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Page 2. Portland Observer, April 16, 1986
Letters to the Editor
EDITORIAL/OPINION
Tetter lit the Tduur
Violence No Stranger to South Africa
The present violence which is occurring in South
Africa (over 1500 people have been killed during
the past year) is nothing new to that racially divided
nation.
The history o f South Africa is a story o f bitter,
blood-drenched conflicts. South Africa's violent
past is why many today believe a major bl«xxl bath
is imminent for that country unless Blacks are
given freedom soon
South Africa's modem day violence first tx’tur-
red between the Afrikaners and the British Britain
first occupied the newly independent Cape in
nationalism was bom The key ingredients of their
nationalism were religion — the puritanical Dutch
reformed ( hurch
and the Afrikaner language,
which evolved from 17th century high Dutch
Their goal was to reconstruct the alien South
African society radically and for all time Ihe
method for reconstruction was "A p a rth e id ” , the
separation o f races in all spheres — jobs, homes
and politics Apartheid was adopted as the official
policy by the National party in 1945 and helped it
win the 1948 election
Although the Afrikaners fought with the British
during the 1800s, they also fought against non-
Whites. They fought nine major wars between
1779 and 1900. During the Great Trek, they killed
3,000 Zulus at Blood River over grazing land lor
cuttle
The first blood bath ol Blacks protesting Apar
theid occurred in Sharpcville. In I960. South A fri
can police fired on a crowd and killed 69 Blacks,
the slaughter was known as the Sharpcville Mas
sacre.
In the Soweto uprising ol 1976-77. 575 people
were killed Since Soweto, the killin g of Blacks in
South Africa has become a routine occurrence.
Given her bloodied past and her present day vio
lence. it is easy to understand why Bishop De
smond Tutu o f South Africa once told the C a lifo r
nia Legislature that unless political and economic
pressure is used against South Africa, an A r
mageddon w ill in cu r in South Africa "Race war
in my country would have the most horrendous
consequences lor race relations in the United States
and other Western countries with significant
non White populations." warned Bishop Tutu
1795.
The British and the Afrikaners didn’t get along
too well, fhe Afrikaners resented the British Im
perialists. their Tory governors, their missionaries
and their attitude toward slavery
The abolition o f slavery in 1833 dealt a severe
economic blow to the Afrikaners W ithin two
years, more than 10,000 Afrikaners left the area
and began the Great Trek north in search of new
homes They eventually established the indepen
dent republics o f the Transvaal and Orange Free
State.
fhey continued to resist British rule until their
defeat in the Boer War o f 1899-1902. After exist
ing a few years as self-governing British colonies,
the Iransvaal and Orange Free State merged with
the southern Natal and C ape provinces to form the
Union of South A frica, a self-governing British
dominion Britain pulled out o f South Africa in
1914
After the British pull-out, the Afrikaners began
their present day control o f Blacks Afrikaner
Healthwatch
by Steven Hailey N. D.
One o f our country’ s greatest health concerns, is
withdrawal of tobacco can be strongly influenced
the use and consequent detriments o f cigarettes
by wha, we eat and hence our blixxl stream’ s acid/
Smoking not only is highly related to the de
alkaline conditions.
velopment o f lung cancer but has been show n to be
The more acid our bltxxl is. the more quickly
associated with increased birth defects, increased
nicotine is broken down and hence the more
incidence o f childhood asthma and bronchitis as
quickly we crave another cigarette. It we can main
well as general cardiovascular problems While
tain a basic blixxl stream the nicotine stays in our
textbtxiks o f old mention "tobacco heart" as a
system tor a long time and our physical cravings
regular malady of smoking, we only recently have
are minimal Ihe normal American diet is highly
begun to openly challenge the practice ol smoking
acid, as the chart below shows.
Unlike most practices which lead to ill health,
High Acid — I. Wheat Germ 2 Lentils 3
smoking not only faces limited opposition but ac
Maearom/I’asta 4 Chicken 5 Eggs 6 Beet 7 Beef
tually is given government support in the form o f
’ Liver 8 Lamb 9 C<xl 10 Coffee I I Sucrose
farm subsidies for tobacco growers What this sub
(sugar).
sidy results in is increased consumption o f to
High Basic— I Black Strap Molasses 2 Beans
bacco. A 1983 Canadian study showed intake as
3 Raisins 4 Figs 5. Beet Greens 6 Spinach 7.
inversly related to costs. The U S stands alone in
Dandelion Greens 8 Brewers Yeast 9 Almonds
providing the cheapest (equal buying dollar)
10 Carrots I I Soy 12. Celery
cigarettes and has a no,-Uxi surprising intake o f 4-8
Baking stxlacan be taken to alkalinize the blixxl
times that o f non-subsidized countries It is a sad
stream So if you are attempting to quit smoking, a
irony that we so cherish the economic importance
little alteration in your diet may I k enough to get
o f tobacco farms while letting wheat and corn
you over the hump Accupressure. hypnosis and
fanners go belly-up because their non subsidized
other programs may prove effective, but how you
food crops are unable to pay their costs
eat can significantly affect your success in quitting
I write this article to help those who want to quit
smoking G ixxl Luck!
smoking Recent studies show that tl i e physiologic
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Tit the E ililitr
"O u r hisiory and our culture were
completely destroyed when we were
fo rc ib ly brought to Am erika in
chains ” Malcolm X
As the immediate emhixlimeni o f a
way o l life. Culture is the transfigura
lion ol human preoccupations, the
elaboration of certain specific and daled
demands Culture, at once pari of real
its and transcending it. engenders its
own realities, polarizes sixiety and
transforms il I'm inclined to believe, it
is w hat. in the fullest and w idcsl sense,
enable men to regulate their lives
Moreover. Culture always expresses
something Taken at the source, it indi
cales difficulties, m stxial matters it
clamors for solutions, among the
people, it opens up new paths There is
no people without Culture nor sixiety
without change
Ihe path ol tribulations undergone
by the concept ol Culture is, today,
long indeed' The opinions o f "com m it
tees o f intellectuals" cancel each oilier
out in a sterile dialectic; various "s y m
posia" bring incomprehension and a
hollow humanism into a timid en
counter with historical truth and the
progressive determination of man up
against Ihe greatest calamity known to
history : imperialism
European trends have dominated the
study ol cultural problems in Alrika
l or a long time latter day Anglo-Saxon
authropology, concerned with ju s tify
ing the reactionary ideas o f col
onialism. cited Alrika as the home of
backward people who should he forced
to accept colonialist humanitarian
civilization
According to a well-nurtured pre
Iudice, Atrikans took no part in the
general task ol shaping civilization At
rika is accused ol being without history
and without Culture because it was
necessary that this he so Europeans
slaughtered Amenkan Indians while at
the same lime admiring their temples
and palaces They admitted that they
massacred Ihe men to take over their
land W uh their conquets and domina
lion. Europeans destroyed millennial
civilizations in Asia, but they never de-
Tn the U i l i i r
Dear Sir:
I was astonished Io read yixir 2 April
editorial in which you quote Stan Pclers
criticism o f Chief Harrington at length
Surely you have heard by now that any
thing C hiel Harrington does or says w ill
cam Stan Peters' disapproval Chief
Harrington is unlikely ever to get any
cixiperation or even a fair shake from
Peters
Your sincerely.
Janet McHarv
To I h r Edilur
Was glad to sec your coverage o f the
"B ia s O ffic ia tin g " in Jeff vs Glencoe
I didn't sec that game but I did see
another game where I saw what ap
peared to me as bias against Jeff Jeffer
son has an excellent team and. while
I'm not a professional, there were many
calls that seemed biased to me My per
sonal feeling was that the referees fa
vored the other team (Grant, (I know
men on both teams )
For many years I sponsored teams I
attended their games and so I learned
much about calling fouls etc
Thank you Observer for exposing
this vice.
Sincerely
Evelyn M Collins
? < ;
Teller in ihe Editor
The following is a general press re
lease:
On April 2, 1986 at approximately
I K) a m , a blaze erupted on the sec
ond stivry o f our Residential Resource
Center, located at 5005 NE I 5th. Port
land
Inside-Outside People extend great
appreciation to the Portland Eire De
partment whose quick response saved
our building from destruction
There were no injuries, and damage
is estimated at $1,000
Residents o f the Resource Center
continue to occupy the damaged area,
and with emergency contributions IOP
anticipate timely reconstructxm and a
return to business as usual, serving
communities and people throughout the
Metro area
Inside Outside People is a non-profit
organization which provides basic ser
vices to ex-offenders, alcoholics and
drug abusers who want to help them
selves.
Editor's note:
Should you have questions about the
fire or require more information about
us, please feel free to call
Thank you.
Carl S Hoisington,
Spokesman IOP
Dear Sherri:
I m writing this letter because I hurt so bad right this moment and I don't know
what else to do Honey, first let me say I love you more than life itself This last
week has been the hardest in my life — bar none I don’ t know what’s going to
happen, but I have to believe we arc near the bottom, and we w ill start back up any
day now It 's the kind of situation where I have to remind myself to take a breath,
and the next breath w ill come; or to pul one fix« in front of the other, and I can keep
going It s a relief to get to the end ol the day. hut once there, sleep won't come. In
short. I'm hurting
Shcm I am going to summarize what I know at this point, and then offer some
conjecture about the nature o f the problem, then propose the only solutions I can
see
Tact: You stole the $212.50 meant for Tammy's tuition
Tact: You were fired for $120 00 shortage in your cash drawer.
Tact You were paid $80 00 in cash the Monday you left home
Fact: You owe U S . National Bank $900.00 plus
Fact I found receipts for $268 00 in unauthorized charges on my VISA in your
room.
Fact: This is a total o f $1580 50 spent in one month
I onjccture You have a serious drug problem/or you are buying the affection o f
someone who is really taking advantage o f you.
Solutions At any rate you need more help than I can give you! I propose you
c heck yourself into a drug abuse program ( It is covered by my insurance program).
When you are there — give me a call and I w ill come
or
Seek the help o f a gixxl counseling program and have your therapist give me a call
I w ill follow his/her advice about what to do next
Sherri I don I want you on the streets alone, but you can’t come home on
promises and gixxl intentions We need help I'm not sure how I'm going to get this
letter to you but if it does reach you, give me a sign by following one o f my
suggestions — or proposing one o f your own
1 ,ove -vou
Ma
med the existence of these civilizations
as such, and never conteted the quality
ol their craftsmanship and their human
attributes
Concerning A lrika, Europe's first
notion was not to exterminate the men
with ihe sole idea o f seizing their trea
sures, but to treat them as beasts to be
sold on the spot or exported to
Amerika, or even killed when their
capabilities and selling price no longer
assured an adequate profit to guarantee
the success of such a venture a prelim i
nary step was necessary that o f easing
one s conscience and reassuring one
self by thinking that it was a question of
dealing with beasts and not human he
ings Hence Ihe alleged barbarity of Af-
rikans and the denial ol their Culture
and civilization gave birth to their es
trangement from the human race
In fact even without archaeological
research and tale of ihe Gnots, ordinary'
common sense was adequate to realize
the absurdity or rather the class-
consciousness ol those who managed to
imagine a cultureless people
A C ul
ture is to he found wherever conscious
life exists Culture is the sum total o f
the material arxl spiritual v alues created
by humanity thrixighout its history
This creation is both continuous and
necessary Culture is a material and
spiritual acquisition, fxxh Ihe pnxJuct
PETERS
s 23 o o 5 -t -t
m < O ft' <5 X O
M t M«f >
|f Oregon
Hear Editor:
Do I hear the shrill sirens o f the Cold
War nuclear profiteers in the recent
headline '■.Soviet I! N Staff Ordered
C u t" by the U S State Department?
To me this peremptory "o rd e r"
seems a deliberate effort to chill our
relations with the U S S R hoping to
set bac k the friendly spirit
and eigh
teen signed agreements, like air flights
ol the Geneva Summit Really a
forward step in "learning to live to
gether” on the same planet'
Our people and those o f the whole
world breathed a sigh o f relief feeling
that ai the Geneva Summit — long
struggled for — we had turned away
from nuclear death'
Hut is it in the interest o f nuclear
weapons profiteers to try to k ill the
spirit and acts of the Geneva Summit?
And start us again on ihe death march to
annihilation ’ Do the nuc lear weapons
makers exercise great power in our
government? Consider the actions o f
Secretary Weinberg whose "le a ke d "
letter tried Io stop the Geneva Summit
even after Pres Reagan's plane was
already in flig h t'
W hat can we do Io support the spirit
arxl actions of the Geneva Summit and
build an even better one in September ’
l-ei our Congress and other govern
men! leaders hear our voices loud and
clear' Phis is Election Year' Let them
hear the sound of our marching feet for
ending all nuclear tests, and for mutual
withdrawal ol all missiles from Europe
at a September Summit
We can win again
it we work lor
it!
Violet Orr
and the pnee o f action. Creative action
springs from a universal imperative and
( ulture, which is its reflection, subject
and effect, both constitute universal
realities Wherever there is the neces
sity o f creation we find Culture
I he tact o f a Culture conditions both
the existence o f the people and their
exercise o f sovereignty and power.
Everyone knows what a foul use was
made of Culture by the predatory pow
ers in the course o f nuxlem history, in
their appropriation, among other
things, of the Afrikan peoples After
having laid their hands on the essential
elements o f the Culture o f their own
people, the upper classes o f the col
onialists owers used this weapon in
their endeavor Io dominate and exploit
our continent
By Culture, we understand all the
material and immaterial works o f art
and science, plus know ledge, manners,
education, a mode o f thought, behavior
and altitudes acc umulated by Ihe people
both through and by virtue o f their
struggle for freedom from the hold and
dominion o f nature, we also include the
result o f their efforts to destroy the de-
viationist politics-social systems o f
domination ami exploitation through
the productive process o f social life
Dr Jamil Cherovee