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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Oct. 24, 1995)
VIEWPOINTS EDITORIALS. OPINIONS. LETTERS TO THE EOITOR Japandi “enounces raoe ants °s- toons oJJ’ ■ OUR OPINION: US military should leave Japan, let island nation defend itself bist month three t; S. ser vicemen stationed in Oki nawa apparently <!**» idmi to demonstrate their collective cruelty hv allegedly raping a 12 year old (Jkinaivan schoolgirl. I I'ltve it to tin- military, with its am nmt and unat coptabin boot c amp habits of teai hing recruits how to degrade women, to really moss things up with an important ally Today we'll refrain from discussing how this I raged \ brings to light tile need for men to grow up and learn :;>>vs til b-ep thei: 1;< inn.>::i I ho U S. has maintained military installations thorn sin<o inn end of World War II in order to counter the possible throats of China, Korea and Russia (hiring the (old War soars However, that war is over and it might be time to bring some of those troops home or send them toother parts of the globe where war is either underway or threaten ing Can we all say Bosnia? The biggest argument could be that it is high time for Japan to build up her own full-sc ale military Of course that would mean rewriting the agreements signed by the I LS. and Japan at the close of the World War II. but again, that out dated < barter speaks for itself it's !>tJ-\ears ii!'! i'lie international landsi ape has t hanged and Japan has t hanged besides. ( reeling an entire national defense uii'i' » * "imwi, i in » i v n mi ness of rape is a topic we've covered Itefore and will cov er again. It's a national epi domic and yet another symptom of a so< iety with some very serious problems Instead, we're going to look at the resulting fallout over this nasty international incident Three days ago about (iO.OQO angry (ikinavvans staged an anti-U.S.-military tally an their southern Japan ese island. Keen after years of growing tensions between the 11.8. military and the Japanese, the polite Asians couldn't quite got riled up enough to tell all the damn Yankees to go home They just want some of the damn Yankees to go home. As they decried the rape of the schoolgirl, protesters voiced an opinion whit h may finally be a good thing to consider. They want the number of I S. troops on (tkinawa reduced it's a reasonable request. Why arc* we still in Japan? instill 4 ^ stressed economy a much needl'd boost. On the other hand, Arnori < a i an't overlook its nation al interests and commitment to its allies and, of course, we won't China, with its nuclear capability and one million person army, would be a very scary opponent if war were to break out. and it seems that volatile, unpre dictable North Korea pre sents a more immediate threat to peace in the Pacif it i( hostilities did erupt. Amerii a would quickly move to defend its interests and allies. Until then, there are approximately 30.000 U.S. troops on Okinawa and it’s time to bring a lot of them home Maybe we can even teach some of them how to keep their pants on *'•# - 11**1 » ' tf it.'. *. putfcvhM *r-N M. rtJiy f* >!ld|| V #» fc-htxi ««*; xttj} ’vrtfttiay Mt -hu'viiy fSu»«Q the lyntnw Ch the Oregon ii*% fpupiw PttMBftttg CD H the uumpi^ gl 0*igBA 5 agB’Of Cwtgnft A nnernfw of ?h* Aumxai5**5 »**rvt the I "^psa$3 App I’m *"*i3*p»r*»3e*‘ih <*i ?hs $.«***'vh «t *1 it -, V *» ol t?» l It? 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Octotx f 24. 1996 i. Of all the simpering, sao:ha■ rine platitude* that abound in Kugette, that one hugs im something fierce Fractic <• Ran dom Act* of Kindness Well, 1 suv don't do it 1 suv JAPAN JAVS it SENT us A WARa/WG IT WOUUD 8£ ATTACKING P£A»L M ARBOR. BUT /T WAS AN WOUft LATE SO TREV'RE APOLOGIZING. LETS SEE... ABduT 4<*V,ooo >*>u«s (.ATf. AajC ASK 'wow WMTJ TH/i 8uS«w£SJ ABOvr TKAOf 8a#Ri(QS 3 Enough already with the ‘random’ acts I knew there was something about Pinkmnn 1 didn't like Now. after reading about him in Tht‘ Hfftistrr lUuttti a fttvv weeks ago. I know what it is No, it s not that he was a child molester. As a matter of hu t. I think he deserves a lot of respect for how he dealt with this issue. I'm referring to Ins purpose in life the reason why he dons his fuchsia leotard and hops on that unicyi I" every day to prnctii « random acts of kindness am! senseless \t Is n| !>e,uilv if Just pin u little bi>\\ to your blouse tout it w ill all blow away Yeah, rit^hl 33 Activism in this country is for personal gams We do it ior self-fulfillment ant! satisfaction. Rut I wouldn't i art- if activism were actually active, instead of puking!} passive Another unique type of American at tivlsm is the ceiehritv form I don't know what it is but it would setrni that something about Hollywood fires up the sot oil consciousness of its inhabi tants Ail of them stars have a cause Model Christie Turlington de< ries the fur industry and at the same time poses in nils for a fur company. Ku ki lake gets arrested on an anti-fur protest at the same time her face is on the cover of Peoplr Richard Gere totes around a token Tibetan arid asks people to send peace vibes to Chinese government officials Madonna does publii service announcements admonish ing people to vote even though she doesn't. I'.verv time a natural disaster happens, sure enough a group of sis ond-rate musicians has gathered to make the benefit alburn At the end of the day, 1 suppose a lot ol peo ple are introduced to issues because of the i eleb* ,u in ism And tins ig good it it gat* pen pie thinking and acting. Giyli format JfICIl tut’ jJUipU'it’IUi fit .1 > 1JI kindness alt the time. not just when it tickles your fan< y. Work for justice and equality every single dev of your life. be it by voting, writing a letter or just plain opening your mouth mi hen you hear someone perpetuating a rat 1st stereotype l)o anything, hut just do something What does that stupid saying moan? 1 know it's just a response to the senseless acts of violence that wo see going on around us every dav I'll (mint out here that although the violence we witness is horrific and wastes life, it is not senseless There is a reason why gang members kill each other Perhaps if wo look into the causes of these kinds of violence rather than just pointing our fingers, si ratching our heads and tsk-tsking about its senselessness, mavtie we would fig mu umbo activism is also gross it lypuies what 1 hate about Anwru.an activism in general: narcissistic actors and musicians are active because it helps their careers Kvery time Johnny Do-Goodur protests something or other, his career stoc k goes up. "Ask not what you can do to help a cause; ask what helping that cause c an do for you." That is what we've come to. Practice random acts of kindness Do it if it feels good Enough already. Plenty of iieople out there toil daily to bring Justice, equality and peace to this world. And there are even some celebrities who quietly practice good deeds. (Paul Newman gives away all the proc eeds of his food products to charity, and he keeps a low-profile* about it Good for him.) Whether these folks do it because their social c onsciousness urges them to or because it makes them ft*el good, I don’t care. The fact is. they are actively working to make tins world a better place, ncjt just espousing empty virtues on the back of their bumpers Now why not practice that. Gayle "Have a Nice Day" Forman, a senior major ing in journalism, is a columnist for the Emerald. un> out how to end it And OK. it's just a hunijier slicker; no need for roe to get so huffv Hut it seems to me that people here, in their attempt to make nuev nit» to everything and everyone, have taken that token phrase to heart No longer is it iust a bumper at it kt<r; it’s a wav of life. And an unproductive one. I don't mean to critic iz« Pinkman, but aren't there better wavs to ameliorate the world than cruising around on a one-wheeled hike making goofy faces? Pm not saving goofing around and making people (eel good doesn't have its place. But when cliches become the sole form of political activism, we are in trouble. And if you've looked around this country lately, you’ve proba bly realized we're in it pretty deep. Of course, this sort of Care Hear activism in not just a Eugene thing We live in a nation of ribbons — pink, blue, purple, green. For every cause there is a ribbon. That is how Americans think you can solve a problem Just pin a little bow to your blouse and it will all blow away Yeah, right
