Newsroom: (541) 346-5511
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P.O. Box 3159, Eugene, OR 97403
E-mail: editor@dailyemerald.com
Online: www.dailyemerald.com
Thursday, July 1,2004
Oregon Daily Emerald
COMMENTARY
Editor in Chief:
Jared Paben
Managing Editor:
Travis Willse
Urchins unleashed
I ve just moved into a house in a neigh
borhood on the west side of Eugene where
everyone else owns, and my roommates
and 1 are the only ones renting. I was really
excited to spend the first night in my new
house, looking forward to the quiet away
from the fraternity 1 had as a neighbor last
year, f inally, I don't have to wake up to Sir
Mix-A-Lot's "Baby Got Back" at 2:30 on a
Friday morning, and now I can look out
my bedroom window without even risk
ing seeing three or four fraternity guys uri
nating in the parking lot.
Yes, life is good. The night started off
peacefully and quietly. It was about mid
night and 1 was just about to turn out the
lights and climb into bed. Suddenly there
was a knock at my front door.
"This is strange," 1 thought out loud,
"Who is iti’'' 1 called out, approaching the
door slowly. There was no answer. 1 didn't
know anyone in the neighborhood, and 1
didn t really wish to get to know anyone at
12 at night. I cautiously cracked open the
door and peeked out. The darkness was
thick and I couldn't see a thing, the sound
of children's giggles surrounded me.
"Where are you?" 1 yelled into
the darkness.
"In your house," came the reply in a
pre-adolescent voice. I gasped, surprised
at the audacity. I couldn't think of any
thing clever to say so 1 just said in my
most grown-up voice, "Well, it's late, so
PORSCHA COLLETTE CAREY
WORLD ON A STRING
leave me alone." The next morning 1
awoke rather suddenly to the sound of
rocks hitting the house's front windows.
1 climbed out of bed and ran to the living
room, pulled back the curtains and ob
served several pubescent tween males
throwing rocks at my home!
"I 11 ATE KIDS!!!" I screamed in anger. I
then proceeded to run outside in my pa
jamas, stand in the yard with my hands
on my hips and yell, "Why are you doing
this?! Whereon earth are your parents?!"
Since then, the rock-throwing and
door-knocking have stopped, but the
memory lives on.
Before 1 continue, 1 want to get some
thing straight. This article is not about
how much 1 dislike children; this article
is about how much 1 dislike parents who
have lost appreciation for a good belt
whipping as a form of discipline. I know,
I know, physical discipline is so controver
sial nowadays, especially because the line
between discipline and child abuse is be
coming thinner and thinner, but when
your child is throwing a tantrum in the
middle of an aisle in Albertson's because
he can't have the Frosted Sugar Cubes un
til after dinner, 1 think it's time to realize
that five minutes in the corner isn't cut
ting it. Then there are the parents who
leave the educating and day care services
with the duty of teaching their children
good manners and tolerable public be
havior. No wonder teachers are in such
high demand right now, no one wants to
be a full-time baby sitter!
I'm not a teacher, so 1 suppose I don't
have monopoly when it comes to being
irritated by youths, but 1 did work in a
children's day care for a little over a year
while 1 was in high school, and 1 also go
out in public pretty often, so I think I've
met my quota of child annoyances. The
unnecessary turmoil 1 experienced the first
night in my new house may have been a
small incident, but I feel it is important to
understand that undisciplined children
terrorize the lives of thousands of people
all over America. Parents, please! When
the moment calls for it, take a stand and
hit your kids (within the bounds of the
law, of course). These little people are the
future of our society; Before they become
adults and wreak havoc on our culture,
stop sparing the rod.
porschacarey@dailyemmild.com
Women should
rethink displays
of overt sexuality
GUEST
COMMENTARY
I have been thinking lately about skin and the enormous
amount of it on campus. In particular, what it does to our re
spect for ourselves and from others as well as our place in
American society. These thoughts were enlightened by a lec
ture 1 attended — "Women & Human Rights in Islam" — pre
sented by the Muslim Student Association.
_A significant portion of the
audience was Muslim
women, who displayed little
skin. Their lack of displayed
skin made me notice both my
own and other Western
women's attire. We wore tighter, smaller, shorter and skimpier
clothes. The line of skin that peaks out from the bottom of my
shirt to the top of my pants had never been more on the front of
my mind. I like to think I am not a provocative dresser, but in
comparison to the Muslim women, I definitely was less dressed.
Western cultures have evolved into rather sexually open so
cieties where exposed skin is common. Western women epito
mize this openness in our clothing: painted-on jeans, impossi
bly tiny tank-tops and skirts that stop two inches below our
behinds. We see these clothes everyday on women in our class
rooms, acting on IV, walking down the street, sitting on our
couch, looking back at us in the mirror.
rhe Muslim women at the lecture made this pervasive sexiness
even more apparent with their opinions. The topic of oppression
and head scarves came up. In Western media, head scarves often
symbolize Islamic oppression of women. However, the Muslim
women felt otherwise. One felt liberated by her modest apparel
because she has the freedom to choose the man who sees her
body, rather than displaying it for any man on the street. She said
Western style of female dress is oppressive because it forces
women to display as much skin as possible, to be sexual objects.
Further, Western activists will come to Muslim countries and de
cry the "oppressive burqa," but will not question their provoca
tive clothing as a form of cultural oppression. It's an interesting
point: Revealing our skin is a way to keep women subservient, as
beings whose primary value is sex and how much we exhibit it.
This sexiness is, of course, defined by our culture and expressed
through the media. Our culture tells us that women are liberated,
equal participants in American society which values production,
independence and hard work, while the media shows us that our
value is primarily dependent on our appearance — how toned
our abs are, how white our teeth are, how well-dressed we are.
The travesty is, we all buy it to a certain degree. Some women
spend hours in the morning primping themselves while others
reject this value, spending little time in front of the mirror. Most
women fall somewhere in between the two extremes.
I think we should try something revolutionary — putting our
clothes back on. For just one day, check out of the hyper-sexual
ized culture that tells us to wear skirts seven inches from our
knees and shirts two inches above our waisdine. To women who
already do not wear provocative clothing, tell others why you
don't! To women who do wear provocative clothing, evaluate
why you do and what tells you to. Then decide if you still want
to participate in the overt sexuality of our culture.
Susan Goodwin is a freshman pre-journalism major.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Kerry's message ‘fills
a void' in America
I attended the rally for presidential
candidate John Kerry in downtown
Portland . It was one of the best po
litical rallies I've ever seen. The
speakers were enthusiastic, on-mes
sage and stimulating. 1 was moved
when Senator Kerry took to the stage
and the crowd of 20,000 cheered
incessantly.
People in this country are so hun
gry for real leadership and Kerry's off
the-cuff remarks filled a void in the
current political discourse and he
won me over. Most of us have never
seen Kerry in person, and he is indeed
impressive — a great speaker with a
message that it's time to get this coun
try back on track.
I agree with Kerry on the need for
health care for every American; that
we have taken the wrong direction in
Iraq and with foreign policy in
general; on the need for more re
search and development of alterna
tive fuels and on needed improve
ments in the education system. 1
look forward to sending George
hush the 2,200 miles from D.C. to
Crawford, Texas this fall.
Albert Kaufman
Portland
Abortion is humanity's
'greatest scandal'
With pride in America, and in our
armed forces, 1 salute the vast
majority of men and women who
serve our country with honor in Iraq,
Afghanistan and other parts of
the world. May God bless them, and
their families. To allow the few who
dishonor our country to become
a reflection of our entire nation, or
to place the blame for their
actions on their commander in
chief, is a form of treason.
Our soldiers in Iraq are not at
war with the people of Iraq, but
rather, they are peacekeepers who
have become victims of revenge
and hatred by an unseen enemy who
will even kill their own countrymen
if necessary. Without our military
presence, mobs would rule a country
that has lost its desire for peace.
In comparison, allowing the Democ
ratic Party, responsible for millions
of deaths through abortion, to
resume power at any level of politi
cal life, is a disgrace to every Ameri
can who believes in the right to life
according to our Constitution,
which says we are all created equal.
Scandal is all around us, but the
scandal of deliberate, willful abor
tion is the greatest scandal ever wit
nessed by any people — civilized
or uncivilized.
Vincent Bemowski
Menas!ni, Wis.
Reagan lied to and
cheated his constituents
Ronald Reagan was the 40th presi
dent of the United States and a twist
ed partisan hack who took control
of this nation despite lying to, cheat
ing, and stealing from the people
of this fair country. The Gipper was
a black juju zombie master of the
most inner circle. He built the mod
ern-day conservative movement
from the corpses of fallen ideology,
reanimating them with a charisma
that only a trained actor could
deliver and a little help from his
wife's astrologist.
He was so corrupt even his own
mind jumped ship in the end, but
thankfully for him this means he
probably died with a clear conscience.
Nevertheless: Rest in peace, Ron. I’ll
see you when I get there.
Ethan Firpo
sophomore
anthropology
Jones' column
is misguided
As a first-year law student down at
Stanford, 1 sometimes read the on
line version of the Emerald when I
need a break from con law or prop
erty and want to see what's up with
my alma mater. After reading Marissa
Jones's article on May 10 ("Can 1 get
you anything else?"), I'm not sure I'll
be doing that anymore. I have never
seen an article in any publication
where the author was so obviously
ignorant in respect to the issues they
were "discussing" and employed
such irrational logic and analogies
while trying to make a point —
which 1 assume is what she was try
ing to do. If Jones is really concerned
about wasted tax dollars, than per
haps she should return anv financial
aid she receives.
Luke Liss
class of2003
Stanford, Calif.