The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current, August 27, 1997, Page 5, Image 5
SHERRI JOYNER is a junior English and Greek major and a Daily Nebraskan columnist. Lately, I feel like I’m surround ed by a wall of jerks. A loud, annoying guy on my right. A loud, annoying guy on my left. I admit I’ve met a few women who could give Rush Limbaugh how-to-be-a-jerk lessons, but the fact remains that most jerks are men and a great deal of their self esteem is based on their possession of a dick. Regardless of who they are, all jerks derive their obnoxious quotient from the same source: the Loud Male Voice. The Loud Male Voice is another variation of the many linguistic privileges enjoyed by men in our Shove macho aside Women have the right to have their voices heard society. It s encouraged in elemen tary schools, where boys receive more attention than girls. They squirm and shout, while girls - who’ve been taught to be quiet - still are ignored. It’s why studies show that in conversations, men interrupt women at far greater rates than women interrupt men. It’s why you can address a group of women and men as “Hey, guys.” I do it myself, but that doesn’t make it right. If you think the “Hey, guys” habit is harmless, try addressing a mixed group as “Hey, gals” and watch the reaction. How can you escape the domi nance of the Loud Male Voice? You can respectfully express your dis agreement - and be ignored. You see, a jerk’s idea of dialogue is akin to Geraldo Rivera’s idea of journal ism. Decibel level, not substance, is what counts. It’s a mad rush for the microphone and whoever can shout the loudest wins. Score another vic tory for the jerks. Some believe that jerks should be tolerated, that all opinions deserve equal respect. So if a University of Nebraska-Lincoln student feels the need to display his insecurity about his own sexuality by coming to class with a homo phobic slogan emblazoned across his shirt, then I’m supposed to keep my mouth shut and respect his right to “free speech.” Well, I’m sorry. Your right to express your bigotry stops when it interferes with my right to attend class in a safe environment. Likewise, the right of the Cleveland “Indians” to crank out merchandise adorned with racist caricatures stops with the right of native peo ples to live in this society without being bombarded by images that dehumanize their existence. The right of creeps to stand on a corner and croon, “Hey, baby,” while scratching their crotches stops with a woman’s right to walk to the gro cery store at night without the con stant fear of being raped or harassed. Sure, this is more of the politi cally correct stuff, and I’m actually advocating it. When people insist that language be used responsibly and that abusive words be removed from our schools and workplaces, then the jerks accuse them of wield ing “political correctness” to squash free speech. Now I can be as sanctimonious about the First Amendment as any American, but I’m surprised how sentimental and loyal I feel toward words penned by a bunch of privi leged white guys 206 years ago. But the Constitution doesn’t protect unrestricted speech. “You can’t yell ‘fire’ in a crowded theater,” is one rule of thumb credited to the former Chief Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes. In other words, you can’t say whatever you feel like saying. You can’t falsely claim that there’s a fire in a crowded hall because in the mad rush for the exits other people will be trampled underfoot. Yet jerks passionately defend their First Amendment “right” to let hatred drip from their lips and trample the souls of their fellow human beings. What the jerks are whining about is mild compared to what those of us living under the oppres sions of sexism, homophobia, and racism experience from members of our society everyday. Our self esteem and dignity have been assaulted since the day we were born and we have long been intimi dated into silence. If true free speech is to reign in our society, every voice must be given an equal chance to be heard. The Loud Male Voice has to stop hogging the microphone. Lr/tiSCrCr HiAUSHIy IS a senior news-editorial major and a Daily Nebraskan columnist. My sister has lead in her shoulder. It isn’t from a bullet, but the sharp ened end of a pencil. I put it there. One day, back when I was a little tyke, my older sister was picking on me. We were riding in the family car, I was in the back seat. Well, she called me a little dork, and since I had no idea what “dork” meant, I assumed it was something really bad. My pulse quickened, my fists clenched, that was enough. Whatever a “dork” was, I surely wasn’t one. I knew retaliation was my best course of action. She turned around and I took advantage of the situation, deciding it would be a good idea to see how far I could slam a pencil into her back. Turns out that was about half an inch, but that’s beside the point. It was easily the most carnal act of my preschool years and to this day I don’t know what pos sessed me to do it. But what I’ll never forget about the whole stabbing inci dent is what I told my mother as she frantically asked me why I had maimed my sister. “It wasn’t my fault,” I said. “Whose was it?” she asked. “Hers.” Uh-huh. Sure it was. I was young. I was stupid. I was wrong. The stabbing was entirely my fault and I was simply trying to formulate an excuse in the recesses of my 5 year-old brain. Pretty pathetic attempt, I know. But when you com pare that excuse to some of the blame shifting present in society today, it doesn’t seem that unreasonable. It’s becoming more evident when you look closely at our culture, that the blaming game is becoming a national pastime. Taking responsibili ty for our actions has disappeared faster than you can spill hot coffee on yourself and sue the restaurant that sold it to you. It’s not limited to a few instances, though. Run an experiment for your self this week. As you go about your business for the next few days, take some time and listen to conversations. Blame it on the rain Take responsibility for your actions Keep your ears open for people talk ing about something that wasn’t their fault. While you’re at it, check your own conversations. Do you hear things like: It’s the professor’s fault that someone didn’t get assigned read ing finished. It’s the roommate’s fault someone didn’t get to study last night. It’s the parent’s fault that someone didn’t have enough cash to buy books. Odds are strong that you’ll hear, or even say, some of these exact state- x ments. / All around us, people blame f| the closest possible scapegoat for their own lack of responsi bility. An attitude that blames others and complains at the slightest hint of adversity is at ^ its very core an attitude of self- ^ ishness. When you blame someone else for your own mistakes, ’S you are blinded by pride into ’ thinking you couldn’t be the one at fault. Of course there are times when we really aren’t at fault, but the blame disease has infect ed us so much that personal responsibility has been somehow lost along the way. y %. With the right lawyer, I could probably win about $500,000 off my sister today. She should have known that picking % on me could have resulted in a % near fatal injury. Her antago- L nism caused me to grow up Ji| misguided with a deep sense of RR, being unloved. It really was JHj her fault! But, back in reality, the S dark gray-colored scar gSi remains in my sister’s shoul- jB der and I know the truth: It was my fault. I still struggle iR to take responsibility in my J|^Hpi life. But I refuse to be forced by circumstances into blaming oth ers for my own mistakes. It’s a A choice that I made. W To hear people blaming A roommates for a lack of study Jp time is a small example, true. But blame in the little aspects A of your life quickly turns into Am blame in all aspects of your life. In the few years you spend in college, you don’t just gain knowledge and mar- m ketable skills and make lifelong & friends, you determine what kind of a man or woman you j will be for the rest of your life. The patterns inculcated into your minds now will dictate the actions you take in the future. S o what kind responsibility will you take for your own actions? You’re the only person who can respond to that question. And you can’t blame the result on anyone but Matt Haney/DN