| Close to Home Local shooting should open our eyes We can't hear gunshots from 500 miles away, which is as close as any shootings in the ongoing saga of violence have gotten to TCU. But the shots rang loud and clear Wednesday. Eight people died when a gunmen opened fire at a youth prayer service at Wedgwood Baptist Church. Less than 10 miles away. We're not seeing it on TV. We're not looking at the cover of Newsweek. We can drive down Hulen, make a couple of turns and see it for ourselves. We may be able to see it; we have seen it for years, but we still can't understand it. The students at Columbine High School don't understand and neither do the ones at Westside Middle School in Jonesboro, Ark. But they're trying. And now, we must join them. Wednesday's shooting demonstrates that violence hits our home. Fort Worth hasn't seen violence of this kind since 1992 when a gunman killed two people in the Tarrant County Courthouse. Fort Worth will deal with the effects of this event for years, much like Jonesboro, Littleton and Atlanta. We can't point fingers. We must, as a community, be proactive. We must join forces with those who have gone through the same thing and find out why. We may never know what drove this gunman to kill seven people before killing himself. Answers are hard to come by. But what we should gain from this experience is that violence like this can happen anywhere. In our schools or in our churches. While we search for the answers, we should remain aware that we are not invincible. Let's also not get caught up in the media circus or in the blame game. Our outrage can't be erased, but we can't let it cloud our thinking. We should channel that energy into helping our community and others like it. We must focus on finding tangible solutions.
Immigration a gift The continuation of life depends on a cultivation and unification between the many peoples of Earth. As a single person or a group of people, we should be able to travel and migrate from one wonder of the world to the next, regardless of the local immigration laws that shower burden upon individuals and exclude specific people from certain places. Aaron Pennington, a white United States citizen and TCU graduate student, reminded me the other day that "America is a society by immigrants for immigrants." America is a nation built by many immigrants from many different lands. Immigration has made our country what it is today. Having a wide span of international relations with various cultures is an important aspect in regard to who we are. And it's a wonderful thing that America can run itself with so many cultures involved. However, immigration is not only a word from the past, but it is a great word of truth, identity and a key building block for the future. We, as a nation and a people, should take more advantage of our multicultural fascinating background that interlocks us as a nation. The importance of immigration is critical to our lives. We must continue accepting other cultures, religions and people because it's who we are. And we are developing into a world community where America can lead the integration of culture for the rest of the world. Others see immigration differently. Some people see it as a means for producing and forming laws that inhibit ostracizing behavior. Immigrants take away jobs, land space and even begin to spread new and contrasting cultures that overwhelm and confuse the current culture that's being produced by the present society who is accepting immigrants, others say. The borders of the United States are no longer welcoming committees. The land of the free is now the land of the protected. Borders have changed from friendly handshakes to deadly turrets that house high-power rifles. We must remember what President George Washington said, "The bosom of America is open to receive not only the Opulent and respectable Stranger, but the Oppressed and Persecuted of all Nations and Religions." America is not just one country with one nation, but a country of many nations. We are a polyglot nation unlike any other and should better realize the potential gratification; this entails a need for cooperation that accepts, understands and works with immigrants. As a nation we must accept the immigrants and connect with them while combining the many ethnic identities into one national identity; a fusion that willfully and harmoniously reconciles diversity with unity. It's our duty as Americans to accept immigrants past, present and future. Also we must take the negative feelings toward people of other races and sublimate the biased, racist and harsh thoughts of human destruction and create a multicultural humanistic world that partakes everyone into the same Earthly race. And if America doesn't take the stand to produce ways and means that incorporate an understandable lifestyle for all of us, then we are in trouble because life will become a slow and painful degeneration. Ethnic diversity is a gift given to America. It's time to realize this gift and the importance of immigration. There should not be evil dervishes made upon immigrants. After all, we are all immigrants who are traveling toward the future. Hopefully, a more accepting culture is in our future. And the way to a better future is by moving ourselves and our conscious toward a better name for immigration.
Corby Miteff is a master of liberal arts student from Fort Worth. He can be reached at (mcmiteff@delta.is.tcu.edu). Actors should stick to acting On Sunday's edition of "Politically Incorrect with Bill Maher," guest Melissa Shlussel said actors should stick to that in which they are well-versed - acting, or drugs or ugly designer clothes - and shut up when it comes to political issues. Though not all entertainers are so stupid or disengaged from common life that they have no place to give their opinion, taking them seriously is a hard pill to swallow. Entertainers have a rough life, what with all the galas, hideously hip clothes, cocaine and really big houses that characterize their existence. This rough life, however, affords many of them the money and the time to pursue activist or political causes, and for better or worse, many of them do. Obviously some are more well-versed in their causes than others. Sting probably knows more about recycling and biodegradable things than Pamela Anderson Lee, though one would think she knows everything about non-biodegradable things and the removal and recycling thereof. But the lot of them have been so out of touch with those of us who aren't necessarily pretty or lucky enough to work in Hollywood that they can be activists without responsibility. Kim Bassinger and Alec Baldwin are celebrity crusaders on behalf of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. They are so good about being concerned, probably to the point that Kim only wears dolphin-safe cosmetics. But do these people realize that if we are ever going to find a cure for cancer, we will probably have to find it in a rat or, gasp, a monkey first? Of course not. They can always return to their big house and walk-in humidor after a day of wearing ribbons and empathizing with lab rats. Did Jane Fonda actually have to stick her head in a tunnel and look for Viet Cong? Noooo. Has Charleton Heston ever been in a situation in which he needed a gun for self-protection? Probably not. What irks me the most are causes that cost the normal people money if they are pursued, like many of Al Gore's environmental proposals. Don't get me wrong. I'm all for environmental cleanup - saving the whales and keeping sewage out of the ocean - but these things cost a lot of money, which is not really an object for these celebrity empaths. "Oh, Alec! There's another emissions-control fee we have to pay on the Hummer!" "Hey, no problem, Kim! We're rich!" Hollywood also gives a lot of money to political candidates, for no other reason than to just be nice. I was greeted this week in U.S. News and World Report by a cartoon of Al Gore clutching two supermodels. Do they think he is going to legalize heroin? And then right below that article is one about Warren Beatty's presidential bid! What does he know? The article implies that he is a champion of public campaign finance. But he's still a rich person getting bankrolled by rich people! Everyone has a right to his or her opinion, but not everyone is well-informed on the issues he or she advocates. I think NCAA water polo should be televised in prime-time, but that's because I know about collegiate water polo. And maybe entertainers are informed about their various causes, but I prefer to hear about environmental issues from someone who spent 9 1/2 weeks doing an environmental study rather than someone who spent 9 1/2 weeks doing Mickey Rourke.
Steve Steward is a senior political science major from Lodi, Calif. He is a member of People who Eat Tons of Animals and can be reached at (Haoledubstyle@hotmail.com). Political pressure needed until East Timorese can return home safely Chance of freedom for islanders should not be allowed to slip away Dili, the capital of East Timor, is in flames. Thousands of civilians have been massacred, and hundreds of thousands have fled to the hills, where, without adequate food or shelter, they await a slow death by starvation. This was East Timor in the wake of Indonesia's invasion in 1975, and it is East Timor today as anti-independence militias ravage the island. Following 1975, approximately 200,000 Timorese - one-third of the pre-invasion population - died. Today, the death toll is unknown, but a tragedy of similar proportions will hopefully be averted by the deployment of an international peacekeeping force in the coming days. Indonesia's acceptance of such a force is commendable, a dramatic turnaround after 24 years of occupation, but the ordeal of the Timorese is far from over. The world's governments, pressured by activists including thousands of students have made some progress in their efforts to protect the people of East Timor. The tenuousness of the peacekeeping plan is illustrated by the comments of Indonesia's President B.J. Habibie, who lamented that although the army had "tried to stabilize the situation in East Timor," the soldiers faced "difficult psychological constraints" that limited their ability to control the militias. General Wiranto, the armed forces chief, had a more nuanced explanation: He was quoted in The New York Times saying, "The main problem is a psychological constraint among our personnel on the ground - those who have been living with the East Timorese for so long" that they find it "hard for them to shoot their own people, who have been regarded as their brothers, and who are not really criminals." One year ago, there were no "anti-independence militias" in East Timor. These groups have arisen as the Indonesian army prepared its scorched-earth campaign in anticipation of leaving East Timor, arming local partisan groups and giving them protection as they conducted their acts of terror. The army has continued in this role through the recent upheaval, and in at least one case participated directly in the massacres. Habibie's and Wiranto's comments indicate a serious effort on the part of the Indonesian government to deny the role of its own army in the continuing killing in East Timor. The Indonesian government is not the only party that has hid its complicity in the suffering of East Timor. The United States and Australia, who have in recent days emerged as the saviors of an independent East Timor, were Indonesia's biggest supporters during and after the 1975 invasion. Until it rescinded recognition last year, Australia was the only country in the world that gave recognition to Indonesia's annexation of East Timor. The United States supplied most of Indonesia's arms during the 1970s, and it is believed that President Ford personally gave the green light on a visit to Indonesia just prior to the invasion. Indonesia's failure to acknowledge the complicity of its own armed forces in the slaughter of the Timorese is dangerous, especially when the current peacekeeping plan does not appear to entail a full military withdrawal by Indonesia. Similarly, the positions of the United States and Australia belie their historical responsibility for the current problems in East Timor. All of this leads to caution on the part of human rights activists, and a renewed call for pressure on the government of the United States. Indonesia has accepted peacekeepers in principle, but this is only the first step; its military, so involved in atrocities in East Timor from 1975 to the present, must be withdrawn, and the peacekeepers must be deployed without delay. The hundreds of thousands of refugees who have fled to the hills or fled East Timor entirely desperately need food and other aid, and without the rapid introduction of a humanitarian assistance program thousands more may die. Indonesia and the U.N. have recently made the first steps toward establishing a war crimes tribunal for East Timor; while such a court will do little to end the violence, it is critical if we are ever to prevent future East Timors. East Timor is rapidly fading from the view of the media, as the crisis appears to have been resolved by the acceptance of peacekeeping troops. But the nightmare continues for the people hiding in the island's forested hills, and so we must intensify the political pressure until they can safely return to their homes and families. After 24 years of occupation, the people of East Timor may finally have a chance at freedom - we must not let that chance slip away.
Marco B. Simons is a columnist at Yale University. Letters to the editor Being PC allows us to communicate on comfortable level In response to the politically correct opinion column, I was disappointed to hear that being PC was seen as "reducing the cultural and social sensitivity down to a universal jargon." Being PC allows us to interact and communicate with one another on a more comfortable level. I know many people that would be offended at being called oriental, since there are oriental vases, oriental rugs and oriental tapestry, but not oriental people. And although their color of skin is black, there is a difference between Jamaicans, Africans, African-Americans and Haitians. It all has to do with one's culture and upbringing. I am a Vietnamese woman born in Fort Worth. So you can call me Asian, Vietnamese, Vietnamese-American or Asian-American, and unless you want a big lecture from me on being politically correct, refer to me as such.
Linda Nguyen, senior environmental science major
Praying for others not worth being upset about I have had a hard time biting my lip lately as I read articles in the Sept. 8 and Sept. 9 issues of The Skiff that took issue with Southern Baptist Convention printed prayer guides. These guides are meant to help church members pray in an orderly and focused manner throughout the year, as many other churches do. It seems that the authors of these articles have acquired the very arrogance and condescension they are claiming their presumed opponents within the SBC have displayed. I won't begin to worry until the day that someone praying for me - or anyone else for that matter - becomes something worth getting upset about.
David Vassar, Class of '95 |
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