Loud and ••• cIbri1?
Fist fights are no replacement for the art of arguing
KLAUS MARRE is a senior
broadcasting major and a
Daily Nebraskan colum
nist.
In Monday’s Daily Nebraskan I
read a very disturbing letter by
Thomas Hill from the University of
Michigan. This man was given die
chance to share his views on the
national championship debate with
everybody here at the University of
Nebraska-Lincoln. I think this was a
wonderful and unique opportunity,
and by seizing it, Mr. Hill did not just
express his own views, but he also
represented his university.
He totally blew it
To all of you who think I will now
give you hundreds of reasons, num
bers and stats why we deserve the
national championship... sorry, this
column isn’t about football. Mr. Hill’s
letter stood out because it was so very
rude, and it had nothing to do with
the issue at hand. This man had the
chance to explain his point of view to
all of us and show us what the
University of Michigan, which he
graduated from, is all about The best
he could do was insult our athletic
program and a man whom many
Nebraskans love.
His comments were filled with
hatred; I can just imagine him ham
mer away at his computer while veins
were popping out of his forehead. His
letter was not just an example of poor
sportsmanship, but it was also simply
uncivilized.
If Mr. Hill meant to offend any
body here by calling us “corn-hoax
ers” (whatever that might be; it is not
in my English-German dictionary) or
“idiots,” then I’m sure he failed. At
least, I hope we are better than that
and show more class when we are
given the opportunity to express our
views.
I tried to contact the man last
night to find out how much time he
spent with Tom Osborne to call him a
“pale, satanic freak.” I do understand
pale - this is Nebraska, after all, and
the sun just does not shine on us like
it does on, let’s say, Michigan. I do
not understand, however, how the
skin pigment of a coach has anything
to do with who is the best team in
college football.
What I’m getting at is that people
simply have lost the art to argue.
Instead of stunning all of us here with
dazzling rhetoric, Mr. Hill just fell
back on insults. I see this kind of
behavior every day in die child care
center in which I work. At the center,
it goes somewhat like this:
“You took my crayon! Give it
back; it’s mine.”
“No, you stupid-head.”
I fail to see the logic in the latter
argument I do realize why children
are calling each other names, though.
They just have not developed die skill
to argue yet. Kids are still lacking die
words to express clearly what it is
they are feeling, and therefore they
simply release their emotions with
crying, whining or name-calling.
Mr. Hill, on the other hand, is an
alumnus of the University of
Michigan, a very good school
according to my information, and I’m
quite sure he is not four years old.
Personally, I think he made a bad
name for himself and his alma mater
by writing his letter, but enough
about him.
I wonder what it was like back in
the day when Socrates was teaching
his pupil Plato about life and philoso
phy — you know, when Plato was
just beginning to learn. I wonder if
Plato ever called Socrates a “pale,
satanic freak” if he ran out of smart
things to say.
To me, people who raise their
voices, call names or start fights are
the loser in any kind of conflict. If
you can’t sit down, face another per
son, and make him or her see your
point, then you probably didn’t have a
point to begin with, kind of like this
playground conversation:
“Give me your lunch money.”
“Why?”
“Hmmmm... if not, I’ll beat you.”
I’m a person who loves to argue,
and I hate to be proven wrong or
“lose” an argument, but that is never
a reason for me to want to knock
somebody’s teeth out. I feel if I’d yell
at people or threaten them just
because they had a better point or
made more sense than I did, then I’d
lose much more than an argument —
I’d lose my dignity, too.
Many people seem to believe that
the point at which their wit ends is
also die point at which they have to
rely on other methods, such as rude
ness or even violence. It is impossible
to resolve a conflict with these tools.
Whenever I witness any kind of fight
or people yelling at each other, I only
see losers.
In my entire life I have only expe
rienced one person “winning” a fight.
This person was my younger brother
(whom I used to fight with like cats
and dogs), and he got his butt kicked.
A bunch of punks, at least 10 of
them, were chasing some kid at a
party and wanted to beat him up. My
brother didn’t know any of these peo
ple, but he stood up for the guy and
told the oftiers that 10 against one
just wasn’t fair. One of the punks
said, “We’re gonna lack your butt,
too.”
My brother just stood there and
said, “I know.”
I admire him for what he did that
night.
All around me I see the art of
arguing is getting lost, and the skill to
convince and battle with words is
being replaced with fist fights. Some
people seem to believe you are right
when you can shout the loudest. I
hope this is not a sign of where our
society is going. “Bully rule” is a
threat to all of us because a pair of
fists should never be able to defeat
common sense or p well-constructed
argument
K - :
I (.. ■- -v y ; y ; • yy.y
MALCOLM KASS is a
senior chemical engi
neering major and a
Daily Nebraskan
columnists ^
Well, kids, what you have in
front of you is an engineer who
just wrote a column. I can’t even
remember the last time I wrote a
complete sentence, much less
express my opinion in printed
form, but I assure you that this
column is much bigger than
Fiona Apple’s breasts, better than
Hideki Irabu, but not quite as
great as the two minute bath
scene in “Barb Wire.”
Naked chicks with guns - how
AMERICAN! Phew; now on with
the show.
Earlier this month I watched
the National Football League
AFC divisional playoff game
between Kansas City and Denver.
Since this is the Martin Luther
King Jr. season, I deliberated
about the Kansas City team
name, the Chiefs.
I wondered what it must be
like, being an American Indian
and having this savage-me crap
shown each day. Then I realized
I’m Portuguese, and when
nobody gives a damn about your
nationality, you start feeling real
ly lousy.
To ease the tension in my
mind, I decided to brainstorm
some new killer stereotypical
collegiate mascots that would be
super for a professional fran
chise, but that the NCAA would
have a stroke over. Enjoy.
■ University of Michigan
People Who Can’t Face the Fact
that the Big Ten isn’t the Second
Coming of Christ.
■ University of Tennessee
Slurring Jack Daniels.
■ Kent State Expired 69ers.
■ University of Miami
Fighting Dead Gay Versaces.
■ University of Mississippi
Torched Crosses.
■ University of Texas Mighty
Pickup Truck Gun Racks.
■ Louisiana State University
Charging Bo, Luke and David
Dukes. . ,
■ University of Alabama
Trailer Trash.
■ UCLA f Breast
Implants. "
the installment of the designated
hitter, interleague play and allow
ing professional soccer to exist?
These changes, though dumb
(like the game of soccer), exist
because they create excitements
which equates to nior iffbriey!
Since these owners are capitalis
tic maniacs, why not add to the
wealth by not pissing off the
native inhabitants of this land and
create a few fans?
I point to Stanford University,
which changed its name from
Indians to Cardinals more than 20
you and/or Norway moans about
it, the American public will never
know.
I am not one of those people
who thinks the 1997 World Series
brainwa£ft&<f<*i¥
youth in believing'thai fishTur^ v
more superior lift form than the
American Indian. I certainly am
not a politically correct soldier.
If you are in a sorority and see a
woman who does not play with
her hair every 20 seconds, you
should not be offended.
To the people (I’m talking
about English majors) who con
stantly say they’re offended, I
Hprrpp all nf 11c ari»
Amy Martin/DN
