Newsroom: (541) 346-5511
Suite 300, Erb Memorial Union
P.O. Box 3159, Eugene, OR 97403
Email: editor@dailyemerald.com
Online Edition:
www.dailyemerald.com
Wednesday, January, 15,2003
-Oregon Daily Emerald
Commentary
Editor in Chief:
Michael J. Kleckner
Managing Editor
Jessica Richelderfer
Editorial Editor
Pat Payne
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Letters to the editor
University should review
involvement with Nike
In his article, “Now Corporations
Claim The ‘Right To Lie”’ (published
on Jan. 1 by CommonDreams.org)
Thom Hartmann wrote: “While Nike
was conducting a huge and expensive
PR blitz to tell people that it had
cleaned up its subcontractors’ sweat
shop labor practices, an alert consumer
advocate and activist in California
named Marc Kasky caught them in
what he alleges are a number of specif
ic deceptions. Citing a California law
that forbids corporations from inten
tionally deceiving people in their com
mercial statements, Kasky sued the
multibillion-dollar corporation.
“Instead of refuting Kasky’s charge
by proving in court that they didn’t lie,
however, Nike instead chose to argue
that corporations should enjoy the
same ‘free speech’ right to deceive that
individual human citizens have in their
personal lives. If people have the con
stitutionally-protected right to say, The
check is in the mail,’ or, ‘That looks
great on you,’ then, Nike’s reasoning
goes, a corporation should have the
same right to say whatever they want
in their corporate PR campaigns. . . .
but Nike isn’t a person — it’s a corpora
tion. And it’s not their ‘say’ they’re ask
ing for: It’s the right to deceive people.”
After the University completes a re
view of its association with KUGN, it
would do well to review its association
with organizations, such as Nike, that
have no problem with lying. It is not
good for the University’s image not to
mention its truth-seeking mission - to
lie with the liars.
Franklin W. Stahl
professor
molecular biology
Talking Stones
vandalism racist, biased
Tn responses the recent defacing of
four of the newly-installed Talking
Stones in the Whilamut Natural Area of
Alton Baker Park, the City of Eugene
Human Rights Commission wishes to
express disapproval and sadness for
this disrespectful and offensive act.
Four of the Talking Stones were
defaced the day after they were in
stalled. The perpetrator or perpetra
tors and their intents are unknown,
and the act itself is reflective of
racist and biased acts of intolerance.
These stones have been placed in
the Whilamut Natural Area as edu
cational tools. They feature Kala
puya words — and accompanying
English translations — which high
light cultural, historical and physical
aspects of the landscape. The stones
were intended to adorn the park and
provide a reclaiming of this natural
area for the enjoyment of all people
in the community. The last and
most significant message of the
stones is to honor the indigenous
people, known as the Kalapuya, who
were the first people to reside in the
Willamette Valley, and to recognize
present-day Native American resi
dents descended from the Kalapuya.
As community human rights advo
cates, we must respond to intolerant
acts. The Human Rights Commission
wishes to help speak out on acts that
show disregard and contempt for hu
man rights. We appreciate the com
munity members who have brought
this to light and applaud them for
speaking out.
May we all together continue to
work toward tolerance and respect,
so all human beings shall enjoy free
dom of speech and belief, and free
dom from fear.
Marcy Middleton
Navajo Nation
James Dean
members
Human Rights Commission
Racist charges undermine core beliefs
Guest commentary
Following the controversy sur
rounding republican Sen. Trent
Lott, an Emerald editorial recendy
raised its concern over the percep
tion that the Republican Party
needs to do more to reach out and
demonstrate its sensitivity with re
spect to race relations in America.
While that sincere concern has had
relevance in the past, the contin
ued use of the GOP-as-racist
stereotype ignores the fundamen
tal beliefs of republicans.
We don’t want blacks. We don’t
want whites. We want your best
and brightest. We don’t care what
you were bom as, so long as you
want to improve life for your chil
dren and live in a meritocracy that
respects all individuals according to
their own qualities and capabilities.
It is young republicans and
libertarians, those who believe
that the main measure of a per
son is their character and their
ability to produce for themselves
and society, that are now the
tme defenders of justice and the
highest ideals of a society based
on individual accomplishment.
So, even as the GOP continues
on its path to remove the rem
nants of racism or sexism from its
reputation, there continues to be
the perception that republicans
can be casually assumed to have
racists in their midst. Why does
that notion continue? A few
bumps in the road like the Lott in
stance, and the continuation of
race-based politics by those who
profit from such perceptions.
Every election, there are plen
ty of democratic candidates who
tar their opponents with the
brush of racism because it is an
easy method to drive up “nega
tives” in polls and increase their
own chances of victory. And de
mocrats continue to support poli
cies, such as affirmative action
and race-based government con
tracts and loans, that favor partic
ular groups at the expense of free
and open market forces, which ul
timately will favor whoever is
most productive and whoever
produces the best results.
This point is evidenced in the
Emerald editorial when even as the
ODE voiced its concern over
republican Lott’s “insensitive”
remarks, they did not mention
democratic Sen. Robert Byrd’s for
mer affiliation and alleged recent
ties to the Ku Klux Klan. Was this
just an honest oversight of the edi
torial board? Readers of this page
can reach their own conclusion.
There is a common and under
standable assumption that identi
ty politics are here to stay. After
all, they win elections for democ
rats and it makes liberals within
this isolated and self-righteous
campus community feel better.
But those who hold the highest
ideals, that anyone can achieve
given a level playing field, are
slowly winning the hearts of the
American people.
Race will continue to be a
stumbling block for the GOP
only so long as it allows liberals
and win-at-all-cost democrats to
frame issues with race as a cen
tral theme. That tendency is evi
dent at this University, where
specific classes are taught (and
even given more weight through
their ability to satisfy general ed
ucation requirements) with spe
cific ethnic groups or women as
their central theme. That demo
graphically focused vision of the
world is not productive, nor is it
founded in any meritocracy.
Ultimately, the republican mes
sage that all can achieve through
hard work and a level playing field
will undeniably carry die day. And
for that, we should all be proud.
Bret Jacobson is publisher
of the Oregon Commentator.