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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (May 11, 1992)
EDITORIAL While country waited, Bush assigned blame Oh come on! Tragedies are supposed to bring out the best and the worst in people. And when something as horrific as the Rodney King beating verdic t and subsequent urban violence occurs, people look to their leaders for guid ance. This time, there wasn’t any — just a blatant case of passing the buck to make up for one’s own shortcom ings. To be specific. George Bush toured riot-stricken Ia>s Angeles last wcrek. People expected him to say something — anything — that might alleviate the pain of the moment. The entire country looked to Bush, in a time of endless campaigning, to prove his presidential timber. lie didn't. Instead of offering solutions. Bush laid blame Not on himself, to be sure, or his predecessor. Ronald Rea gan No. Bush had to go way back to the 'tills. saying the riots wore the offspring of < ivil rights-era social welfare programs Maybe George should i hot k his own bat kvard be fore trying to blame others for the racial problems of this country. First of all, during the 12 years he has been a part of the Oval Office team, the country's poor have become poorer while Ins elite cohorts in business have seen their fortunes increase Then there was the rac ist Willie Morton campaign trick m HJflH. And don't forget his politic al decision to try and snutl a civil rights hill, labelling it a quota measure and further dividing the country into rac ial camps Yes. the- president did later speak about racial bar many, and he promised a whole slew of urban pro grams But that was after he had seen the result of his and Reagan’s inaction — 12 years of neglect and hop ingthe problem would just magic ally disappear Sorry. Mr Pres That just isn’t going to happen Words seem shallow in trying to describe Bush s "blame it on the Democ rats" political philosophy Once again. Bush and Go. have proved the\ are out of touch with the Americ an public Not only does the cur rent (hal Office resident have no idea what people urban or rural want, he doesn't seem to mm h rare Bush, in the head', vapors of the moment {and to salvage his re-election bid) will probably propose- a new urban policy Perhaps it will become the- "War on Poverty " or get some other banal title But it it follows the 12-year trend of Republican social programs. Bush’s plan will be as effective ,ls u geriatric, tooth!- s tiger. What is needed is a drastic change in priorities If anything good can come out of the- L A. riots, it will be the enlightenment of the American public , which has been blinded to the country’s ills tor a long time This administration and the last one dumped SGi 1 million into a St.ir Wars X ray laser that doesn’t work Is it too much to ask to redirec t those funds into urban pro grams? Given Bush and Co.’s track record, it probably is .Emerald P O BOX 3 CM. ICICtNt OflCGONtMM T ''ug-.v* l>rt *y I ;> '• *.*•*«! .5.1 . Wo via* ,r g*' f • M. .1 g "•* v • .*» ,**■» u xl f ..tivlay (I'll 'NiJvty -5 „ •» ’ * «* ’ . ” u - i Art t t r'ut aKl I* !- »*■ g rtf "hi lv’* • "«»g •" 1 •»>„ T | . '-,4K <«'•#• ikgco'lfll ’» -’ "•*> 1 ’. W • " ** . 41 - ’’ -CO I T Utf' .v .t Unor rt'il % a o! 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Classified ‘«*g-jy Mi >•:*> A.. - ■« i •* •' (kJtmMi ♦:* Production ,j «* W .. v- • i . *» f *» General Manager ■ . M*» • N«" Hivert . T cod s B*i <IV H Oi.w n !Uh "»!>! 1 Ub **>i? ,V%pfjy AtK»rt % v' Atfv«rl »-n j Ub 3.M? ! 34fc 4 >4 J | ©1992 p=-7he &reat~ destruction Derby^ IM.i Damage i v\,;til(l like to OVtl'Ild tin I hi si iii. I i thanks to Hri.its Hnop inr breaking Klllilmu ill I ho !-1-£11• r.ii Building on April it) As nr) elm tod representative ui the studonts of the Uni verst tv. I'm sure ho did the right thing It is comforting to know tli.it mv t iv dollars will ho spin! not on useless sot ml pro grams. but on repairing the damage ho and the mob i aused Support violence lor peace Jim Ward History Pride \\ ! the ; eopie . ■! 1le t liiti'd Stall's As .1 nation «r llil vi- !i iji --.in. i other nations who do not sutisi ntx* 'u llu- values we InjIil dear U i- has i- h; Uni inn< » i-nts in tin- names 11! demur rac v anil i-i unortiW control \\ i haw oppressed with his i rimittatlnn and imprudent and we have ignored the ram pant pain and suffering \s ,i nation we are teaching uur i hildrvn to he proud Amer leans Ametuans who are proud to i i mdesnn hi i I. oppress arid ig note Darren Flugge Eugene More hip Siuneh.idy remind me to get ■ i measure in next year's elis lions that vs til put more hip statues on this campus I’m tired o( guvs with muskets Let's put Ihelonius Monk on the pedestal and Charles Mingus where that uglv vellovs thing is in the courtyard Jeltrey A Hawkins Student They deliver ri ree uds to a Setter that ap peared in the limrruld slum rr. rig the post office because 1)1 its disservice id not offering the mthi i liie ex i, i amount of .hinge she wanted Sue Bright ' isi- tnt . - itiut tin' post offit ii is not in ttu' banking business, .inti have a i:tt!(* empathy for what tfii'v h.ivu to endure on .1 dailv basis l! tin- jiost.ll I'ttljlloyi'I’S Wort' to tutor to ovoryont' regarding till- baiigf thov w anted, thoy'd In- spending all their limn run ning In the bank for change, thus h.aving to c lose down uni' ol liii sorvii 1 • windows, treat trig loss sort H i! in that aroa Considoring what thov have to (ml up w ith. 1 fool they do a remarkable job with a posltivo attitude They am oboorful. iioijdul and cooperative w bon extended this sumo courtesy Ihov shouldn't hate to take verbal abuso from tin- publii I fool thov perform tlioir du in -, faithfully, accurately and with mi:r#- patiom o than most g. t on tin- tillin' ctrt u distances Janet Vidito Eugene Fund IJ.- ir fellow protesters A fumi has tieen opened at t S It,ink.. H1U Hast 13th Avu . to collet ! nmni'V to help pay fur the windows which we broke last week I will keep the ui i ount. named "The Window l und." open for 30 days, then pay everything in it to the glass repair contractor The account number is 1 (MOOO()3HO You can mail donations to the bank at P.O Boy 3347, Eu gene, M7403 I can be contacted at Box 03013, University of Or rgon Peggy Maddock Eugene Make right To those who destroyed the banner Your cause is pist and point well taken Diversity and ac ceptunc r are important factors in our soc ioty But to coin a phruse. kindly practice what you preach The banner was not about dt versits It was about the Uni versity summer program If v ■ . d read it you'd have known that l 'ertain lac es whic h w ere 11) c hided m the summer session hurt; .'.mild no! be printed on tin- banner due to technii al difficulties If you'd asked, you'd have known !ha! also I liked the banner I liked il be, a use among all the bicker ing around here, it said some thing positive Those employed by the University to create it did not intend anything nega live By the University code, they could not have 1 would like to see the banner r i d: sp I V ed is it . now so all may look and know what vast a ci e p I a n < e We h a v i here Win -i another, more politically coned banner is produced, at the i os! ot you who destroyed the first one, it should !«• hung ;n the old one's place i his nit idem reeks ol closed mindedness and censorship Make light what you have dom vs rung John L Poppin English No better And justice lor <111 unless vuu disagree vs 1111 the verdic t Last week, the sel f -appointed ( )re gull supreme court went to the federal Building and started smashing windows l'his was done because thev did not agree with the Kodnev king i erdii 1 i was not at the trial, so I'm nut going to tr\ and convince Vou the verdict was the right one But the mentality ol Ore gun's self appointed supreme court taking the law into its own hands puls them equal to police officers that designate themselves judge, jury and exe cutioner You're no better than they are! I! the sell-appointed supreme court is not charged with de struction of federal property, can I be equally hypocritical and smash their windows' Where does the violence end ' If we lived "all eye for an eve and a tooth for a tooth, we would all lie blind anti tooth less" (fiddler) This is why we have a court system Stop being do damn hypocritical The Kodnev king "case" is not over Truth and justice w ill pre vail i! we m ike it Mike Pritchard Student
