EDITORIAL
Don’t turn over state
GOP to lunatic fringe
Mainstream Republicans should lw wary of Oregon
GOP chairman Craig Berkman s call to form a new par
ty. The Oregon Citizens Alliance is on the verge of tuk
ing control of the party. Berkman said, and the only al
ternative for "real" Republicans is to split off and form
a new party.
Berkman and other Republicans need to consider
the ramifications of such a move. Giving control of (In
state GOP to a group of crazed lunatics would create a
political nightmare.
Too many voters fail to look beyond the party affil
iation of political candidates, and when they see the
word "Republican" next to a person's name, they will
vote for that person. These Republicans will not stop to
learn if a candidate is an OCA puppet. They will not
necessarily question an (X ’.A-supporting candidate's
agenda.
Berkman believes that most Republican politicians
will join the new partv, tentatively named the Indepen
dent Republican Partv. If enough registered Republi
cans join the new party, it may gain the accreditation
of tin- national Republic an Party.
The challenge is to convince enough Oregonians to
put their faith in a new party and to hope for accept
ance by the national leadership. But what if it doesn't
work? What if senior Republicans such as Bob Pack
wood and Mark Hatfield don't join up?
Berkman should do nothing until he has the com
mitment of all major Oregon Republicans. It would bo
even better if be remained to light the OCA lor control
of the party.
Berkman should follow the example set bv the
Democratic Party. For years, the Democrats were con
trolled by liberals who were considered too extreme for
American voters. Conservative Democrats handed to
gether and formed the Democratic leadership Council.
The UI.G took control of the party and put Bill
Clinton and Al Core in the- White House. Clinton is a
member of the1 "New Democratic Party." as is Core and
party chairman Ron Brown.
Berkman should muster what moderate forc es re
main within the state- COP and begin an internal
cleansing. The potential damage an (XIA-control led
party would wreak upon Oregon is unimaginable
Virtually every credible Oregon Republican politi
cian denounced Ballot Measure!') But if the ()< A gains
control of the party and Republican politicians become
OCA puppets, the threat of fundamentalist legislation
getting passed will grow profoundly.
The OCA and its members arc- as far removed from
the Republican Party’s ideals as arc- Communists. The
OCA has confused people into mistaking fiscal conser
vatism with moral < onservatism.
Berkman should make- certain that bis actions will
not create more harm than good before carrying out
any reformation. Whatever happens, it is in the best in
terest of all Oregonians. Democrat and Republican, for
the OCA to be rendered powerless.
Oregon Daily
Emerald
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Multiculturalism’s mixed message
By Rya-' Biackotto'
(th (he awareness of itiliur.il pluralism on
campus, multiculturalisls have rejected
I V (hr decidedly l.urtMrntrli philosophy ol
traditional academia Racial Intolerant e is a proh
lent on many campuses and multicuituralism. in
pari, addresses ways to alleviate this difficulty
Howovnr. sometimes multicuituralism nxacer
halo racial tension, and its advoi ales are often
guilty of intolernme as well Whites are often por
trayed as the sole perpetrators ol 'insensitivity,"
and rhetoric that is divisive and racist when es
poused by minorities is excused and even em
braced
In his book. IIIUmt.iI l.thu ulioii. Dinesh D'Sou
/a illustrates the (Mitenllal "tyranny of the minor
ity" at many universities Leonard Jeffries, dms
tor ol Afrlcun-Amerit an Studies at New York City
College, warned bis students that the "ultimate
culmination" of the "while value system" is per
sonified by Adolf Hitler fie further asserted that
the while gene pool has been polluted as a result
; I exposure to the Ice age itl.n k genes, however,
enjoyed millenniums of motherly nurturing 'In
the value system of the sun, he said. It'firies was
not disciplined for his overt rai ism Rather, he
was praised by many civil rights proponents and
invited to coauthor a multicultural curriculum
for New York state publit schools
Too often, racist views are accepted when artic
ulated through the mask of color When Jesse
Jac kson gave a spent h to a crowd of fi.OOO on the
KMC law ii, he spoke of rac ial tolerance and in
structed the faithful to "keep hope alive Howev
er. after the l.os Angeles riots, mam Americans
lost hope for Jesse When Hill Clinton exposed
Sister Souljah. a blue k rap musician, as a rac ist
lor imploring rioters to burn down the houses of
whites, |,u kson scolded Clinton for rac e; baiting
Jesse, rat ism is w rong, period, even when it is es
pousod by minorities
At this university many students, primarily
middle-class whites, wear T shirts entitled. "Love
S.a- No Color Aside from laung ungrammatical
and trendy, this message contradicts a central te
net of multiculturalism; namely, imillu tilturahsts
believe color is of paramount com ern in allirm
mg one's culture Some hlac k students on campus
wear T-shirts with, "It s a black tiling, you
wouldn't understand inscritwd across the chest
These students don such slogans in reaction to
a perceived intolerance on campus, which is ac •
curate to some degree But the message these T
shirts convey certainly isn't a plea for cultural
harmony They seem to say We have affirmed
our culture based on the tolor of our skin. You
could never understand us. so let's remain sepa
rate " In other words, multiculturalism does see
color I cannot fathom the uproar that would en
sue on campus if white students wore T-shirts en
titled. "It's a white thing, you wouldn't under
stand " I'hey would rightfully he regarded as
white supremacists
An attitude prevails on today's campuses that
all "people of color" share resplendent lineages
that can be traced to an indigenous utopia where
people were compassionate and sensitive. But the
legacy of some cultures of color does not trumpet
such indigenous hospitality Upon capturing pris
oners of war, the Aztecs killed their enemies and
streti bed their stomachs to a four-foot radius to
ire used for new drum sets. And dominant Afri
can tribes kept slaves well Indore an introduction
to tin1 West
Through a multic ultural lens, Western civiliza
tion is the sole oppressor of humanity and its
onlv legacy is the1 extermination of indigenous
people Columbus, testosterone frothing from his
mouth, spewed the corpses of the innocent across
the plains of the1 New World, etcetera. We un
taught to despise tint "dead white males" who
forged the course of the Western world and to dis
miss all of their achievements as the product of
racism.
:
Suc h historical revisionism has taught many
minority students to feel victimized and helpless
A Hispanic student in a Comparative Literature
course of mine viewed the reading list, Virgil's
Am will and Homer's Odyssoy, as a white, patriar
chal indoc trination When the c lass watched a
film depicting Odysseus' return to kill the suitors,
she* commented that the interpretation w as archa
ic A truly "progressive" analysis, she said,
should loc is mi the racism of the Western world,
Illustrated by Odvssous' bludgeoning of Cyc lops,
a creature she deemed emblematic; of oppressed
people everywhere.
1 hope white students who encounter the writ
ings of Trederick Douglass on their c lass reading
list cio not regard the experience as merely a poli
tic al subjugation of another's cultural dogma His
autobiography illustrates the perseverance of the
human spirit a lie managed to educate himself as
a slave 'This should be an inspiration to all stu
dents regardless of their culture.
Radical multiculturalists in the c lass room have
learned nothing from Douglass' fight for inclu
siveness, as they do not tolerate those who dis
sent from their orthodoxy. In an American history
c lass I took, a white student admitted that he ac -
tually admired Western civilization, and worse,
lie even liked Americ an culture His words were
met with a barrage of acc usations, all of which as
serted "racism" and "lack of intelligence
However, rac ism is not endemic to Western
culture Compare the white student’s ’racism"
with this statement by Afrocentric poet Wanda
(oienmn "There is this war of the gods going on
lielween the dark people of the world and the
lair c omptec led people of the* world The dark
people will win, eventually, simply because
we’ve been endowed with a genetic gift (Emei
gem v f/orve magazine, summer 1992. pgHj "
Rac ism festers on both extremes of the politic al
spectrum, and the walls of bigotry that divide our
campuses must («• destroyed. But we must chal
lenge racism everywhere, even when it is found
in the rhetoric: of minorities If multiculturalists
do not practice acceptance of Western culture,
their mission of sensitivity and tolerance will fail
Ky.m llhu krttrr is a senior in English ut the
University