4 University Daily Kansan / Monday, March 23. 1992 OPINION Television zaps minds and destroys society This is television unit KM-5 reporting to Mental Control for March 1982. As you know, Head Controller, I have been in the Clayton family for approximately 15 years now. In these 15 years, I have accomplished much to further our progress towards anarchy of the human mind and destruction of American society. Sammy, whois five years old, is easily in my grasp. He, like the average2 to 11-year-old child, watches me about 25 hours in one week. This time is a victory, HC, because when seen annually, it means I have more of his hours than his school does. I will note the three factors in our progression, HC, starting with Intelligence. In this area, progress is slower than the rest, but proceeding. My quick changes of material and presentation of scenes in a way that does not stimulate Sammy's creativity or thinking makes his mind weaker. His attention span is lessened, and his concentration will definitely suffer. And whereas his older brother, Jimmy, would, at his age, play with Legos, read books or go outside to play soccer or baseball with his friends, Sammy only sits and stares at me. My abilities in keeping his interests have evolved to the point where they are almost hypnotic. The most tangible factor I can report to, HC, is how I have started Sammy with a new value system different from that of his older brother. The primary aspect I can instill in his values is his view on violence. Unlike Jimmy, Sammy reacts much less to violence, for he sees it in me much more than Jimmy; for in my arsenal, I will employ over 200,000 violent acts for Sammy to see before he turns 18. And what's more, Sammy will witness the murder of 40,000 people, one at a time, through me. These huge numbers have impact, HC. Sammy gets so used to the idea of violence that it is comfortable for him to see. Even the heroes that he looks up to use murder and violence to achieve their goals, and they pay no retribution. I have characters, such as the Terminator, who shoot people indiscriminately and at the same time captivate and excite Sammy. I don't think I need to tell you that Sammy will not perceive violent actions like his brother Jimmy does, and he will not reject them. David Carusol II Staff columnist In escaping the depths of the mind to the shallowness of skin, I have done well. HC. The most effective way to keep Sammy's attention and even the attention of his nurturers is to show them things they can relate to quickly and desire immediately. Sex is the key to this. Most of the people I show are artificially beautiful and very appealing to most. It's intriguing to think that Sammy may actually compare himself to the artificial beauty he sees in me. He may spend much of his time freeting over his appearance, and when he cannot achieve the perfection I expose to him, he may become insecure and develop the idea that he is inferior. He may come to believe that the only successful people in the world are beautiful, and then he may not even feel he can achieve certain levels of success. Even if it doesn't develop to this extreme, his little mind will at least be filled with the illusion that happy people are always physically beautiful. And with all my concentration on the skin, he may acknowledge that to develop one's beauty is more important than developing one's mind. If this occurs,HC, then our victory is assured. Unfortunately, there still are things I must show that do Sammy actual good, shows that stimulate his mind or imagination. But these shows are losing their frequency, HC, and are being replaced with shows that have a greater impact and are in line with what we want. Anyone who is not blind can see that in the past three decades our kind have changed immensely what we show kids like Sammy. Remember a show called "Lassie," HC? That has become so boring that Sammy would never be entertained by it, because compared to the shows he normally watches, it is very dull. It's remarkable to think that a certain amount of “interesting” ingredients (such as violence and sex) eventually become dull, and that more must be added to keep our shows engaging and our audience watching. Soon enough, today's shows, like "Lassie," will become useless, and be replaced by shows with more violence and true immorality than anyone now would think possible. People don't realize it at all. They don't realize that anything about us is changing because our change is so gradual. They know that their societies are going downhill, but they are so entertained by us that they are blind to the fact that we may be a wonderful contributor to their sophisticated problems. Most of all, they don't realize that their own children are so highly susceptible and watching us 25 hours in one week, every week. As I said earlier, HC, our mission is going well and right on schedule. Soon, very soon, we may succeed. David Caruso II is a Lake Waltana sophomore majoring in English and psychology. THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN Players can hold heads high Despite disappointing loss, coach and team set example of leadership and poise The NCAA men's basketball tournament ended too soon for the University of Kansas. After a successful season that saw the Jayhawks capture the Big Eight regular-season and tournament championships, the Jayhawks ran up against a tough University of Texas-EI Paso team. However, yesterday's loss shouldn'tlessen the fact that Kansas has a great coach and a great team. They represented the University well. Roy Williams has proven in his four years at the helm of KU's men's team that he is a model of class. Even in losing, he retained his dignity and respect for his opponent, his team, his school and himself. All too often, head coaches feel the need to blame others for events that occur throughout the course of a game. Williams didn't. Even though he was clearly disappointed, Williams found more dignity in congratulating UTEP. Without mistake, Williams models the essence of Kansas basketball. The efforts of this great team are not lessened either. Seniors Alonzo Jamison, David Johanning, Macolm Nash and Lane Czaplinski provided leadership and direction to their teammates. Their contributions, coupled with those of the underclassmen, provided a team to be proud of. The philosophy of Williams, executed perfectly by all, makes basketball a true team game and not one of individuals. They should carry their heads high, for they have nothing to be ashamed of. And Kansasfasfans,you should feel privileged to have experienced another exceptional year of basketball. There is always a next year. Stephen Martino and Martin Scherstuhl for the editorial board House bank is not necessary House members should be held accountable for their overdrafts, just like private citizens just like private citizens Congressmen should bank privately just like those in all other branches of federal government and every U.S. citizen. There is no need for their own special bank that doesn't charge for overdrafts. The United States House of Representatives clearly has abused its privileges of maintaining a banking system designed for its sole use. Within the other executive branches of government and the private sector, writing a check without enough funds to pay for it is a flagrant violation of the law. Representatives abusing this law, even within a banking system they created, should be prosecuted as far as the law allows. Representative Bill Clay of Missouri reportedly wrote 329 bad or held checks. Any other citizen would have been jailed for such an offense. The government officials who create our laws should not be above the penalties for breaking them. The U.S. attorney now is looking into possible prosecution of the alleged criminal wrongdoings by the House members, which is good, but it is a weak response to a serious problem. The House voted to publish the names of representatives with bad checks. Exposure of these officials is fine, but the serious offenders should be prosecuted and dismissed from active duty in the House pending a deeper investigation of the matter. After this situation has been resolved, the House bank should be dismantled and state representatives should bank privately. Banking privately would mean that these individuals would be informed about bad checks and would have to pay the penalty for misuse of the privilege of checking, the same penalty we all would have to face if we were writing bad checks. Frank Williams for the editorial board Important words Lettersto the editor Hi again. I'm back to respond to Steven Allen's response to my Feb. 26 column concerning the backlash against feminism. I would like to defend my "assumptions," as Allen refersto them. First of all, I never "assumed" that language determines thought. My column states that language influences thought. I would like to know which one of Allen's advanced language courses considers this to be untrue. If it is true that the way we phrase things is unimportant, I must ask: Why are you getting so upset? I believe it is because words like "womyn" and "herstory challenge the way we look at the world"! Allen also writes that "to assert that all well-educated people share common opinions and that all who do not share them are somehow faulty is to hover but one step from 'thought police.' I agree with this wholeheartedly. That is precisely why I wrote in response to Hodges' article, which stated that females who refer to themselves as womyn are "ridiculous." I wrote in my column that I myself do not use the spelling "womyn." But because I believe freedom of thought is important, I would not refer to the word "womyn" as ridiculous. I definitely would not do this if we were a male and had never seen the world from a woman's point of view. I think the supporters of B.A.R.F. need to see who is really trying to dictate thought here. Laura Moriarty Bozeman, Mont., senior In closing, I would like to thank the people who wrote in with the true Olde English root of "woman." It is, in fact "wiman." Speech can hurt In response to John Altevogt's letter to the editor of March 18: Harmful speech is someone calling you a nigger. Harmful speech is someone calling you a spic. Harmful speech is someone calling vou a kike. Harmful speech is someone calling you a fagot. Harmful speech is someone calling vou a pervert. Harmful speech is someone calling you a honkev. Harmful speech is someone calling voua Jap. Harmful speech is someone calling you a coconut. Harmful speech is someone calling you an oreo. Harmful speech is someone calling you a dyke. My understanding of legal decisions made to date by the U.S. courts is that harmful speech is any word, saying or phrase which is used to harm, intimidate or harass another person; which is not necessitated to truly express one's idea or comment; and which can be used to incite anger or violence. Patrick Dilley, member of the human relations committee I hope this clarifies the matter for Mr. Allevogt. Don't bash artists I feel compelled to respond to the Kansan article about Leigh Winter and her piece "Altar to Feminism." Shall we get into debate about what is and is not "Art?" Is there anyone who is really qualified to make that judgement? Much of what is now considered to be great art was controversial when it was created and was either ignored or reviled by the critics and the public of its time. Who are these men who loftily declare that Ms. Winter's work is not art? Are they art critics? Art historians? Artists, even? They accuse her of religion bashing because she dared to express her opinion through her work, but they have no compunction about ganging up on her to bash her as an artist. Talk is cheap. Why don't you try making something with your own hands to express your opinions instead of judging judgments and accusations? KANSANSTAFF When you think about it, art is very like religion. It exists in the relationship between the creator and the created. Besides, art, like religion, thrives on persecution. ■ Clarissa Ann Snow Saltville, Va., senior TIFFANYHARNESS Editor VANESSA FUHRMANS Managing editor TOM EBLEN General manager, news adviser Editors Editors News... Mike Andrews Editorial... Bret Randall Planning... Lara Gold Campus... Eric Gorski/Rochelle Olsen Sports... Eric Nelson Photo... Julie Jacobson Features... Debbie Myers Graphics... 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