Newsroom: (541) 346-5511
Room 300, Erb Memorial Union
EO. Box 3159, Eugene, OR 97403
E-mail: editor@dailyemerald.com
Online Edition:
www dailyemerald.com
Monday, October 22,2001
Editor in Chief:
Jessica Blanchard
Managing Editor:
Michael J. Kleckner
Editorial Editor:
Julie Lauderbaugh
Assistant Editorial Editor:
Jacquelyn Lewis
Editorial
i
Consumers should
avoid exploitation
of Sept. 11 tragedy
Since the Sept. 11 attacks in New York, Wash
ington, D.C., and Pennsylvania, Americans
across the country have lived in utter shock.
Mourners tried to cope with the reality of the
terror, while relief workers began the arduous task
of picking through the remains of the World Trade
Center towers. Shortly after the event unfolded,
many American merchants reacted in the spirit of
capitalism: They churned out some star-spangled
merchandise.
The opportunity to exploit the situation was
evidently too good to pass up. Marketers capital
ized on our newfound patriotism by slapping
“The Pledge of Allegiance” on a T-shirt and sell
ing it for “only” $9.95. American flags of every
size disappeared from stores. Car manufacturers
such as Ford and General Motors created ads
with a patriotic angle as part of their pitch. Gen
eral Motors urged consumers to “Keep America
Rolling,” presumably by buying one of its cars.
Despite the stumbling economy, the public has
been eager to buy anything and everything if the
| colors red, white and blue are featured. Citizens
j have reveled in the opportunity to prove — through
j purchasing material goods — that we are proud to
be Americans.
Corporate marketers are not the only ones to capi
talize on the recent tragedy. E-mail solicitations
have reportedly been sent out to ask for donations
to the Red Cross and other relief organizations.
These e-mails, which often are sent by con artists,
direct donors to private Web sites, which are osten
sibly designed to obtain credit card numbers that
criminals can later use for fraudulent purposes.In a
time when our nation is still mourning the events of
Sept. 11, it is sickening that there are some people
who are attempting to exploit this tragedy for their
own personal gains.
And it is even more unfortunate that Ameri
cans who have been bombarded with these mes
sages to “show solidarity” by buying products are
apparently responding in exactly the way the ad
vertisers hoped.
Instead of falling for these ploys, why not actu
ally do something to help the victims of the na
tional tragedy? Donations of money, food or blood
are still needed, and would be a more appropriate
way to show your support. Having your finger
nails airbrushed with stars and stripes or wearing
a “We Remember” T-shirt is Yankee Doodle
dandy, but we fail to see how it helps victims and
their families.
Editorial Policy
These editorials represent the opinion of the Emerald
editorial board. Responses can be sent to
letters@dailyemerald.com. Letters to the editor and guest
commentaries are encouraged. Letters are limited
to 250 words and guest commentaries to 550 words.
Please include contact information. The Emerald
reserves the right to edit for space, grammar and style.
Editorial Board Members
Jessica Blanchard
editor in chief
Michael J. Kleckner
managing editor
Gabe Shaughnessy
community representative
Julie Lauderbaugh
editorial editor
Jacquelyn Lewis
assistant editorial editor
Grant Leffler
community representative
Thomas Patterson
newsroom representative
Britney Spears:
the hypocritical role model
She is an adolescent boy’s wet
dream and a feminist’s nightmare.
Britney Spears has a fan base of
millions around the globe, the ma
jority of whom are girls under the age of
12. Admittedly, this 19-year-old pop
priestess is just another pretty face in a
music industry full of talentless Barbie
doll carbon copies, where image is held
in higher regard than actual talent. But
her fans have been following this virgin
cum-naughty^sex-kitten since she was in
pigtails and coveralls.
Spears is bumping and grinding on
dangerous ground, contradicting every
thing she says she
stands for, includ
ing the sanctity of
abstinence and a
wholesome Christ
ian lifestyle. As a
role model, she
should realize the
implications ofher
actions on children
instead of compro
mising her integrity
as a woman by be
coming the convo
luted ideal ofwom
_ anhoodforour
patriarchal society.
So how does a former Mickey Mouse
Club regular transform herself from the
girl next door to sex fiend a la Madonna
circa 1992? Spears has been criticized for
her sexpot persona and penchant for
bikini-clad gyration in front of audiences
of pre-pubescent girls. Although many
pop stars of this new MTV generation are
just as guilty of selling sex instead of mu
sic, Spears represents an entire classifica
tion of white, middle-class American
girls who have no recourse in our con
sumer-bound society but to rely on sex
appeal to be considered somebody.
This message is as confusing as it is
potentially dangerous for the psyches
of the young girls and boys who adore
the pop star. When Spears begins un
dressing on stage, she’s telling little
girls that success, respect and female
empowerment are equated to bare skin.
Similarly, she is telling them they don’t
Lauderbaugh
editorial editor
T
/
have to understand the ramifications
and values of virginity or abstinence to
start stripping. Little boys understand
that females like to take off their
clothes under the guise of liberation.
However, how liberating is it to sim
ply become a poster girl of a male-domi
nated music industry while fulfilling
the sexual fantasies of the likes of men
like Bob Dole, as demonstrated in her
infamous Pepsi Superbowl ad?
Spears has cited Madonna as one of
her biggest influences. However,
Spears’ newfound sexuality is different
than the material girl’s success-with-a
sexy-image because it’s fake. Before
Madonna became a mommy, a wife and
a wannabe Briton, she was out to prove
that she was in control of her sexuality
as an independent woman and free
from the constraints of a male-dominat
Peter Utsey Emerald
ed society. Spears is doing the opposite
by submitting to market demands and
pretending she has sexual prowess
when she has publicly chosen to ab
stain from intercourse.
These ideals of women as sexual ob
jects have always existed, but their reit
eration upon future generations is both
backward and sexist. Although it is up
to the parents of Spears’ fans to invest
their own values into their children, we
should realize that childrearing is now
a job taken over by MTV. Just because
these psychologically harmful stereo
types of women have always been the
norm doesn’t justify continuing to in
still them in a modem society.
Julie Lauderbaugh is the editorial editor for the
Oregon Daily Emerald. Her views do not necessarily
reflect those of the Emerald. She can be reached
atjulielauderbaugh@dailyemerald.com.
Letter to the editor
Peace activists
are hypocrites
The peace activists who
hold American policies and
culture responsible for the
Sept. 11 terrorist attacks are
attempting to decorate an
atrocity with artificial politi
cal significance. These peace
activists are incapable of dif
ferentiating between the
shortcomings of their own
nation, in which freedom
and democracy are funda
mental principles, and acts
of lunacy committed by a
gang of murderous psy
chopaths who are harbored
and supported by one of the
most barbaric and repressive
regimes on the planet.
These peace activists ad
monish us to try to under
stand what motivates Osama
bin Laden and his associates,
and to somehow appease
these monsters because (ap
parently) no principle is
worth fighting, killing or dy
ing for. These peace activists
worship the notion of
“peace” above all else, and
would rather give up every
one's freedom to preserve
“peace” than lift a finger —
much less a weapon — in de
fense of the principles we as
a nation hold dear.
These peace activists are
hypocritical and intellectually
dishonest because they take
advantage of the very free
doms others have paid the ul
timate price for, only to dimin
ish that sacrifice with their
ideological arrogance. The
peace activists' attempts to cre
ate moral equivalency be
tween America's policies and
what happened on Sept. 11
are outrageous, indefensible
and worthy only of contempt.
Sean Walston
graduate
physics
Poll Results:
Every week, the Emerald prints
the results of our online poll
and the poll question for next
week The poll can be accessed
from the main page of
our Web site,
www.dailyemerald.com.
We encourage you
to send us feedback
aboutthe poll questions
and results.
Last week’s poll question:
What would you add to the
ASUO Street Fair?
Results: 122 total votes
Minstrels, mimes and Jugglers
—4 votes, or 3.3 percent
Evil clowns on stilts
— 13 votes, or 10.7
percent
Meals under $5
—25 votes, or 20.5 percent
Beer garden
—33 votes, or 27.0 percent
gtliii
The choices:
Trick-or-treat
Study
Drink
Participate in the Pulse
costume contest
Play with Ouija board
Go to a parly
Don't know