4A • THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
OPINION
MONDAY,FEB.25,2002
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Leita Walker
editor
864-4854 or
healthwithus.com
Jay Krall
Kyle Ramsey
managing editors
884-4545 or
jkrall@wanan.com
or kramphey@wanan.com
Clay McCuistion readers' representative 864-810 or emccuistion@ansn.com
Kursten Phelps Brooke Hesler opinion editors 684-4810 or khepletskanan.com or khepleshanan.com or bkshesler kanan.com
Amber Agee business manager 864-4014 or addicthe@amansan.com
Kate Mariani
retail sales manager
864-4452 or
retailalex@kamman.com
Malcolm Gibson
general manager
and news adviser
864-7667 or
malcolm@kansan.com
Matt Fisher
sales and marketing
adviser
864-7666 or
ntfisher@kansasan.com
PERSPECTIVE
KRT CAMPUS
Hate speech still remains; all races should do their part to stop it
I will never forget the banquet at my hometown church when I was eight years old. My little brother was five and wanted to help.
His job was to tell Mrs. Rice when anv of the bowls of nuts became empty.
First the peanuts were gone. He instantly yelled out across the church, "Mrs.Rice! We need some more peanuts."
James Manning opinion@kansan.com
The Brazil nuts were all gone, and my little brother, not realizing he was doing anything wrong, tried to be helpful by yelling out the only name for Brazil nuts he ever knew. The name he knew the nuts as started with the N-word.
Next the bowl of mixed nuts was empty. Again he did his duty and let Mrs. Rice know the bowl had to be refilled. It was the next bowl of nuts that caused shock and confusion.
GUEST COMMENTARY
"But that's what the neighbor calls them," he replied.
Church members stopped and stared. Mrs. Rice told him the word is wrong.
"We don't say words like that," she said.
He was right. Despite the stigma, the word was still used.
A decade and a half later, that word
has evolved into arguably the most powerful word in the English language. No other word can evoke such a wide array of emotions and feelings.
Too horrible to mention or see in print, the N-word is still an active part of the English language. Perhaps that is why use of the word is being tackled on tonight's episode of the Fox drama series Boston Public.
While watching one of the many promos Fox has aired for the episode (where it is trumpeted as the 'most important episode of the year'), a friend of mine told me he did not understand why the program was needed. He figured people already knew the word was taboo. He could not understand why the topic needed to be revisited.
Unfortunately, he was probably overestimating white culture.
Only a couple of weeks after attending the University of Kansas, I heard the word used at a party by an intoxicated woman. At first I thought I misunderstood what she was saying, so I asked her to repeat it.
She instantly apologized and told me it was a common word where she was from and that it "didn't mean she was racist."
A little less than a month later I heard the word again in a local coffee house. I called this woman out on using the word.
This time someone came to her defense, "Black people use that word all the time," he said.
What does that have to do with anything? Someone else's actions should not affect how we model our behavior. The answer to why the word should not be used is simple: it is offensive and wrong.
Some will argue a white person has no place arguing against the N-word because it is an African-American issue. To an extent I agree. As a white person, I cannot imagine to know how it feels to be an African-American in our society and therefore cannot speak for that culture or from the viewpoint of the culture.
But as a member of white culture, I can testify that many white people find the word offensive and want other members of white culture to stop using it. No justification exists for its use.
Unfortunately, as long as people remain passive and indifferent to the use of hate words, prejudicial attitudes will be deemed as acceptable on some level in society.
It is for this reason every person must make it a priority to call out those who use hate language the moment it is uttered.
The key to calling the person out, however, is trying to form an understanding. Yelling and exploding with overwhelming feelings may only anger the person. Belittling the person only puts you on his or her level.
Instead, calmly and rationally explain how the word should not be used, and counter any arguments that may be posed. This is how the church situation was handled with my little brother, and he and I are both advocates of eliminating hate language today. Education is the key to removing oppression from society.
Manning is a graduate student in communication studies from Liberal.
CHAMBERLAIN COLUMN
Robert Chamberlain's column,
"Loss of color guard at games disrespects flag" (Feb. 12) does a disservice not only to Roy Williams, but to the University and its alumni as well as the Kansan.
Mr. Chamberlain's problem with profit-driven exploitative nature of Division I athletics is his problem, not Williams' problem. He states he has come to "grips" with the impossibility of pursing his academic career during home games. I say baloney to that.
Alumni and citizens of Kansas used to own the University, and I think we still own a past of it. Surely students understand that taxes can't pay for schools of excellence. Neither can tuition. It is the donations to the Endowment Association that provide the chance for excellence.
And one of our freedoms is that if one chooses, he or she can be disrespectful to the flag and still be patriotic. Williams has done neither of the two. The guard needs to keep on schedule if it wants to be part of the game.
W go to war to protect out freedoms. It is my understanding that the flag is a symbol of out freedoms.
Mr. Chamberlain could immediately enlist for active duty and joint those troops who are in harm's way. My generation did. We left school, then after the war, came back to finish our education.
The column shouldn't have been printed with half-truths. It was in poor taste, and it was unfair to Williams. We think the Kansan should be above this
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
and should double check information.
By "we," I am including 1,750 members of the Topeka Jayhawk Club. Otto Schnelbacher, Sr Class of 1948 President of the Topeka Jayhawk Club
In response to Robert Chamberlain's column, "Loss of color gaurd at games disrespects flag" (Feb. 12), Chamberlain's obviously biased and reactionary viewpoint does nothing to help solve the problem.
More importantly, at what point did it become an embarrassment to display the flag within the fieldhouse? I am not as militant as Chamberlain, but I do know that the flag is to be respected by our citizenry, as long as it is being displayed in a manner which is respectful of what it symbolizes.
If I hang a flag on the wall of my apartment, showing respect for the flag itself and support for the military and our nation, am I also to be seen as an embarrassment? If I were a police officer presenting it as part of an honor guard, instead of a color guard, am I an embarrassment? I doubt anyone would answer yes to either question.
By calling the display of "a flag they have pinned to the Fieldhouse wall" an "embarrassment," Robert puts himself into the same category in which he tries to place Coach Roy Williams. A presentation of the colors by the military, while important, is not the only appropriate way in which to display the flag.
Chamberlain himself needs to show the respect for the flag that he requests of others before anyone should pay his opinion much attention.
Justin Nichols Ann Arbor, Mich., 2001 graduate THE MEN'S MOVEMENT
According to the Kansas Coalition Against Sexual and Domestic Violence, every 15 seconds a woman is beaten by her boyfriend or husband and of those numbers, less than 5 percent are reported. If that is not enough, by the age of 18 one out of every four women has been sexually assaulted with a 90 percent chance that the perpetrator was somebody she knew. It is important to understand that these numbers are just that and don't show the realistic, morose nature of this issue. So to all of the men out there who feel like this is not their concern, think again.
Justin Nichols
We live in a male-dominated society controlled by the same men who engage in these specific crimes. It is time to approach this issue with honestly and truth. It is time for this to change. A problem this big should not be up to women to fight alone. It's time we start educating men. This is my invitation to all men out there. Let the guidance begin.
The Men's Movement will meet at 3 p.m. on the first Friday of every month at Alcove D in the Kansas Union. Let this be a chance to create leadership.
Dave Braham
Houston, Texas, senior
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For more comments, go to www.kansan.com.
If masturbation were an Olympic sport I think it should be both a summer and winter event, because I do it all year long.
To the editorialist who said KU fans suck because they don't wear blue to every game, the problem is not that KU fans do not know their school color is blue, but all the bookstores provide more colors than blue. KU championship hats and t-shirts are not even made in school colors. The fans are not wrong but bookstores.
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I just have one word for everyone: Let Jesus Christ be your gang leader.
What's better than seeing Robert Chamberlain slapped down in the Kansan? Reading about him being slapped down in the Journal-World.
I'm going to form a partnership with my Business 240 TA, so we can share each other's assets.
About the Smurfs, they are obviously gender-morphing animals, and the two Ruebans are father and son, and if you notice on the commercial there is only four pictures, because the father has retired.
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Hey Zerbe, it's me and my buddies again.
Just want to say thanks for making the 100 point basket, even though you missed the second free throw. Uh hey, good job. Better luck next time. Thanks. Bye.
Hey, I was just calling about the Smurfs.
Yeah, this is the waitress from Wednesday's Free for All. To the guy that called in, and told me to get a real job, I'm sorry you're a cheapskate, but I have to survive some how.
B
You know dating is interesting. I think you should get to know someone and possibly love them before you use and degrade them.
Yeah, was Quin Barley on Iowa State? Did he get on the team through the Make a Wish program?
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Yes, I just wanted to say I absolutely love our dean of students. If you don't know it, he has an hour every week in the Kansas Union on Wednesdays to meet with students, and I think that is the greatest idea. Go talk with the man. Find out what a great guy he is.
Mark Mangino versus Terry Allen in the ring. Go head-to-head on Saturday night in Allen Field House. I say Terry goes down in the second.
Yeah, I just wanted you to know that if you cook a grilled cheese sandwich on the grill and microwave peas at the same time you get a marinara stunten. Thank you.
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St. Francis is my dude.
To answer the person who called a few weeks ago about their math TA, my math TA from last semester was a total babe. He was the only reason I went to class so early in the morning.
Lewis Harrison scores four points, and nobody makes a big deal about it? What is going on on this campus? Come on.
Yeah, someone should tell Brian to stop watch gay porn all the time.
Hi, I work on campus, and KU Info just called me to ask me a question. What's wrong with this picture?
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I was just calling the sports section of Free for All for keeping us posted on the Olympics.
Hey little girl, I don't like you either.
I have no tolerance for people trying to bury other people alive.
I would like to thank the UDK for that article on Boschee. It was very informative, because I thought his first name was Fred.
So is George Washington's brother the uncle of our country?
Why is it the ugly people are always the first ones to get naked?
Yeah, I just wanted to tell my boyfriend not to be mad at me anymore, because I'm sorry, and I love him.
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Oh my gosh, my friend just created a game called Pack Ball, in which I drop the ball underneath me and, trying to get the ball without falling off the bed I ended up slashing her, falling on my nose and breaking it. What a day.
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Yeah, I think that sex is like a game of Pitch — if you don't have a good partner you better have a good hand.