LANE HICKENBOTTOM
is a senior news-editorial
major,; a Daily Nebraskan
photographer and a
columnist.
Week after week, my mug shows
up on Thursday’s Daily Nebraskan
opinion page.
And each week I voice my opin
ion on various issues to whomever
decides to read my column. My col
umn is usually directed to anybody
and everybody: those who agree
with me and those who don’t. Based
on occasional letters to the editor,
there are certainly people out there
who don’t always agree with what I
have to say.
But that doesn’t stop me from
posting my opinion, complete with
my name and my picture.
There is someone out there who
this week decided to grace every
body who happened to walk the
Come out, come out
Chalk vandals hide behind anonymity
campus sidewalks with some opin
ions on homosexuality. The only dif
ference is that the person remains
anonymous.
So this week, I have decided not
to address this column to anybody
and everybody. Today I offer an open
invitation directly to the person or
people who decided to write hate
messages on the university walk
ways. I invite you to take my place
next Thursday so you can have your
spiteful opinions attributed to you.
I offer you my column for a
week.
Your name. Your face. Your
responsibility.
Call me. 472-2588.
Journalism students learn from
their first classes that what some
body says cannot hold water unless
that person is identified. If you are
an educated and informed individual
who has some insight as to why we
should hate homosexuals, then be
proud of your opinion and stamp
your name onto it so the entire DN
readership can better critique the
validity of your opinions.
You must be proud of your opin
ions, otherwise you would have kept
them in the closet where they proba
bly belong. After all, that is what
Coming Out Week is all about:
pride. I’m talking about the type of
pride that brings people to terms
with themselves and the rest of the
world so that they can be open about
who they love despite having to put
up with people who hate - like your
self.
Yes, this is surely a week that
stresses pride, but where is yours?
Unless you take up my offer and
voice your opinions with your name
attached, then you must truly be
ashamed of yourself. You are a
scared person who doesn’t even have
the backbone to let people know
what you really think. You don’t have
enough pride in yourself to let peo
ple know that you hate the way you
do. Even Hitler had the guts to
announce his fear and hatred toward
people who were not like him. It is
swine like you who endorse Hitler’s
theories, but you do it behind a wall
of anonymity because deep down,
even somebody as intolerant as you
realizes that your hatred is wrong.
Otherwise you would claim your
sidewalk poetry as your own. I
would if I had enough wit to come
up with “Deer Season? Queer
Season?”
Your statements like “Got AIDS?
FAG?” are far from profound: They
are profane. Until you publicly claim
your actions, how can anybody
believe that you are anything but an
ignorant, unenlightened, backwards
individual with no sense of responsi
bility of your actions?
If you do decide to take my offer
and appear in your very own col
umn, I have a couple of questions I
would like you to address:
1. How many first-graders did
you beat up when you were
in the second grade?
2. What was the first thing you
bought with other kids’
lunch money?
3. Have you always been pro
hate? •
I apologize if I have you pegged
wrong. You probably weren’t a bully
in elementary school. That would
require you to be face to face with
your opposition, something you
apparently are too spineless to do.
You are probably pretty tough on the
outside. 1 bet you like to brag to your
friends about all the attention you
are getting right now. But on the
inside you are afraid to let anybody
outside of your peer group know'
who you are.
Time to fess up.
But there is one other issue 1
would like to hear your opinion
about. You have hurt a lot of people.
You have added to the hatred in this
world. My last question is why
should this university tolerate some
body with your lack of tolerance?
Why should this university accept
somebody with your lack of accep
tance?
In tradition of Coming Out Week,
leave the confines of your closet and
let the world see who you really are.
Discriminatory deeds
Democracy damaged by hatred
KLAUS MARRE is a
junior broadcasting
major.
Voltaire once said I do not
believe in what you say but I will
defend your right to the death to
say it!
That is what I believe.
1 and many others were disgust
ed by the display of hate, immafuri
^ and ignorance that was show
cased on the university’s sidewalks
on Tuesday morning. Hate speech,
no matter at whom it is directed,
has no pl&ce at an institution of
higher learning.
i ucncvc in uic rirsi
Amendment of the Constitution,
and that any person has the right to
express himself, but the freedom of
one person ends where someone
else’s freedom begins.
In many ways, the United States
is a very progressive country. It has
brought democracy to the world
and shown everybody how to make
it work. Our planet has benefited
from the American way. It has
taught us to “Just do it,” but it
seems that it has lost its edge.
Now I see the dark side of this
country rearing its^igly head.
Can you only “Just do it” if you
are white, male, straight, not over
weight, not handicapped and some
what wealthy? To us it sometimes
seems that way. It is appalling to
see that a group in this society is
being discriminated against
because they are “different.”
On Tuesday that group was
homosexuals.
They had, in a mostly humorous
way, expressed their feelings with
colored chalk. They did not write
“Hey, you straight bastards, what is
your problem?” or “Heterosexual
love is disgusting.” Instead they
inspired us to think. Is this not what
a university should be about?
Are not our minds supposed to
be challenged to make us better and
more diverse people? Why the wall
or backlash when the initial chalk
ing was not hostile?
1 encourage people to go out
and respond in kind - that is, in a
creative and civilized manner - to
create a forum of free thought and
communication. It seems that some
members of our society are unable
to look beyond their hatred.
I have news for some of you:
Dcing umereni uoes nor mean
being wrong, and showing pride in
one thing does not mean putting
something else down. There is no
particular “correct” way of living
just because it is the road most
traveled, and the people who are on
a less-traveled path should not be
condemned because of it.
I do not blame gays in this
country for not coming out of the
closet because it must be tough to
endure the hatred of a society such
as the one in which we are living.
Imagine that you are part of a
minority and one day you are greet
ed by derogatory statements wher
ever you go. Could you even imag
ine being in a situation in which
you are confronted with such open
hostility?
1 am not talking about bad
mouthing someone behind their
back. Instead we are dealing with
screaming “I hate you because you
are different” in their faces.
Honestly, I could not live with
myself if I were that kind of person!
Could you?
DN
LETTERS
Judge not...
To the students, faculty and staff
ofUNL,
So quickly we are to judge some
thing we know little about.
This fall semester I’ve been con
fronted with several instances of dis
crimination concerning sexual ori
entation. In just the last few days.
I’ve had to face this display of big
otry in a lecture hall, at the Husker
football game, on a KRNU talk show
and, most recently, walking to class.
The hateful epithets written on
our sidewalks are another clear
reminder of the lack of unity we have
on campus. Everyone is affected by
the different forms of oppression.
Without respect for one another, our
individuality suffers. Hate breeds
negativity and inhibits us all.
nuuictuuu is me Key 10 under
standing. Fortunately for us, we
belong to an institution of higher
learning. So, to the people making
slanderous comments on another
minority, try being inclusive with
your thoughts.
Before judging others do our
community a favor and educate
yourself.
Dan Ulrich
senior
geography
Sin, sin, sin
I am getting tired of hearing peo
ple condemn homosexuality on the
basis that it does not help continue
the species and is therefore contrary
to natural law. By that argument,
celibacy is also a sin, and priests and
nuns are no less “sinful” than gays.
~ LanePhillips
junior
computer engineering
Bad hosts
As a journalism student at this
university, 1 am embarrassed and
disappointed by the actions of the
students who are hosts of the “Three
Men and a German” show, which
airs on our college’s radio station.
As a bisexual woman. 1 am hurt
and angry. 1 have to ask myself: How
can I exist in a field where ignorant
radio announcers encourage homo
phobes to act out by providing the
means (in this case, chalk) to write
hateful messages against me? One of
the hosts of the show claimed in
Wednesday’s DN that he told the
counter-chalkers “not to be deroga
tory.” In my mind, homophobia
equals hate, and hate is derogatory.
There is no denying this.
ns journalists, ourjon is 10 rep
resent what goes on around us, to
keep people informed and. hopeful
ly, to contribute to positive changes,
i'm hoping to see a resistances irre
sponsible and damaging statements
made in the name of journalism.
I expect these issues will be dis
cussed in journalism classesiand
every class, for that matter) so that
our collective point of view can
expand and so that our-work can
improve. Professors and students:
Please remember that there are non
straight students in your classes. We
deserve to feel comfortable here. 1
think you’ll find that any effoits
made to address these concerns will
be met with appreciation and enthu
siasm. Start today.
_ Erin Hansbrough
junior
women’s studies and
news-editorial
,, Come out
The anti-gay sentiments
expressed were an ignorant and
childish way of sharing the opinions
of the chalkers, who are equally
ignorant, offensive and hurtful.
Gav and lesbian students are a
minority on campus. This week
offers these students a chance to feel
welcome and equal. It is a celebra
tion of their courage.
1 was shocked to read “Queers,
thanks for AIDS.” It displays an
opinion that is uneducated. This kind
of hate speech should not be tolerat
ed. As many of us know, in the past
couple of years, people on campus
have had to “tolerate" some very
horrible displays of discrimination
Many of us have spoken out against
these hate crimes, often to an unsym
pathetic community.
Minority students will tell you
that they do not feel equal, welcome
or safe. They will tell you that crimes
of discrimination and hate continue.
It seems impossible to punish these
crimes unless serious physical injury
is involved, and even then they may
go unpunished, and certainly they
are not prevented. Remember the
murders of Francisco Renteria and
Tina Brandon? Gay bashing should
not exist on a university campus, or
anywhere for that matter. It should
be considered a crime, however it is
not. Perhaps the persons responsible
for hate speech on campus were not
afraid of getting in trouble. I want
the persons responsible to “come
out,” accept the responsibility, and
claim their hateful opinions. Are
they afraid? Are they cowards? After
all, they are entitled to their opin
ions, right? I dare these people to
admit to their ignorant, uneducated,
bigoted and hateful beliefs. And fur
thermore I dare them not to be white,
fraternity members.
Tina Giambastiani
senior
Spanish and women’s studies
