EDITOR
Doug Kouma
OPINION
EDITOR
Anthony Nguyen
EDITORIAL
BOARD
Paula Lavigne
Joshua Gillin
Jessica Kennedy
Jeff Randall
Erin Gibson
warn violence.
In case you haven’t heard yet, here’s the
lowdown.
Smalls, a leading figure in the recently
developed genre of gangsta rap, was killed in
a drive-by shooting last month in Los Ange
les. Smalls’ self-fueled reputation as a former
crack dealer and a lifelong thug would seem
to have been a fitting premonition to his vio
lent death.
In addition, Smalls and the record label
he worked for, Bad Boy Entertainment, were
widely known arch rivals of equally demised
rapper Tupac Shakur and his label, Death
Row Records.
Where this cross-country rivalry fits into
the issue of violence in the media is evident
by the money it has produced.
In a country where nearly every political
figure has — at some time or another—de
nounced media violence as an unwanted and
unnecessary part of the entertainment indus
try, the people with the true power—the con
sumers —seem to be contradicting that very
argument with their dollars.
uaugMa cuiiunues w iiuurrsn, snoot
’em-up action films continue to roll in and
out of movie theaters and—with the advent
of a ratings system to hide behind — televi
sion executives seem even more likely to
broadcast violent images (as long as they have
a TV-M rating slapped on them).
What it all comes down to is the issue of
whether the entertainment industry determines
its own content or simply bows down to the
public’s desires. Because it is a business, the ..
latter choice is the obvious one. And nothing
short of outright censorship will stop enter
tainers from doing whatever they can to make
a buck.
So until the government decides to take
larger and more destructive steps in derailing
the train of media violence (which would cre
ate an even bigger problem), perhaps every
one who wants to put a stop to the blood
and-gore imagery of the entertainment world
should fbcus their attention on their own cor
ner of the world without trying to do the same
for the rest
Because even if you think 690,000Notori
ous B.I.G. fans may be wrong, don’t expect the
entertainment business to think so, too. ,
Editorial Policy
Unsigned editorials ate the opinions of the
Spring 1997 Daily Nebraskan. They do not
necessarily reflect the views of the Univer
sity of Nebraska-Lincoln, its employees, its
student body or the University of Nebraska
Board of Regents. A column is solely the
opinion of its author. The Board of Regents
serves as publisher of the Daily Nebraskan;
policy is set by the Daily Nebraskan Editor
rial Board. The UNL Publications Board,
established by the regents, supervises the
production of the paper According to policy
set by the regents, responsibility for the edi
torial content of the newspaper lies solely
in die hands of its student employees.
Letter Policy
The Daily Nebraskan welcomes brief let
ters to the editor and guest columns, but *
does not guarantee their publication. The
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or reject any material submitted. Sub
mitted material becomes the property of
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Our
VIEW
Dead profits
A rap on industry:
young, rich, deceased
If nearly every one of the headlines, in
terviews and feature stories written in the past
year or so regarding violence in the entertain
ment industry are to be believed, most people
are fed up with it.
A gradual increase in family-oriented pro
gramming, the implementation of a TV ratings
system and several testimonies before Congress
also seem to point to the same conclusion —
there is far too much violence in the media.
And then came Biggie Smalls.
In one week of record sales, Smalls (who
is also known as the Notorious B.I.G., and
whose real name is Christopher Wallace) has
produced the largest-selling pop album since
the Beatles’ “Anthology” and has thrown
nearly 690,000 copies of his new album, “Life
After Death,” into the face of conventional
wisdom regarding America’s true attitude to
Mehs ling’s
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DN
LETTERS
* 1
Inaccurate Portrait
I was very disturbed by the recent
column of J.J. Harder (“A broken
bond, DN, Friday) and the response
letter of Josh Dieckmann (“Right
On”, DN, Tuesday), regarding the
issue of same-sex marriage.
Beyond the typical scapegoating
of gay and lesbian people and the
invocation of God’s name in
condemnation, which are themselves
tactics of desperation, the authors of
these writings created an image that
is almost completely incompatible
with my own experiences of gay and
lesbian people. Please allow me to
paint an alternative picture, which I
believe reflects my own authentic
experience:
Gay and lesbian people are fully
and equally human beings, with the
same respect and dignity deserved
by all people. Gay and lesbian
people are not only capable of
forming loving, caring, long-term
bonds, but also of raising children
with at least as strong and com
mendable of values as children
raised in “normal” households.
They are also people with great
spiritual gifts that are not contra
dicted by their sexual identities and
they can be people of tremendous
religious faith and inspiration.
I am an active Christian, and I
have experienced congregations that
are welcoming of openly gay and
lesbian people as part of their
communities. Without exception, 1
have found these communities to
model the “family of God” and to
treat each other as children of God
more convincingly than most other
churches.
I really don’t think that God
hates gays, or I would not see so
much of the work of the Holy Spirit
in the lives and ministries of gay
and lesbian people and those who
are supportive of them.
I don’t know for sure, but I
suspect that the writers to whom I
am responding do not know very
many gay or lesbian people, or I
can’t imagine they could still
“condemn them for what they are”
so certainly.
Jeremy Vetter
senior
President of Allies Against
Heterosexism and Homophobia
Strong Household
J.J. Harder would have us believe
that it is impossible for a gay couple
to raise a child without a negative
impact. While I lived with my
mother and father my home life was
not good.
It wasn’t abusive, there just was
not much love in our household. It
was not a house that promoted
growing and emotions. When I was
in sixth grade I moved in with my
mother and her new partner.
It was hard at first and our family
still goes through rough periods but
we do it together. Now I live in a
house that promotes growing. I am
encouraged to discover myself and
push myself to see just how much I
can make out of life.
It seems that growing up in a
lesbian-run household has not
adversely affected me. In fact, I
would go so far as to say that I have
learned much about acceptance of
diversity that I would not have been
able to elsewhere.
Maybe Mr. Harder would like us
to believe that it is unhealthy to be
accepting and love other people. I
think these are good qualities and
ones that I learned from berth my
mothers.
, Craig WiUford
freshman
computer science
Sick of It All
There's been a lot of hoopla lately
over homosexuality and related
issues and since several other people
have already shot their mouths off
over it, I’d like to throw in my
nickel-and-dime’s worth.
First of all, I personally disap
prove of homosexuality and I think
it’s rather repulsive. If you want to
call me a homophobe or claim that
I’m uncomfortable with my own
sexuality — go right ahead. You
can’t hurt me with epithets.
Secondly, sex is not intended to
be used solely as a procreation tool.
In many cases, children are the
result and can be a wonderful
addition to the lives of the parents.
However, I believe sexual inter
course, or more accurately, love
making as it really should be, is as
simple and as difficult as the
ultimate party of two people com
mitting themselves to each other.
Obviously, intercourse has been used
by both gays and straights in far less »
admirable ways. But some (not all)
of the “Victorian” attitudes we carry
are there because they’ve been
proven true through time and trial.
I
Like I said, I do not now and
probably never will condone
homosexuality fa* various reasons.
However, since they do have basis in
religious beliefs and many of you
apparently dislike anything reli
gious, I offer a compromise: We’ll
allow gay marriages in the state of
Nebraska as long as those concerned
agree to two stipulations that we’ll
write into law:
No. 1: Don’t have children of
your own.
No. 2: Don’t adopt someone
else’s children and raise them as
your own.
I’ve already stated that I dislike
homosexuality. If you want to be
legally recognized as a loving couple
with all the insurance benefits and
everything else, fine. You may have
a hard time finding people who will
really accept you as a married
couple, but if you can take it, go
ahead and do it. I only ask you to
keep the children out of it because
children, especially adolescents,
have enough to worry about with
other issues of growing up. They
don’t need an extra thorn in their
side.
As an ending note, I don’t care
whether you’re homosexual,
heterosexual or bisexual. Whatever |
you are, I don’t give a damn about
your sex life and I’m sick of hearing
all the hubbub about it. If you’re
interested in having a serious
conversation about sex, I’m more
than willing. If not, quit whining!
John Flaherty
senior
meteorology
NASA®*
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