EDITORIAL
r
Crime measures
steal from budget
Tho increasing instance of violent i rime in Oregon is
loading to loud calls for tougher and longer sentences for
criminals, and the public's fear of i rime is reflected in
two particular anti-crime measures on the Nov 8 bal
lot. Measures 10 and 11 have the teeth to take a bite out
of crime, but lack the necessary funding for their imple
mentation and should be defeated.
Measure 1 l metes out mandatory minimum prison
sentences fur in of the most violent crimes, ranging from
murder and assault to rape and robbery. Convicts would
receive no parole or reduction of sentence for good
behavior while in prison. It also mandates that juveniles
(ages 15-17} charged with violent felonies be tried as
adults.
Ac ting as Measure 1 Ts big brother. Measure 10 pro
tects the mandatory sentences from legislative tamper
ing. Measure 10 would require a two thirds majority ol
both the House and Senate to reduces a voter-approved
sentence.
Although getting tough on crime is a worthy cause,
entering into such a proposition requires a strong flnan- i
c ial commitment on the part of tie- state
The measures do not identify funding sources for their
implementation. Therefore, revenue would come from
the already strained general fund, a bank account
already $870 million short of the amount needed to
maintain i urrent services. If passed, the measures would
imperil other state programs such as public safety,
>t hoots and even corrections.
The Immediate cost of Measure 11 would be in oxc ess
of $80 million per year. Costs by the end of this century
could total $1 trillion Pho nltw torate has shown strong
support for longer incarceration of violent offenders, but
little financial stomach for the hefty price tag.
When voters see high-profile criminals like double
murderer Russell Obremski rer eive parole, the myth of
the catch-and-release criminal justice system is further
intensified. But the liberal, reform-minded punishments
of the 1970s are no more,
In 1989, the legislature approved increased sentenc
ing guidelines, effectively lengthening by 40 percent the
average sentence served by violent felons
Oregon's prison capacity has nearly doubled over the
last eight years and is expected to grow by another 2.000
by 1998. If Measure 11 passes, an estimated additional
4.000 beds will be needed. Oregon simply cannot finan
cially sustain such a whimsical and immediate increase
in tho correction's budget.
More significantly, the mandatory sentences take away
any judicial discretion. Measure 11 decrees that violent
offenders between the ages 15 and 17 must ho tried as
adults. Youthful offenders offer the greatest opportunity
for rehabilitation, but under the proposed guidelines,
they will be shipped off to prison Such a decision
should be left in tho hands of a judge who can rule on
the merits of each case, not a one-size-fits-all ballot mea
sure.
Throwing unfunded measures on voters only increas
es the burden on an already ailing state budget. Vote no
on Measures 10 and 11.
Oregon Daily
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■ COMMENTARY
Race relations focus on blame
Kevin Washington
A (tor witnessing (and par
ticipating cx casiotialiy) in
the farcical, and at times,
embarrassing so-called debates
that occurred in this campus last
year regarding issues of race, big
otry, mnltic ulturalism. biased
press coverage and so forth. I
detec led something significant
Much like the res! of the country.
this i ampus has never had an
honest disc ussion about race and
nice relations Whether it was the
issue of curric ulum requirements
or student representatives' resig
nations, these disc ussions often
foe used more on blame ni the
expense of understanding and/or
acceptance. Because of person
al experiences, addressing the
black/white relationship is most
comfortable for me However,
that is not to say that an exami
nation of these historically con
nected groups i an't lend insight
into the entire race "picture” in
the t Ini ted States
What whites need to res ognize
most about the desc endants of the
African slave? is that they are in
pain This pain is the result of
c enturies of brutal, degrading,
fraction a list policies based on
nothing more titan skin color and
physical attributes.
lust bec ause bleu ks have been
emancipated from the obvious
bonds of slavery, the psycholog
ical conditions that fostered suc h
policies remain, permeating
every sphere of culture from pol
itics to economics to education.
This pain manifests itself in the
ambivalent and often contradic -
tory perception that blacks have
of themselves and their role in
this country. Whites have never
allowed us to quite fit in and at
the same time we know no other
cultures is well as the one we
were bom in and forced to adopt.
Unlike other dejected and
spurned ethnic/racial groups,
blacks born in the United States
have- limited engagement with
their true ancestral culture. Hav
ing bad their African roots sev
ered and nearly decimated in
< aptivity, blacks in the Western
Hemisphere (partic ularh in the
I Muted States) had to ns onstruct
culture almost from scratch, a
culture which is still alien to
many non him ks It is this alien
ation that has perpetuated the
ethntc/rncial marginalization of
this country It is this alienation
that is mostly responsible for the
culturally maladjusted psychol
ogy of many black people.
Whites will never understand
the mental anguish experienced
when, for instance. Joe Louis, a
black boxer, or Jesse Owens, a
black track athlete defeated white
opponents for a country that was
hypocritically patriots enough
to cheer them on unabated, and
vet would deny them lodging in
their own country solely because
of skin tone They fail to under
stand how b!a< ks. after all that
has been sacrificed in the guise
of social equality, could embrace
a person such as Minister Louis
Farrakhan w ho (in their opinion)
preaches a steady diet of hate,
bigotry and segregation, ignoring
Mr F'arrakhan's plea for eco
nomic independence, educa
tional excellence and cultural
pride. Or how blacks (prior to and
since the first trial of the Los
Angeles police officers convic t
ed of beating Rodney king) view
the criminal justice system as just
another instrument of oppression
wielded heavily and dispropor
tionately against alleged black
assailants.
For their part, blacks should
not expect or rely on the sympa
thy and compassion of whites
for advancement. What blacks
need to know is that most
whites feel uncomfortable and
often resent being confronted
with the shameful legacy of slav
ery l! is extremely unsettling for
whites to consider the duplicity
of national "heroes" such as
Thomas Jefferson, Franklin Roo
sevelt. Douglas Mai Arthur and
Ronald Reagan who enunciated
concepts of liberty, democracy
and equality and nevertheless
condoned (and often participat
ed) in the repression if the eth
nic/racial minority in this hemi
sphere. Besides, many would
argue that since the end of the
Civil War (most notably in this
century), white society has
attempted in earnest to rectify
these injustices using civil rights
legislation, affirmative action
programs and some of the most
expansive entitlement programs
in the history of this country.
Upon witnessing the startling
suci esses of other repressed eth
nic/racial groups (if Asians
and lews), who claimed that the
true problem rests within the
" victim hood" psychology of
blacks in the Americas, instead
of attempting to refute this dis
position and convince whites
otherwise, it would be more
pragmatic for blacks to examine
their own behavior and either
at i opt or ignore this sentiment
that resides within many non
blacks.
Although the roots of racism
and bigotry are (directly and indi
rectly) responsible for many of
the ills that plague the black com
munity. it's not white gang
bangers gunning down black chil
dren as they innocently play in
their own yards. It's not young
white men fathering blai k chil
dren and abandoning their black
mothers, leaving them with little
chan* e of a legitimate opportu
nity. These and many others are
issues that can be dealt with
effectively and solely by the black
communities It is wishful think
ing at best, and counterproduc
tive at least, to expect white folk
to resolve such matters Blacks
must expect no more than a lais
soz faire disposition among
whites
There is no immediate, all
encompassing solution to rat e
issues on this or any other cam
pus: however, this is not to say
that there is nothing that can be
done What’s needed is a genuine
familiarity (not masqueraded as
understanding) of how each
affa ted ethnh nu ial group jut
ceives the situation. And this an
only he accomplished if all are
willing to listen.
Kevin Washington is a student at
the University of Oregon