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Wednesday, October 28,1992
100
OPINION
UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
IN OUR OPINION
Terms cause confusion surrounding abortion
When a conflict receives as much air time as the abortion issue, it is amazing how much confusion still surrounds it.
In large part that is due to the strict language control that both sides attempt to use when speaking of abortion. On one side they choose to refer to the conflict as pro-choice versus anti-choice, while the other side considers it a war between pro-life and pro-abortion. The pro-choicers would lead us to believe that a doctor terminates a woman's pregnancy while the pro-lifers insist that an abortionist kills an innocent child.
Therefore, it is very difficult to understand exactly where someone stands when they indicate that they are pro-choice or pro-life. The radicals of the debate have polarized the argument, when in actuality, most Americans fall somewhere in the very confusing middle. This language control also facilitates a gross misuse of the terms, often in the context of public opinion. Frequently someone will claim that they have a survey that says most people are pro-choice while someone else will claim an equally valid poll that says most people are pro-life. So what do people actually think?
A 1989 Boston Globe poll attempted to derive more specific evidence. Using a large scientific sampling, the pollsters described various specific situations and for each of them asked: "In this case do you think it should be legal or illegal for a woman to obtain an abortion." The results are very interesting, but probably not surprising.
More than 80 percent supported legal abortions in cases of rape, incest or danger to the life or physical health of the mother.
But half or more did not think abortion should be legal for reasons such as these: the mother is a minor (50 percent opposed); the mother thought it was the wrong time in her life to have a child (82 percent opposed); the mother couldn't afford the child (75 percent opposed); birth control had failed (89 percent opposed); the father was unwilling to help raise the child (83 percent opposed).
Yet, even with this more specific information it is still impossible to determine whether Americans are prochoice or pro-life. Further analysis is needed.
If we contrast the public's feelings with those expressed by women who are having abortions there are some interesting correlations. The Alan Guttmacher Institute (an offshoot of Planned Parenthood) conducted a survey of 1,900 women who had had an abortion. Among their responses: 1 percent said they were victims of rape and incest; 7 percent cited health problems; 68 percent said they could not afford a baby; and 76 percent were concerned about the effects of having a baby on their life.
Although public opinion surveys should always be regarded with suspicion, the neutral if not "prochoice" sources, the Boston Globe and The Alan Guttmacher Institute, convey an intriguing message. The statistics cast new light on the polls that claim that most Americans are pro-choice. In fact, this prochoice majority seemingly would be ready to outlaw most of the abortions that are actually performed in the United States. According to these statistics, only 8 percent of the abortions being performed are supported by the public.
In no way does this particular line of analysis attempt to sum up the argument. Rather, it shows how you need to look at the issue, to determine how you specifically feel about it and then to categorize how you feel, rather than accepting a big-tent generalization label that someone else wants you placed under.
JEFF REYNOLDS FOR THE EDITORIAL BOARD
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'Boo-hays' deserved title; Atlanta did not
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At the risk of being labeled an un- American swine, I admit to cheering for the baseball team representing Toronto, Canada, to beat the baseball team representing Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.A.
Many people feel strongly about this. They believe our national prestige and self-esteem will suffer if a team from a foreign land takes our baseball championship away.
To begin, there is Ted Turner, owner of the Atlanta team, and his wife, Jane Fonda. During one of the playoff games they fell asleep. Right there, in the best seats in the house, with nillions watching on TV, they nodded off.
But before accusing me of treason, hear my reasons. You might not agree with a word I say, but the very least you can do is defend to the death my right to say it.
Sure, they are a glamorous couple, so they might have been exhausted from staying up half the night staring admiringly at themselves in a mirror. But true baseball fans stay awake, even the drunks. So these two snoozers don't deserve a world champion team.
That's no way to cheer at a baseball game. Traditional fans yell insults at umpires, question the manhood of the other pitcher and demand that their own manager be fired for stupidity. They don't moan like they have a gastric disorder.
Nor do the fans in Atlanta, with their Indian tomahawk chop and the terrible noise they make, like a giant herd of pregnant moo-cows.
One can imagine this sort of thing spreading to other cities. How would it look if 45,000 Milwaukee Brewers fans suddenly pretended to be drinking a stein of beer, then emitted a great, collective belch?
Or, if fans in San Diego began walking the Lord's Prayer, or Boston's faithful all stood on their heads and
Someone with a keen ear for that dialect interceded and explained to me that when someone is snowing with his mowf open, it means he has fallen asleep, his jaw has dropped, and he is snoring.
MIKE ROYKO
Which is my final reason for wanting Toronto to win. And as quickly as possible, so the Series doesn't return to Atlanta.
proudly thrust one red-socked foot into the air?
"Ain't deep," he said. "He was snowin', you know, snowin'"?
You don't see fans of the Toronto Blue Jays flapping their arms and crying: "Caw, caw," or whatever blue jays say when they are excited.
"He is not Canadian," the knowledgeable fan told me. He is Puerto Rican, and in Puerto Rico a Blue Jay is a boo-hay."
That's because the biggest single ethnic group in Toronto is the English. And they tend to be restrained and say things like, "good show," or "jolly fine catch, that." But at least they don't fall asleep.
Well, I have known many Canadians, but that was the first time I heard an accent of that sort.
When he said that, I asked someone at the bar what a boo-hay was.
Let us also address the question of a foreign city in a foreign country winning our baseball championship.
It really shouldn't matter, since most of the players on both teams are either from this country or Latin America. In fact, one of the Toronto stars went on TV after they won the playoffs and said: "People say boo-hays are chokers. Now we prove boo-hays no choke."
"A boo-hay," a knowledgeable fan told me, "a 'sia蓝色 with an accent."
See, you learn something every day.
But it just demonstrates how truly international a game baseball has become and why we should not be
I asked how deep this snow was
"Snowing in a movie theater?" I asked.
It would not do this country's image any good for the sporting world to see Jane Fonda with her mow f open,
alarmed if a team from a foreign city and a foreign country takes our crown. Here we have a member of the Blue Jays who can't even say Blue Jays. He would probably pronounce Toronto as Toon, like the Lone Ranger's old sidekick: "I play for Tonto's Boo-Hays." So if it doesn't matter to him if he is a star for the Toronto Blue Jays or Toronto Boo-Hays, why should we be concerned?
For example, one Georgian com-
plained to me that he had been in a movie theater, and he was bothered because someone sitting near him had been "snowin'."
Besides, Toronto isn't really that foreign. I've been there, and I had no trouble understanding what anyone was saying. For foreigners, they speak excellent English and seem to read and write it well, too.
"Yep, mowf open and snowin'."
"Yep," he said. "Sittin' there with his mow open and snowin'."
I've spent a lot of time in Georgia, too, and have felt the need for an interpreter.
"His mowf?"
Mike Royko a syndicated columnist with the Chicago Tribune.
The sad thing is, we women have let them do this to us! Come on, women, it is time for us to take control of our own fashion. We do not have to buy it if we do not really like it. After all, can anyone who wants us to wear dog collars have our best interests at heart?
STAFF COLUMNIST
Loco Locals
As I read through the "Look" articles, I noticed all the designers mentioned were men. I do not think anyone should be allowed to design clothing they are not going to wear themselves. I suspect that these men do not really like women at all and that they have dedicated their lives to making women look inducible and make them endure painful shoes.
KATE KELLEY Dog collars make wrong 90's fashion statement.
A full page spread in the "look" section of the Kansas City Star Sunday paper showed pictures of models from a recent fashion show in Italy. They were wearing a hideous assortment of ill-matched ensembles and chunky platform shoes that made even tall, rail thin, beautiful models look ridiculous. Imagine what those outfits would look like on us more normal-shaped women.
The fashion news from Milan is that we are going back to the '70s. Bell-bottoms, hip-huggers, power flower shoes, and other apparel supposed to make a big comeback from Grunge.
I do not know who these designers are thinking about when they come up with this stuff. I know when I get dressed, and I think I speak for most women, the first concern I have is, "Does this outfit make me look larger than I already am?" I wore hip-huggers in high school. When I took at old pictures of my friends and I, the one feature that stands out in all of us is our hips. Hips are the one feature to which most women really do not want or need more attention drawn.
She noder had on a sort of "Artful Dogder" costume - buggy pants, long topcoat and a crumpled top hat. She accessorized with what looked like a dog collar around her neck. I was a teenager in the '70s. We never wore dog collars, and I question the mentality of any woman who does.
One might think all the people in France and Italy must dress in these neoclassic styles. I have been to both countries and the people I saw dressed mostly in black. Parisians leaned toward slinky, Sprockesque attire. Italians were more into the buggy, layered look, except for the young women. They were the shortest, tightest black skirts my teen-aged son had ever seen. He still has fond memories of Italy.
Secondly, when I dress I want to be comfortable. I remember platform shoes. They were not only big and ugly, making everyone's feet look like Frankenstein's monster feet, but they were heavy and uncomfortable. A few years ago, we decided it was all right to wear running shoes with just about everything. These were the first comfortable, sensible yet attractive shoes women have ever had. Why change this? ! always see these wee fashion trends shown in the paper, but I never find anyone walking around Downtown, U.S.A., actually wearing this rubbish. Maybe they do in New York or L.A. But we Midwest folk have never considered behavior in those places exactly normal anyway.
Kate Kelley is a Fort Leavenworth junior majoring in English.
By Tom Michaud