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opinion
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KANSAN.COM | THURSDAY, FEB. 23, 2017
I don't believe in squeezable anything.
I can't believe you have to have a college degree to drive the Oscar Mayer wienermobile.
I'm going to be laying on the ground if anyone needs me.
When I say, "I love to eat" I don't know if I'm being cute or being Kevin Malone.
Just heard a guy run down my hallway and shout "whooo! I love being alive!" thanks for the positivity, random happy hallway dude.
I don't tweet unless I know it's gonna be a banger.
This is a goat, that has fainted... by the way.
Petition to bring Kleenexes and clocks to this campus.
When I'm sick, I take Emergen-C like it's cocaine. Just lines.
Mitochondria is the trap house of the cell.
Do you ever read the news and realize we're in the first chapter of a dystopian young adult novel.
I'm such an infographic hoe.
Illustration by Erica Gonzales/KANSAN
I just asked someone who clearly isn't in my class what page we needed to read to.
My barber messed up my haircut. Now I'm a cap guy.
Everyone who's ever hurt you is a Gemini.
I woke up at 8:42... and called in for my 8:30 shift.
An open letter to Milo Yiannopoulos
"No dorm is better than the others."- Overheard tour guide Is this considered an alternative fact?
Can I die now please?
to send in an FFA, text 785-289-8351
This is two shots of Dayquil some water and grenadine.
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► VINCE MUNOZ @vmunoz_18
Dear Mr.
Yiannopoulos,
Normally, I try
Normally, I try not to devote too much of my mind to people looking for a fight in everything, such as yourself. I hesitate not out of concern I may "lose" a debate; I simply have better things to do. But something you said recently prompted me to make an exception.
You naively said, "I have probably done more for the image of gays in flyover states" than LGBT advocacy groups.
No, Milo, you gave license to the types of speech that those of us who don't loathe our own identities have been fighting against. Writing that you gave straight people "permission" to use homophobic slurs isn't edgy. It doesn't make you thick-skinned or otherwise enlightened.
While you're busy tokenizing yourself for the approval of people who bullied you in high school, those advocacy groups you so cavalierly compare yourself to are actually helping people.
And regarding your current predicament, don't be shocked that your former fans are turning on you. You're not just guilty of poor word choice or "imprecise language." You built an entire career
say, don't say anything at all." It has nothing to do with censorship from the leftist boogieman and everything to do with not being a jackass.
on harmful speech. It was only a matter of time before the chickens came home to roost.
Just because you have the right to do something without fear of government prosecution doesn't mean you should do it. In fact, if you had any sense of personal responsibility you would have never gotten yourself into this position. Instead of being an entitled brat,
you could view "political correctness" as simply caring about people who are different than you.
The "political correctness" you fight is a figment of your own imagination. It once went by a much simpler name: empathy. "Political correctness" is really just being a mature adult. As most of us were taught as children, "if you don't have anything nice to
The irony of all of this is that by engaging in stupid tactics, you inadvertently undermine your own cause. In his 1944 book, "In the Spirit of Liberty," the late appellate judge Learned Hall said, "I often wonder
whether we do not rest our hopes too much upon constitutions ... and upon courts. These are false hopes; believe me, these are false hopes. Liberty lies in the hearts of men and women; when it dies there, no constitution, ... no court can save it; no constitution,... no court can even do much to help it." The courts may be on your side, but public opinion is slowly slipping from your grasp.
It has nothing to do with censorship from the leftist boogieman and everything to do with not being a jackass."
The reason that 40 percent of my peers believe that government should be able to limit offensive speech is because they see the rise in hate crimes, fueled in part by the alright movement. And while 40 percent is a clear minority, the trend suggests that the number will only grow with each passing generation.
Words have consequences, Milo.
You, of all people, should know that by now.
Vince Munoz is a junior from Topeka majoring in political science and strategic communications.
- Edited by Erin
Brock
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Befort: In fighting Trump, focus on policy
BRIDGETTE BEFORT @bridgettebefort
With the unconventional nature of Trump's campaign and election to the presidency, it is unsurprising that the news in Trump's first thirty days in office has been filled
Whichever year or party running the executive and legislative branches of the U.S. government, the political climate is often filled with uncertainty and, sometimes, chaos. Thus, the only difference for this new presidential administration under President Trump compared to former years and presidents is the level of uncertainty and the rapid escalation of chaos.
with unprecedented drama surrounding his advisers and cabinet nominees, discord throughout Congress between Republicans and Democrats, and displays of judiciary prowess in checking the bounds overstepped by this newly inaugurated executive.
Obscured by the often ridiculous revelations coming from the White House nearly every day, which provide the media with endless ratings-worthy stories, many note-worthy and important events have flown under the news media's — and consequently much of the American public's - radar. Among these are the many environmental-related events which have happened since Trump took office, of which many would have been reported more widely if they were not overshadowed by juicier stories.
These events include,but are not limited to,new data concerning the great amount of melting within the Ant-
arctic's ice; "skyrocketing" temperatures on the opposite pole in the Arctic; the reduction of dissolved oxygen in oceans as a result of global warming and its negative effect on marine life; the Trump Administration's energy plan excluding solar energy despite the fact that it is now the second-largest energy industry in the U.S.; and proposed changes to the Endangered Species Act within Congress aimed at deregulation to promote business interests.
It is unsurprising that the news in Trump's first thirty days in office has been filled with unprecedented drama."
This short list includes just a few of the significant environmental events which will have a direct impact on
human and nonhuman lives, and in the past month, have not gotten the attention they deserve. This also includes only what is happening in relation to the environment, not in regards to the economy, foreign policy, education, science, healthcare and many other policies affected by government.
While the media continuously reports first on the latest distasteful remark of Donald Trump, the most recent scandal within the Administration in which a Trump adviser possibly broke the law or was, at least, very unethical, the latest tweet in which Trump defends his or a family members' business interests, or the latest rumor from behind the scenes of Congress and the White House, we learn very little about whether any action is being taken in the midst of the chaos and whether this action may be against the interests of the American people. While we are distracted, Congress and
Donald Trump are not only ignoring important issues, such as climate change, but are also attempting to destroy laws meant to protect the people and environment of the United States.
We must avoid remaining uninformed and must stop only paying attention to the top headlines. While very entertaining and the source of good ratings, they are not informative as to all government actions affecting our lives. We must be proactive in searching out the truth by getting news from reputable sources and also diving in deeper beyond the front page of the newspaper or website. It is only then that we will have a much better understanding of what is happening to our country and will be able to take steps to ignore the distractions, and prevent bad decisions in government.
Bridgeette Befort is a junior from Topeka majoring in chemical engineering.
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Members of the Kansan7 Editorial Board are Lara8 Korte, Christian Hardy, Tucker Paine and Vince Munoz.
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