Letters to the editorCivil faux pas
Editor:
Mahtab Darvish’s letter ("Jailbird president," Oct. 16)
unfairly
criticized York Chang. Darvish apparently believes that Chang is
unfit to
be USAC president because he was arrested due to his efforts to
demand
affirmative action.
I wonder if Darvish feels the same way about another president –
South
African President Nelson Mandela? Mandela was imprisoned for 27
years
because of his resistance to racism and apartheid. His
presidency now
represents the beginnings of democracy in a land that formerly
wallowed in
shame.
But by Darvish’s logic, Mandela should have had the "civility"
to go
along with apartheid. His grassroots efforts to raise
international
awareness of apartheid were "ridiculous." And, his willingness
to go to
jail for his cause "tarnished" his reputation.
Instead of launching personal attacks on Chang, we should
appreciate his
commitment to justice. He should be commended for using student
government
to promote access to education rather than his own career
intentions.
His efforts also help combat the divisive stereotype of Asian
Americans
as a "model minority" who are so hard-working and successful
they have no
interest in civil rights or political activism.Scott
Kurashige
Graduate Student
HistoryServe up the civility
Editor:
Mahtab Darvish, last year’s candidate for external vice
president,
criticized York Chang and the other Students First! candidates
for last
week’s pro-affirmative action rally. She states that it’s an
embarrassment
to the campus for the USAC president to be arrested for his
involvement in
this fight for justice.
I’m sure people across the state and country (including our
esteemed
regents) watching us on all the major networks were just
laughing their
heads off at UCLA, the school with the "jailbird president." I’m
sure
nobody realized that the 3,000 marchers were supporting
something important
like affirmative action.
Troublemakers like Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, Manong
Vera Cruz,
Abbie Hoffman, Rosa Parks, all of the Chicago Seven and even our
"founding
fathers" were just being silly challenging the status quo. "All
laws are
all good, and no one should disagree with any law," says Aaron
Ulrich,
dripping with sarcasm. Do you agree with that? Or do you realize
that
sometimes rules have to be broken?
You say militancy is not the answer. What, pray tell, is your
solution
to re-establishing affirmative action, stopping reg. fee hikes
and gaining
student power? (Assuming, of course, you care.) I’d love to hear
it; it’ll
make me feel so absurd for supporting those activist folks. It’s
pretty
simple – if we don’t stand up for ourselves, who will?
Oh, just one more thing burns me. You said, "Let us grow up and
conduct
business like every other successful person does – with
civility, integrity
and intelligence." Mahtab, you go ahead and civility us some
lower fees and
equal access.Joey Gil
Second-year
Microbiology and
Molecular Genetics
With much help from
Aaron Ulrich
Transfer Student
Linguistics
Double standard
Editor:
I’d like to turn the tables on Aaron Howard ("Simpson verdict
turns back
tide of American judicial racism," Oct. 13) and ask him, "If
O.J. were
white, would you still celebrate his acquittal? If the same
evidence had
been in existence, but the race of the defendant and victims
were reversed,
would you still have felt vindicated? In your eyes, would it
still be
"just?"
Howard is fooling himself if he thinks the Simpson verdict was
based
solely upon lack of sound evidence. After he passionately
described the
past 300 years of persecution and racism against African
Americans, how
could he be naive enough to think that the members of the
Simpson jury
ignored that history, especially after Johnnie Cochran’s
inflammatory
closing statements?
If the jury had considered the evidence thoroughly, rationally
and
without racism, it would have deliberated for more than a
half-day. Nine
months of documentation could not have been pored through over a
long lunch
break.
After the verdict was announced, the Los Angeles Times ran an
article
that quoted an African American man as saying he didn’t care
whether
Simpson was guilty or not. He believed Simpson deserved to be
released
simply because he was black.
Unfortunately, this is not a unique opinion. What scares me, Mr.
Howard,
is not that African Americans are in positions of power, but
that anyone
who holds beliefs such as this man’s may one day be deciding my
fate.
For many people, justice was served with the Simpson verdict.
But it
wasn’t justice for two murder victims or for their killer. It
was justice,
however twisted, for 300 years of discrimination and
mistreatment toward
African Americans.
Guilty or innocent, O.J. Simpson has become a bizarre symbol of
justice
for slavery and black oppression.Elaine Howell
The Anderson School at UCLA
Team building
Editor:
I would like to inform Aaron Howard, ("Simpson verdict turns
back tide
of American judicial racism," Oct. 13) and anyone in the black
community or
any community, that there are many viewpoints amongst whites –
just as in
any group of people – and many whites agreed with the jury’s
acquittal of
Simpson.
The Rodney King verdict was an outrage and resulted in
multi-ethnic
protests. I, a white male, attended rallies immediately
afterward. I was
outraged at the LAPDand their history of brutality. I am sorry
if Howard
did not notice our presence, but we were there.
The Simpson verdict is another complex dilemma. Certainly, it
has
exposed racial tensions. Certainly, racist whites wanted to
lynch Simpson
before they heard any evidence. Many whites, however, never saw
Simpson as
a black man. They just saw someone accused of murder and
believed the
prosecution’s case.
I am not blind to institutionalized racism and the injustices
that have
been thrown upon blacks, but linking all whites together is also
unfair and
inaccurate. As I have been on the side of many liberal causes
throughout my
life, trying to build bridges, to learn from all human beings, I
have
consistently faced struggles in being accepted by some
individuals of
color. These few that stereotype whites must evaluate this
attitude.
Building bridges is a team project, and we all have work to
do.
L’shana tovah. To a year of peace.Jason Seymour
Fifth-year
Political Science/English