controlled—more often not. When I get together with fellow parents who say they permit their children no television or videos, I say nothing. I once overheard a TV producer, who doesn’t stay at home wither her children, announce proudly that they watch no TV. Everyone knows TV is terrible for children. “Anything else they do is better,” says my friend Bill Bennett. Well... he doesn’t live with Jonathan. Sometimes television, particularly videos, amounts to the Mona Charon "Only five short years ago, we had no noise, no sleeplessness, no annoying bickering. What a terrible quiet it was. ” basic right of sclf-dcfcnsc by the adults in our household. What might they be doing if not watching a video? While I am nursing Benjamin, Jonathan and David might be engaged in one of their high-decibel disputes over a clothes hanger. “It’s mine!” “No, I was having a turn.” I note with exasperation that hangers are not toys, arc dangerous and must be returned to the closet. Howls of protest ensue (at least now they arc united in fury at me). Or they might be experimenting with magic markers on the white couch in the family room. Or they might have hold of the sink sprayer in the kitchen. Then there’s Mommy’s computer to explore — or Mommy’s closet. Anything, really, except their toys. But turn on “Bedknobs and Broomsticks,” and my two older ' sons instantly transform themselves into little soldiers. With trash baskets on their heads for helmets, and Mega Blocks sticks for swords, Jonathan and David march around the house in tandem, chanting the tune from the movie. OK, I’ll say it. Though conserva tives aren’t supposed to admit this, I don’t think television, in modera tion, is bad for kids. David’s imagination has been wonderfully stimulated by “The Magic School bus.” He assigns everyone in the family various characters to play. He is usually Carlos. I’m Phoebe. The baby sitter is Miss Fri7.zle. He knows some of the episodes by heart. Occasionally, say in the middle of eating an apple, David will look up and pronounce “Solar power making steam!” A video provides a few moments respite from the avalanche of demands, requests, urgent needs and whims of two preschoolers. “I want juice, please.” “May I play down stairs?” “Where is my fireman hat?” “1 want juice, please.” “Where arc my blue sunglasses?” “I have a dirty diaper.” “May I watch ‘Road Construction’?” “May I wear my Power Ranger costume?” “I want yogurt.” “Juiceeec pleecasc.” The only danger for me now (I don’t count missed appointments, forgotten details like paying taxes on time and chronic sloppiness) is becoming so caught up in coping with three little ones that I forget to be grateful. Only five short years ago, we had no noise, no sleeplessness, no annoying bickering. What a terrible quiet it was. Through birth and adoption, we have filled our lives and our hearts to the brim. And though life today often feels chaotic, it is richer than I could ever have imagined. Copyright 1996 Creators Syndicate, Inc. Tattoos mark fight for civil rights In response to my recent “Insensitivity Alert!,” a reader has called my attention to the case of a man who was refused a tattoo. Accused of being insensitive is Adam Gray, who owns the 8-Ball Tattoo parlor in Columbus, Ohio. As a result, he has been up to his ears in government legal problems for two years. It began this way, as Gray tells it: A man came in for a large tattoo on his upper chest. Gray had him fill out a form that included questions about his health. “We have screening for hepatitis, diabetes, AIDS, heart conditions that might be aggra vated. It’s my responsibility to reduce risk as much as possible for my clients, my artists and myself.” The man indicated on the form that his health was OK, so the studio artist began stenciling the outline for the tattoo. “That was when we noticed he had a badly scarred tattoo on his shoulder. I asked him about it, and he said it was six months old and it had taken that long to heal. “It should take only one to two weeks to heal, so this was a sign that the person isn’t in good health and there is something wrong with their healing process. “We discussed it with him, and we narrowed down the reasons and he finally admitted that he had HIV. “We offered to return his $30 deposit, and he declined. He apologized for wasting our time. We said it wasn’t a waste of time but that we were looking out for all of our best interests. He said he was sorry and wasn’t mad and he left. l wo nours later, i got a raoiu call from someone else. He was screaming and threatening that wc would all go down in flames for refusing to give the tattoo. “Then the Ohio Civil Rights Commission called a couple of weeks later and told us it was pursuing the case. And now it has been two years. “This is just common sense. It should be the discretion of the artists whether they feel comfort able working on a client. “And if I give someone with AIDS a tattoo and he doesn’t die from the infection he might get, the tattoo will look like hell and it will have my name on it. I don’t want to apply a tattoo that is not going to look good. I turn people ( away for acne, and I don’t have a problem turning someone away who might be killed by it. “Their whole case rests on the technicality that people who have HIV or AIDS arc considered handicapped. So I’m accused of discriminating against someone with a handicap by refusing him service. “But it is ridiculous to com pare us to a restaurant or a bowling alley or a shoe store, where there is no exchange of Mike Royko bodily fluids. In doing a tattoo, you’re talking about constant exposure to blood.” So the legal fight, which Gray says has cost him $40,000 so far, has gone on for two years. Both sides have offered settlements. Gray said a friend who runs another tattoo parlor and accepts clients with HIV would do the tattoo. The state commission declined and offered a deal of its own that infuriated Gray. “They made one settlement offer. They wanted us to pay him $150 to pay for a tattoo some where else, post a notice in the shop saying we discriminated and sign a gag order saying we would no longer discuss the case. “I said, ‘Up yours.’ I’m not going to sign anything saying what I did was wrong when I was looking out for everyone’s best interest. And a gag order? They want me to post a notice that all my customers can sec saying I did something wrong, then I can’t talk about it?” So who is at fault here? Well, it isn’t the Ohio Civil Rights Commission. As a spokesman for that agency noted, the commissioners don’t make the laws, they arc obligated to enforce them. A.nu unuer umo anu leuerai law, Ihe spokesman said, Gray should have given the man the tattoo. “The complainant has AIDS. The legislature has said that AIDS is a disability that falls under that section of the law. The legislature chose to exclude drug users and they could have excluded AIDS, but they didn’t. We didn’t make that determina tion. The people who make the laws did. We have to enforce the law.” So the next step will be a state appeals court. Then maybe the Ohio Supreme Court and the U.S. Supreme Court. But there is a bright side to this case, if you look at it from a historical perspective. Thirty-one years ago, I was in Selma, Ala., where the fight was for the right of black people to vote and have their votes counted, to sit at lunch counters, to send their kids to regular public schools and state universities. Now, we have a battle over the right to get a tattoo. If that’s not evidence of social progress, what is? Copyright 1996 by The Chicago Tri bune — Distributed by Tribune Media Services, Inc. OH, who .leaked , company documents that show we tried to develop a Ctefette that causes the tbola virus ? ^