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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 21, 1998)
EDITOR Erin Gibson OPINION EDITOR Cliff Hicks EDITORIAL BOARD Nancy Christensen Brad Davis Sam McKewon Jeff Randall Bret Schulte Our VIEW Forgotten but not gone Religious hate crimes continue in Midwest Is religious tolerance not a priority any more? While many high-profile hate crimes com mand top political and media attention, anti Semitism continues to breed almost unnoticed in this state and nation. As a daily newspaper, we often get propa ganda in the form of letters, e-mail and adver tisements espousing hatred toward Jews. The offensive material sees our trash cans, not our printed pages. We fear, because hateful material from anti Semitic groups is not printed for public discus sion, some non-Jewish people could believe such groups no longer exist or that they no longer conduct orchestrated anti-Semitic cam paigns. It could seem that other acts of discrimina tion are far more pertinent and, therefore, war rant more action and attention. Such acts include the Sigma Chi Fraternity cross burning in January 1997 and the discov ery of improperly handled American Indian remains, both of which focused attention on racial and cultural diversity issues. They include charges of sexual harassment on campus, which focused attention on gender discrimination, and the recent murder of Matthew Shepard, which has drawn an intense national reaction to hate crimes against gays. In each case, victims’ representatives used a high-profile case as a political stump on which vtastand apd actively demand the public-notice a Lwidespreadyoftenoverlooked problem.' Though no recent, high-profile case of anti Semitism has surfaced, anti-Semitic groups demand no less of our attention. They continue to attack Jewish communities and to send anonymous anti-Semitic letters, including one eight-page monstrosity we received this week. The letters often deny the Holocaust occurred and include white supremacist lan guage. But the most recent one blamed Jews for communism and the feminist movement. It even proposed that Jewish people are breeding to take over the world. It couldn’t sound more ridiculous, yet some Midwesterners must believe it. The evidence of this insane belief lies in two separate hate crimes that occurred in July. In Council Bluffs, Iowa, a synagogue was desecrated by vandals who wrote “bum Jew burn” inside, stole religious articles and scratched a swastika into woodwork. In Papillion, vandals painted the words “Jew die” and swastikas onto the sides of buildings. It’s disgusting. All of it - the synagogue des ecration, the hateful graffiti, the letters and the e-mails. And such acts are certainly deserving of a public outcry, just like the Sigma Chi cross burning or the mishandling of American Indian remains. But an outcry is lacking. When we advocate tolerance, civility and diversity, we must include everyone. Editorial Policy Unsigned editorials are the opinions of the Spring 1998 Daily Nebraskan. They do not necessarily reflect the views of the University 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 Editorial 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 editorial content of the newspaper lies solely in the hands of its student employees. lattw Policy The Daily Nebraskan welcomes brief letters to the editor and guest columns, but does not guarantee their publication. The Daily Nebraskan retains the right to edit or reject any material submitted. Submitted material becomes property of the Daily Nebraskan and cannot be returned. Anonymous submissions will not be published. Those who submit letters must identify themselves by name, year in school, major and/or group affiliation, if any. Submit material to: Daily Nebraskan, 34 Nebraska Union, 1400 R St. Lincoln, NE. 68588-0448. E-mail: letters@unlinfo.unl.edu. Mook’s VIEW W IKSMMTIffv ■ ttm 1W M 1 ^WWWUltt DN LETTERS No room for hate The nation has been shocked by the terrible torture and murder of a gay student at the University of Wyoming, apparently because of his sexual orien tation. All Americans should rise to condemn such acts and the hate that lies behind them. On our own campus, we too have seen incidents reflecting intolerance and hate, and this is a time to reaffirm our commitment to a community that values the dignity of all people, regardless of gender, age, disability, race, color, religion, marital status, veteran status, national or ethnic ori gin or sexual orientation. We recog nize the need to help educate others during National Gay and Lesbian History Month. Perhaps activities such as the Gay and Lesbian Film Festival beginning Oct. 22 at the Mary Riepma Ross Film Theater can help in the education process. The premiere of “The Brandon Teena Story” - a documen tary about a Nebraska woman who was murdered because of her sexual identity and orientation - shows us that intolerance, lack of respect, and raw hatred is a fatal problem in our own state. This is a time for all of us who are committed to these values to speak up. Respect can, indeed, be stronger than hate, but only if people who refuse to hate come forward to express their commitment to higher values. Chancellor James Moeser University of Nebraska-Lincoln Remembrance I was glad to see Matthew Eickman’s column on the atrocity that happened in Wyoming. As he said, it took the death of an innocent person to bring to our attention to an issue forced into the shadows. Yet sadly, that magnitude of event is usually what we require before we take action. We’ve become complacent and reactionary. Discussing sex is never an easy task, and discussing sexual orientation is even more of a social taboo. But we have a moral obligation to honor all the Matthew Shepards who have left us far too soon because of the summa ry judgment of myopic and ignorant people. It is time to begin paying the price for redemption and embrace our differences, so Matthew’s death was not in vain. He is honored with green and yel low ribbons, but let’s honor him too by eliminating the ignorance surrounding sexual preference through open and constructive dialogues. It’s time to stop talking about what WE know and think, and really listen to the other opinions and ideas. That shared under barriers, is the best way to remember Matthew Shepard. Scott Brauer senior biological sciences/pre-medicine Time to take a stand I am a 40-year-old married father of two young children. I am an Internet Web master and content provider and would like to make scone suggestions to those UNL students who feel they want to take a stand against such hatred. I wrote an e-mail to the upstream Internet service provider of www.god hatesfags.com, a Web site owned by the Rev. Fred Phelps of Topeka, Kan., and expressed my views and concerns. I am a Christian man with a very different view of the Higher Power then Mr. Fred Phelps. His direct ISP 1 STAMENDMENT.NET did not want to do anything. I voiced my concerns to this ISP’s upstream provider, and they have blocked traffic to that site. These are the type of stands we need to take. Action against hate requires research. There are ways to put an end to the proliferation of Internet hate groups. If we don’t, who will? Rex Mueller Omaha PS. Write Back