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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 5, 1982)
opinion I corf femald back pages The recent arson conviction and subsequent suspended sentences of RCYB members John Kaiser and Nancy Whitley brought to a close that group's cause celebre Being an old-time leftie, I followed the trial with more than passing interest — although, with something of a jaundiced sidelong glance The trial proceeded according to the usual theatrics set forth by activist trials from the 1960s-70s with the usual imperialist props and dialogue of repression and peoples' justice miscarried all in the especial white of television lights and the cacophony of camera shutters It's good to see the traditions of courtroom drama being rever entially upheld by the young Turks I interviewed two RCYB members in September and was slightly chagrined with their politics. On one question I had to coax for the answer I wanted. "You do believe in armed revolution, don't you?” I asked "Oh, uh huh, yeah sure," they replied. A friend described Eugene as a “hotbed" of political activism Though, from what I've seen so far, Eugene is tepid at best I’ve been in hotter beds Reading the Yellow Ribbon trial reports and watching the EMU-patio-RCYB-road-show made me recall old friends from the time political activism was as much a part of maturation as getting sick on Colt 45 malt liquor Fast Fred was from an upper-middle-class family who lived in a suburb of Detroit One year in Ann Arbor and he was a confirmed White Panther and a zealous follower of the MC5. Fast Fred dragged me out of heroin addiction and hurled me into the revolution Perhaps I owe him my life Though, when he needed to figuratively "die" to escape federal prosecution. I had the blank papers for his new lease on life Perhaps we’re even Annie was Fast Fred's convivant She was 16 years-old and a Berkeley radical reared between Sproul Plaza and Ashby Street among the seamy street people of Telegraph Avenue Annie’s father was a tweedcoat, or a goatee, or a pipe — something other than a human being who lectured on Sociology to dozing freshmen. I gave her my M-1 carbine for her seventeenth birthday. Annie lived with Fast Fred for a time, and then pursued her feminism to its ultimate — marrying another woman Wendy was from New York City, our liaison to such groups as Armed Love and Up-Against-the-Wall-Mother fuckers She wouldn’t tell me much more, but Wendy could field strip almost any weapon in seconds There's not too many questions worth asking a woman while she's tearing down a Kalishnakov Wendy had the eyes of an ingenue and the grace of a panther She and I spent the nights thrashing about only to wake the next morning as distant as two deputies of the politburo We were a cell — a Mao tse tung study group We'd sit around theorizing on the revolution, meanwhile practicing the politics by feeding poor kids in the Fillmore District a hot breakfast before school, or collecting clothing and groceries to distribute to welfare families, or arguing tenant's rights with slum lords Remembering the craziness of riots, and the guns, sometimes embarrasses me However, I’ll always be proud of the things we did in the community We probably won’t see the likes of such political activism in the United States in the near future Kaiser and the RCYB are the estranged children of a radical hysteria They are the more moderate second generation This is also true of groups on the right, such as the YAF They are the well behaved prodigy of past right-wing excesses. And in a very definite way, politically active groups, right or left, deserve our respect and all we can do to ensure their existence The climate of diverse political sentiments strengthens this singular American democracy daily 7emerald The Oregon Daily Emerald is published Monday through Friday except during finals lyeei and vacations by the Oregon Daily Emerald Publishing Co at the University ot Oregon Eugene, Oregon, 97403 The Oregon Daily Emerald operates independently ot the University and is a member ot the Associated Press Offices are on the third floor ot the Erb Memorial Union New* and Editorial Display Advertising and Business Classified Advertising Production Editor Managing Editor News Editor 666-5511 686-3712 666-4343 666-4381 Sally Hodgktnson Gabriel Boehmer Harry Esteve Assistant News Editor Photo Editor Graphics Editor Editorial Page Editor Sports Editor Associate Sports Editor Associate Editors ASUO Community Departments and Schools Higher Education Features Politics/Environment Night Editor Garwral Staff Classified Advertising Production Manager Advertising Director Ad Services Controller John Healy Boh Baker Max DeFtungs Cort Fernald Steve Spat/ Jett Dickerson Dane Claussen Marian Green Debbie Howlett Ann Portal Caroline Petrich Hon Hunt Ann Portal Sally Oljar Ann Peterson Darlene Gore Carol McMullen Jean Ownbey NV letters Keeping afloat Who is it that controls Oregon's higher education? It's those who have the money to help keep it afloat Who is it that has the money to help keep Oregon's higher education afloat? The major timber cor porations and the military (ROTC) What are the primary functions and aims of the major timber corporations and the ROTC7 To tear down the forests (for quick profit) and to teach young people to kill, maim and destroy So, by simple logic of the transi|ive property (if A equals B and B equals C, then A equals C) the functions and aims of those who control Oregon's higher education are to tear down the forests for quick profit and to teach young people to kill, maim and destroy Interesting thought, isn't it? Christian Gunther Junior, sociology Yellow ribbon I would like to state that the political validity of the yellow ribbon burning (as an act that exposed the CIA and U S im perialism and clearly stood with the people of Iran) has been vindicated by many developments The charges of first degree arson, the trial that was carried out, and the guilty verdicts all that has been done to these defenders, has been done carefully These actions by the state have been carefully planned and timed to yield the most powerful response possi ble to undermine the strength of this political action There can be no doubt that the court at least has realized the validity of this act. and that they see the danger involved in allowing such acts — which expose the system — to be seen in public Another reason the act was valid politically is that although some groups claimed that their protests were ruined by the yel low ribbon burning, they had. in fact, not made any such plans public, and did little or nothing to inform the public or campus that Victor Tomseth was even coming, let alone what it could mean to aware protestors The yellow ribbon burners did make the presence of the CIA on campus a well-known fact They did accomplish a well phrased protest, in public, where someone had a chance to hear and see it, or hear of it and be involved in public debate over the questions brought out by Tomseth s visit, and they are currently facing sentencing as a result of this action and political, alias, convictions This calls for support — of the RCYB if you wish — but, certainly of the act of political demonstration Molly Wldmer Equal time? Equal time for evolution and scientific creation in the classroom? The article in the Emerald contained several more or less severe flaws Trivialities first What science in high school is about is the consensus of the majority of scientists about the current understanding of our world, usually with a delay of about five or ten years The majority of the scientists think that the history of our planet and the development of life thereon can presently be described most accurately in terms of evolution If the •‘scientific creationists” think that they are right, they will eventually con vince their colleagues at some time, and there is no need to legislate one thing or the other A decade earlier or later is in substantial So far divine intervention in the course of history of our planet has been notoriously elusive, as if the creator did not want to leave any track thereof Since “scientific creation” is by no means an equally well founded alternative to evolu tion, it deserves not as much time in the classroom as the latter, at least presently "Reason cannot come from non-reason, no matter how many billion years one waits" This sounds good, convinc ing, absolute, true Incidentally, what is reason? How does it work, at least in humans? No one knows that today We are barely getting a glimpse at how the periphery of our and other brains work We are just beginning to under stand. how seeing and hearing works The question of how they develop can only be addressed once we understand them There is. however, presently no reason to assume that we will never be able to figure out how reason works, although it may take a long time (a century or so. but that is insubstantial) Now the solution to the ques tion about the philosophical flaw Our present limit of know ledge has been mistaken for some inherent boundary of knowledge, without any sup porting evidence The Catholic Church found out about the validity of the as sumption, in a particularly pain ful way: They were on the "re treat" for the last four centuries, as scientists ignored any objec tions to their pushing the limits of our knowledge further and further The problem with "scientific creation” is that it is mostly dis guised evasion of some hard philosophical work What is our position in the world, in the un iverse, in relation to God. if evolution accurately describes our origin Nikolaus von Bargen Graduate Student in Geology letters policy The Emerald will accept and attempt to print all letters containing fair comment on issues, ideas and topics of interest to the University community The Emerald reserves the right to edit any letter for length, style or con tent Publication is dependent upon the space available
