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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 23, 1991)
EDITORIAL All sides back troops The war in the gulf has already started to tear this country in two. People have been divided into the pro war and anti-war factions. However, despite what has been implied in The Register-Guard and other publica tion headlines, the pro-war movement does not have a monopoly on concern few the well-being of American troops People on both sides of the issue are concerned about the sanctity of human life. The two side* simply take different approaches in showing that concern. People in the peace movement support the troops by telling policy makers that this war is not justified and is not worth a single American life. Those in the pro-war movement support the troops by letting the president know he should do whatever it takes to win this war. It is ironic that the group claiming they have a mo nopoly of concern for the troops, supports them by un questioningly sending them to face battle-hardened Ira qi troops in a war for oil. Yet. the group that has been stereotyped as not caring for these young Americans wants to bring them home before any more of them die People in the pro-war movement may wont to take a step bai k from the issue and consider that their ”sup port of the troops” may lead to more American deaths than the ' non-support” of the anti-war movement. RCN ignored obligation I'he closure of Eugene's Rape Crisis Network has left the community struggling to set up another source to counsel rape victims anil provide a much-needed service. RON s handling of the closure is deplorable The network administrators gave no notice to the commu nity that it would be closing. They simply shut the doors and cut off the phone lines. People who called RCN for support in difficult times found themselves listening to a phone company recording. Even RCN volunteers were not notified of the im pending closure. RCN administrators displayed no sense of account ability to its sponsors or the people in the community it served. While RCN administrators have claimed they closed because the ASUO pulled some of its funding, the issue remains clouded. There have been reports of internal conflicts and personality struggles within the organization, leading to its demise. The issue of how reliable the network was also played in the closing of RCN. People in the community need to know' that there is a reliable, stable organization that will continue to provide short and long-term help for those who need it. No matter what the reasons for the closure were, people who run future organizations that provide such an important community service should conduct them selves in a more responsible manner. Letters keep on coming letters continue to pour in to the Emerald as fast as they can bo printed. Headers are encouraged to con tinue writing, but please be patient. Only so many let ters can be printed a day. The best letters are short and to the point More importantly, original thoughts and comments add spice to the myriad of opinions at the University. No body envoys reading the same ideas again and again. We have received more than 20 letters in the past two days, and we have more than 40 in our files wait ing to be printed. Add to those another nine or 10 com mentaries. and it's plain to see that University students and stafT have a lot to say. Letters will continue to be printed in the order we receive them, unless they are longer than 250 words or are illegible. We still reserve the right to limit the num ber of letters on one subject if the same arguments are constantly rehashed. He n/£ws is TH£5£ l?Ay$! A LITTLE HARP "TO P£ClPH£R FOR TH05E v/HO /AAV if£ CO a/^USEP ^^/WE8WDM,S “ &oiD£ TO MILITARY »WTa □ AGGRESSOR- « ho*-hk -Corelp power -H-ia4 vvcr^’f’ do wW ^e. •fc/I if fo □ DE-MOCfcACy- form of opvernmtnf vv/w’cfi jjranfs j loaders chv"ne jUtl^Cn'.Cn'f of -ffi* wor/J Q PAT RIOT-One who hills forc.ij)ner5 in fhe. no*mc of ArnericA QENEM/" O^e who hills Ameri'con5 in the r\aw< of Q -forejj^ Cour>4r^' LETTERS Do your duty "My country 'I is of then, sweet land of libert\ of thee i smg Land where my fathers died, land of the pilgrim’s pride I rom every mountain side let freedom ring I do not wish to sound melo dramatic but my grandfather died in 1042 and my uncle died in 19(10. serving in the forces which defend our American wav of life I sincerely believe in America, freedom and de rnocracy On the evening of (an. 15 I was involved in a peaceful rally which protested the t’S in volvement in the Persian Gulf At approximately 1 1 4r> pm the Oregon State Police launched a chemical weapons attar k on our peaceful demon stration. which was already dispersing As is common practice w ith the local authorities, they quo kly resorted to violent ioii flut with the protesters Police officers seem to love to sport riot gear and intimidate citi zens. citizens who an1 involved with fundamental American rights to peaceful demonstra tion and freedom of speech This, I believe, is tyranny When the ai lions of the govern ing authorities are unjust, it be i mill's the duty of the governed to disobey The time is here when we must make difficult decisions as a nation Perhaps it would lie liest if we returned to the grassroots ideals of our nation, namely the Hill of Rights and the Constitu tion of the foiled States Stephen K. Deatherage Political Science Uprooted l)arn. I guess I never saw the cunnet turn between war and football. I guess 1 shouldn't really bother to try to figure out who's right and who's wrong in the gulf crisis. Matthew Morin's letter [ODE. jan Ifi) says "regardless." you (letter root for your team — or get out of "his" country. OK. Matt. Let's think of the impending war as a Duck game. We'll pretend it's just a nasty tackle when a "player" is dismembered by a bomb: we'll { beer when our man blows off the head of another human be ing Texaco can sell conces sions and root alongside us. I lev Matt what are you going to do if the Ni l. alters the game si hedule this y ear' Will we see you "playing " with the team in Iraq? Maybe* you’ll find out that dead and mutilated humans don’t get up and run around again like they do on a Nmetendo screen Maybe for now you'd better play your (i I |oe games in the safety of your own backyard — reality might be more than you can stomach. Kachel Paschke Student Go yourself When Matthew Morin [ODE. |an. !t>) shows me the deed, then I II lie glad to get out of "his country " Until then he i an take Ins silly game plan and stic k it. Hut, to stay with the meta phor it's very easy to "root" from the bleac hers, try going out and bucking the line your self, champ Your Danny Quayle imper sonation doesn't impress mi* Hill Smee Stan What if? Yeah, but then suppose Ku wait's main export was mari juana. Mike Shannon Kugene Last resort Concerning Ron Williams' letter (ODE. )an. 17): I was at the* protest and I do not recall being asked how I voted on Measures 8 and 10. Nor did 1 hear anyone else being asked. Now I will ask you a ques tion: Is it not also ironic that the College Republicans, those who were very vocal in ex pressing their pro H and 10 be liefs. are fully in support of the U.S military-murder action now taking place? Is it not .ilso ironic that a U S. ambassador told Hussein that the use of force in invading Kuwait was act eptable? In the words of Shawn Doles "vio lence is the last resort of the in competent." Matt Emrich Eugene Pull together 1 am deeply concerned about the grow ing anti-war sentiment on this campus and around the countrv Nobody should want a war And I have no problems with peaceful forms of expressing genuine concern (e g church service, vigils, private prayer, letters to Congress, etc.) How ever. as we learned from the Vietnam conflict, radical pro testing can lead to an upheaval in the very fabric of society, di vide communities and tear fam ilies apart. 1 am not opposed to free speech Hut I am opposed to the "mob mentality" which of ten accompanies the escalation of public protests 1-oud chant ing of obscene slogans such as "Hell no! We dun't want a f ing war" and the disruption of vehicular traffic are divisive and disrespectful in nature. The cost of additional law en forcement required at these "gatherings" is a further bur den on an already unsettled budget crisis. And what about the federal employees who have to sit and listen to the pro testers as they try to do their jobs. My main and concluding point is that this is a time when we should be? pulling together to support our president, whether we agree with the cur rent administration or not. I urge and encourage re straint on the part of would-be activists. A country divided cannot and will not appear strong before Hussein and the world theatur. We must place the national good over individual satisfac tion. Michael Lindley Sociology