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University Daily Kansan
Opinion
Wednesday, Sept. 25, 1985
FarmAid sows awareness
For 14 hours, they sang for an unsung hero — the American farmer.
FarmAid, the latest example of celebrity charity, didn't urge the public to "feed the world." In the spirit of old time barn-raising, the musicians who performed Sunday in Champaign, Ill., strove toward a simpler goal: They wanted to call attention to those who provide the world's food.
And if publicizing the farm economy's struggles was the primary goal of the concert's organizers, FarmAid might be called a success.
A crowd of almost 80,000 people, along with an estimated television audience of 23 million, heard the cream of the crop of country and rock music. They heard the voices of plenty of politicians, too—many gearing up for fight over the 1985 farm bill scheduled to be debated this week in Congress.
But although Farmaid is expected to raise between $10 million and $15 million in mail, telephone and corporate pledges, skeptics contend that the concert was nothing but a requiem for rural America.
FarmAid's organizers had good intentions, these skeptics say, but no amount of money will save the family farm from the realities of the modern big-business economy.
But Willie Nelson and his FarmAid friends say that's not the point.
Even if the FarmAid till reaches $50 million, it won't make much of a dent in the $200 billion in debts owed by U.S. farmers, Nelson admits. The money can be used, however, to buy farmers a little time until long-term solutions can be found.
Nelson plans to divide the FarmAid funds into four categories: legal aid; transitional assistance, such as crisis hotlines and job training; a continuing program to increase public awareness of the farm problem; and some direct financing to farmers themselves.
The most important of these — to musicians, politicians and farmers alike — is public awareness.
In the short term, FarmAid at least forced the issue of agriculture into urban America's living rooms.
In the long term, the concert just might cause the 97 percent of the U.S. population that doesn't live on the farm to pay more attention to foreclosures and falling commodity prices.
And who knows, it just might make a few city slickers (including those in Congress) think twice about where their bacon and eggs come from.
Student Senate slugfest
The number of empty seats in Student Senate increased last week as the Student Senate Executive Committee suspended five senators and another 14 resigned.
StudEx suspended the five for missing too many meetings, and the other 14 resigned for a number of reasons, including personal ones.
The 14 resignations are more troubling. They show that a problem exists in Senate, whether it be one of commitment, of interest or of politics.
StudEx should be commended for doing its job by suspending the five senators. It has the right — and the obligation — to get rid of those who appear not to be interested.
Many of those resigning blamed infighting within the Senate.
Jeff Polack, student body president, said Monday that, indeed, Senate is a very political place to be.
Many of the problems, Polack said, concern personalities. Also, Polack acknowledged, opposing groups have an equal ability to manipulate the rules.
"You just get a slugfest," he said.
Slugfests admittedly are a part of politics, and the Senate is a political body. But intense, personal politics — the kind Polack and others cite — grows tiresome when it threatens to bring the system to a halt.
A lack of personality politics does not mean a lack of debate; it means a lack of spite on both sides. Now is the time for individual senators to find some way to solve the body's problems.
All is vanity in nature
The twin earthquakes in Mexico in the past week remind us again of the fragility of human life and civilization. All efforts at security and conquest of nature seem at times to be undone by the earth itself.
The quakes could hardly have stricken a worse target. Mexico City, almost certainly the world's largest city, has swelled in recent years. Poor people have come from villages imagining that any life in the city would be better, and many have found that it can be worse.
In times of disaster, we can understand the words of Ecclesiastes, "All is vanity and a striving after wind." Human effort appears fruitless in the face of nature's awesome displays. The lives of millions,
built on the work of centuries, can be disrupted in minutes.
Science has taught us much about natural disasters. It also has provided the communications links that show us the force of nature. We understand more than ever about hurricanes, volcanoes, earthquakes and tornadoes.
Whatever science can do, it cannot teach us how to persevere. Nature can appear brutal and capricious. As Mexicans sift through the rubble of their city, others must sift through the rubble of simplistic ideas about the goodness of the Earth.
Nature's spectacles can teach us about human interdependence, for disaster can strike anywhere. When it does, human sympathy calls us to help alleviate suffering and assist rebuilding.
Rob Karwath Editor
Duncan Calhoun Business manager
John Hanna Michael Totty
Managing editor Editorial editor
Lauretta McMillen
Campus editor
Susanne Shaw
General manager, news adviser
Brett McCabe Sue Johnson
Retail sales Campus sales
Megan Burke
National/Co-op sales
John Oberzan
Sales and marketing adviser
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SPORTS! LIKE FOOTBALL! A QUARIERBACK,
MAYBE! PRESTIGE! WEALTH! AMERICANS WILL
ADDRECIVE YOU!
NO SON OF MINE WILL BE CAUGHT DEAD DOING
THAT! YOU'RE GOING WHERE THE MONEY IS!
Vendetta disconnects AT&T customers
Although I haven't made as much progress as I'd like, my vendetta with AT&T goes on.
As I've mentioned before, I'm paired with staff from Chicago people who want it.
That's because the phone company has a 1-800 number that is the same as my office number. So if somebody elects to dial 1-800 first, they get me
Naturally, they refuse. So I have to resort to various guerrilla tactics aimed at shaking customer confidence in AT&T.
AT&T has suggested that I change my number. But since I had the number first, it would seem fair for them to change theirs. They could even use the home number of one of their executives. Let him go goofy.
For a while, I tried to give the impression that AT&T was demolished.
When people called to complain about a defective phone — thinking they were talking to AT&T — I would give them technical advice, such as throwing the faulty phone out the window, praying over it or chanting a mantra. Sometimes, I use my sympathy for their problem by breaking into a fit of loud sobbing.
But the effect of this approach was limited because it would affect only those people who called. What I needed was a strategy that would affect large numbers of people.
It began with a call from a young man who said: "Where's the phone center around Ford City?"
I said: "What is your ethnic background?"
"What dya want to know that for?" "Please, sir, just answer the question. What is your ethnic background?"
"Well, I'm afraid we won't be able to help you."
"Irish. So what?"
"We are discontinuing all service to people of Irish ancestry."
"What? Why?"
"Look, you just don't pay your bills. We don't know if you spend it all on beer or what, but you can't be trusted."
He burst into a string of appropriate swear words.
"And you are also crude," I added.
Goodbye.
But later, he called back and
"Goodbye." later, he called back and demanded an explanation
"I told you, we are no longer cutting off your services shortly. Goodbye."
I assume he has since told all of his friends and relatives of the anti-Irish bigotry he encountered, and they are as outraged at AT&T as he is. Or else they learned to dial 1-800.
Then there was the woman who called from the Jefferson Park neighborhood.
Mike Royko Chicago Tribune
I asked her name, then said; "Isn't that a Polish name?"
"Yes, it is." she said.
"Ah, then I'm very sorry. We can't help you if you're Polish."
"What are you talking about?" "We don't like the Polish."
"That's the most terrible thing I've ever heard. Why are you saying that?"
"Corporate policy, I guess."
"You have a corporate policy that you don't like the Polish?
"That's right. I'll tell you what, why don't you have your name changed to something that sounds American. Try Smith or Jones."
"How dare you?"
"We dare, madam, because we are big and powerful. And you ain't. Goodbye."
Later there was the man of Italian ancestry who was struck speechless when I told him that we were refusing service to Italians because our technicians didn't like working on phones that were garlicky.
A woman of Norwegian parentage vowed to call federal authorities
after I told her that she and all Norwegians were being cut off.
"You Norwegians are just so dull." I said, "that we don't believe you have anything worthwhile to talk about on a phone anyway."
And I've managed to alienate, on AT&T's behalf, many blacks. A conversation with one black man went something like this:
"Tell me, are you of the black persuasion?"
"Yeah, what about it?"
"We are discontinuing service to all blacks."
"Yes. You people use all that jive language and, frankly, you laugh too much. And that causes a confusion in the electronic equipment. Our equipment is designed to handle traditional American speech, not all that jive talk."
"Sav what?"
"I don't believe this."
"Well, that's the way it is. If I might offer a suggestion, you might try to become a white suburbanite. G'bwe."
I don't know how much AT&T spends on public relations. I'm sure it is a considerable sum. But in the face of my campaign, it's going to be a big waste.
So, wise up AT&T, and get a new number. Why. I haven't even gotten around to the Hispanics, the Chinese, the Lithuanians, the . . .
Paper's poll shows rural swing to right
Readers of a central Kansas newspaper are receiving a chance to voice their opinion. The Belleville Telescope is offering its semi-annual response demonstrates why Congress should not always listen to the people.
On the other hand, the questions in the poll have an inherent bias.
One question asks, "Should the U. S. government turn over five Alaskan islands to the Soviets and hundreds of thousands of square miles of oil-rich outer continental shelf containing some 25 billion barrels of untapped oil?"
Only a moral imbecile would answer yes to such a stacked question.
'While giving a liberal response requires making silly semantic analyses, the poll does reflect the sentiment of the people it serves.'
The State Department's rationale on this proposal may be more substantial than giving away land and its resources. If the land wasn't U.S. land in the first place, what right does the United States have to retain it?
Consider another question: "Should the United States continue providing support to people in Central America who are fighting for their independence from Soviet-backed Marxists?"
First, the perception that Central America is saturated with "Soviet-backed Marxists" seems unrealistic. The Sandinistas could be called "Soviet-backed" or maybe even "Marxists" in the sense that they socialize large economic institutions. Perhaps England and France should be declared our enemies too.
The contras are not fighting for independence. They are trying to
Dwight Hunter
Staff columnist
Staff columnist
regain control of the Nicaraguan government. The Congressional Caucus on Arms Control and Foreign Policy has determined that only two out of the 48 FDN contra commanders were not members of Somoza's National Guard. The rebels in El Salvador are the ones who are fighting for their independence from oppressive government policies. El Salvador is not yet free from U.S. meddling.
The guerrillas in Guatemala could be just about anything. It is unlikely the Telescope pollsters are aware of the Guatemalan situation.
Despite the poll's apparent leaning toward the right, the Telescope is providing a great service for its readers. While giving a liberal response requires making silly semantic analyses, the poll does reflect the sentiment of the people the newspaper serves.
Some of the comments the Telescope reported were enlightening on the ways in which rural America views the world. For example, the media are seen as too liberal. Also, the Soviets are waiting to take over South Africa.
Thank gawd, Congress doesn't always vote the way Telescope readers would like it to vote: the United States would have a flat 10 percent income tax, increased taxes on sports events admission tickets, no consideration of giving land back to the Soviet Union, Dan Rather ousted from CBS and restricted aid to farmers.
Of course people have the right to express themselves. Liberals usually don't see their ideals quickly enacted into legislation, either. Congress operates by compromise. Congress also goes beyond merely reflecting the jumbled wills of the people and tries to serve as a leader.
Power to the people? No way.
Mailbox
Soviets and the ANC
"The issue in South Africa is fascism not communism. The issue is racism not a Soviet takeover. Our people do not need anyone to tell them who the enemy is, who is killing their children, who has robbed them of their land and cattle, and now condemns them to 13 percent of the most barren land in the country of their birth.
In response to Victor Goodpasture's editorial on South Africa (Kansas, Sept. 17), I invite Mr. Goodpasture to read a letter written to the New York Times (Sept. 11) by Dumi Matabane, representative of the African National Congress of South Africa in Washington. Mr. Matabane directly addresses the charge that a black South Africa will be a Soviet South Africa:
"The ANC is not a communist movement. It is a national liberation movement that includes all sectors of the nation, Capitalists, unfortunately, have chosen to support apartheid because of the obscene profits it guarantees them.
"Yes, communists, black and white, are in the ranks of the African National Congress and have been there for over 50 years. If capitalists, black and white, wish to join us and sacrifice their lives as communists have done, they are welcome.
You will note, Mr. Goodpasture, that Dumi Matabane states emphatically that the people of South Africa will not be deterred from this goal. Your statement that most blacks are against divestment is completely false.
"The cry of communism is the last" desperate defense of the aparthieid Dracula. Its supporters and collaborators no longer fear daylight or the smell of garlic. The only solution is to drive a stake through the heart of the aparthieid scourge. The African National Congress and the people of South Africa will not be deterred from this goal."
Concrete studies have determined that blacks in South Africa favor divestment and that they certainly feel losing their jobs is a small price to pay for their freedom as individuals and their security against a murderous, racist government.
Michael S. Wore Hillside, N.J. graduate student
S. African bottom line
American business people are, bless their souls, pragmatic above all. To them all decisions are ultimately "bottom line"—can we make a profit? This attitude is reflected in recent articles on South Africa in Business Week and Fortune. These articles asked the question, "Should American business withdraw from South Africa?" The surprising answer was yes.
After three years of recession, the South African economy is in shambles. The rand, south Africa's currency, is at an all-time low against the dollar and other major currencies. South Africa has postponed repayment of principle on foreign loans. The return on investment within South Africa has dropped bell-w five percent, less than the return on a savings account. South African capital assets have dropped in value drastically, with further declines likely as more businesses withdraw.
While assets are dropping in value, liabilities are increasing. The costs of appearing socially responsible have increased. Black boycots of white businesses have further depressed the profit picture. And black labor unions are becoming increasingly powerful economic forces within the country.
The "bottom line" is that apartheid makes South Africa an increasingly difficult place to make a profit. Thus, for many companies in South Africa, the question is no longer whether they should get out of South Africa, but sow and at what cost?
Chris Bunker
Praizie Village
3rd-year law student