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Prejudice Fight for human equality gets silly and stupid over language -Discrimination, be it racist, sexual, or otherwise, is always a hot topic (as some recent letters to the editor aptly demonstrate). For example, the Feb. 18 The New Republic ran a cover story on the issue of race on campus. . That issue contained excerpts from the Dictionary of Cautionary Words and Phrases, a real book that warns journalists not to use such taboo words as "Oriental" for Asian-Americans and "Jew" for Jewish person. More recently, U.S. News and World Report ran a hilarious parody of anti-discrimination gone amok, warning about a variety of prejudices, including "speciesism," where a person thinks humans are better than animals. - Where the fight against prejudice goes wrong is when it tries to censor things as "racist" or "sexist." When the city of Sacramento stops calling manholes "manholes," that is getting ridiculous. . Huckleberry Finn, one of the greatest works of American literaI ture, is criticized for the use of the word "nigger" (which is espeI cially ironic when Twain meant the book to be against the slavery and racism of his time). The latest fad sweeping American universities is multicultural education. While not yet a policy on our campus, many institutes I of higher learning are moving away from a "Eurocentric" ! curriculum. f/wfn /^/\ f/>/% *v* i ^ /-?V* rt ?v* i-\V? not n />nl * YY iillw Villain IwAld UU pui IUU iilUV^li ^lli^liadld Ull JLJUlWjJ^ail V^Ul; ture and too little on African and Asian culture, it can not be de; nied that Europe and those countries that have inherited European ; culture (including the United States, all of Latin America and even ; Japan to an extent) are the most powerful nations on Earth. If African societies had discovered the New World, history would be ; undoubtedly "Afro-centric." Being prejudice against a person for their skin color, gender, sexual preference, weight, or age is a terrible thing; however, it is unfortunately natural to human beings. The only way to cure such ills is with communication between different groups of people, not by force-feeding Third World culture or changing "mankind" to / 'humankind." ' Black people can be friends with white people, and vice versa. Gay males can be friends with straight males without hitting on them. Men can respect women and treat them as equals. All that is required is a little effort and understanding. "YOU THINK THE WAR ^MIGHT RESULT IN SOME KlNP OF VIOLENCE OVER HERE? i The Gamecock News: 777-7726 Advertising: 777-4249 Kathy Blackwell robyn Thompson Editor in Chief Managing Editor Chris Silvestri David Bowden Copy Desk Chief Viewpoint Editor Lucy Soto Kathy Heberger News Editor Carolina Life Editor Steve Johnson renee Meyer Sports Editor Photography Editor : Aaron Sheinin Tige Watts * Assistant News Editor Assistant News Editor \\ Octavia Wright Patrick Villegas Assistant Carolina Life Editor Assistant Sports Editor Jennifer Jablonski Julie Bouchillon ' Assistant Copy Desk Chief Assistant Photography Editor I Eric Glenn Wayne Williams ?, Darkroom Lab Technician Comics Editor Ed Bonza Erik Collins ; Director of Student Media Faculty Adviser :, Laura S. Day Ray Burgos Production Manager Assistant Production Manager \ Renee Gibson Kyle Berry Advertising Manager Assistant Advertising Manager Carolyn Griffin Business Manager Letters Policy: The Gamecock will try to print all letters received. Letters should . be, at maximum, 250 to 300 words long. The writer must include full name, professional title if a USC employee or South Carolina resident, or year and major if , a student. An address and phone number are required with all letters sent. The Gamecock reserves the right to edit letters for style, possible libel or in case of space limitations. The newspaper wili not withhold names under any circumstance. iIl ^ Political p This one was going to be blamed < siders even if the recovery had lastei ? Paul Gigot, The Wall Street Journc The 1990s' recession has so far e: kind of publicity that the 1982 dov joyed. Far more compelling ever Middle East have temporarily diverte the media's attention from its perenni on the alleged failings of the private s After Desert Storm's successful c however, economic issues will again i ard center stage. It's only logica Democratic Party and its allies will make the recession the Achilles' 1 otherwise popular President Bush ir election. As a political strategy, it is work, but it does raise the interestin of who, or what, is to blame for the r< Trying to understand the recession appreciation of what caused the pre pansion is a wasted exercise. Agains f 1 OTArt nf rt /yn otmn t>r^ciHa Uiup U1 17/l/s 3iagnaiiuu, i ivoiuv reinvigorated the private sector's ere gies through a partial, if unspectacul tion of growth incentives and propert; Tax cuts and deregulation were 1 forces of the new policy, and the Esl could never reconcile them with ii calculus or its econometric models. Many Democrats and financial never managed to credit the Reagar with the economic growth of the 198i they ignored Reagan's failure to mak ful real budget cuts, and saw deficits "irresponsible" tax reductions. They ignored the rising share of t den borne by wealthy taxpayers I CTTCDC 1 - L.C 1 I crio ! Animal testing unnecessary To the editor: I am appalled at the recent letter written by USC veterinarian Edmund L. Fountain (Feb. 18). What nerve and hypocrisy to be in the business of helDine and saving ani mals and at the same time promote their use in research experiments ? experiments that are often painful and always lead to death. Why aren't veterinarians required to swear an oath, as do human doctors, to give priority to the interests of their patients, rather than to society? In any case, Dr. Fountain cites the Animal Welfare Act and its three amendments as the policing force for animals in research. This is true, but what he conveniently fails to mention is that this act mainly regulates housekeeping standards, not actual experiments, activities and procedures. The Act sets minimum standards for cage sizes, feeding, watering and basic care. Animals specifically excluded from the Act are rats, mice, birds, farm animals and all cold-blooded animals. Furthermore, the Act allows experimenters to withhold anaesthetics at their discretion. The unfortunate truth is that the Animal Welfare Act is a joke and takes low priority at the USDA. A 1985 study showed most animal research facilities were inspected only once-a-year and some were not inspected at all. Why doesn't larties to on supply I 20 years " ARTH scaped the /nturn en- ~~~ its in the Financ id most of ial harping "greed" and "exces: ector. available data showi onclusion, perceived a "disappe move tow- They ignored the 1 that the financed by high-yi attempt to Michael Milken's " teel of an COme. Whatever thei i the 1992 that the expansion unlikely to worthy of denigratioi g question n's no surprise tl xession. predicted since 198 without an ^at large budget d< ceding ex- covery. When the i t the back- was supposed to be nt Reagan when economic gr ative ener- i984) in was argue ar, restora- reignite and would 1/ rirrhte t-v i x iifci.io. uespi - weawiess the driving tof) i -dera] Rese ablishment ^ bra.1 5 and thei ts political modest MP increa; its ques^or a sofi journalists 1980s, theV'nefits i initiatives were being fl^ntles: Os. Instead, Security tax t"re e meaning- enhancements."' i caused by More specifically its immediate roots he tax bur- the mid-1980s. Driv , and saw and residential real 'O THE EDIT Dr. Fountain cite how many tim the USDA has come to inspt USC research facilities in the pi year? Dr. Fountain further jeopardiz his credibility by espousing I John Orem's cat experiments valuable. If this were true, w doesn't he cite specific exampl of how this research has helped the understanding of SIDS? T fact of the matter is that Oren researcn, iiKe must annum i search, is a fraud. While researchers may not innately cruel, they have becoi conditioned to thinking of anim; as "tools." Donald Barnes, a f( mer vivisector and schedul speaker on March 19 at the Russ House Ballroom, attributes t cruelty which his former cc leagues perpetrate to "condition ethical blindness." The training, the example peers and the entrenched habits the scientific community cause i searchers to become desensitiz to the pain they are causing. Finally, Dr. Fountain criticiz Ms. Eastergard for not citing sj cific examples of animal cruelty campus. This is hard to do wli the university refuses to open lab doors to the public. On seve occasions I have requested perm sion to tour the research facilit only to be told "as a layperson would not understand what v going on." Therefore, I would like to pu icly request at this time that I nald Barnes, an authority on v isection, be admitted into the search laboratories during his vi? Catherine FrL< SETA Presid blame for re nancial servic< fense electron ur c. Mayer states iike New Jersey su . i/^i . come and emp] nal Columnist Then, the T? capital gains I s." They ignored publicly level and elim ing rising real wages, and tote tax incent aring" middle class. expenditures entrepreneurial revolution Rudmann eras! eld debt and screamed at The combm obscene" $500 million in- reverse the foi it motives, they determined where the rece: was probably a bad thing, die Bank of N a and denial. reer of Micha lat this recession has been mony to the ch 2, when we were assured The recessk ificits would prevent a re- spread around, ecovery began in 1983, it gave us a nast "anemic" and short-lived. Chairman Alai owth surged in 1983 and ing credit soor d that inflation would be weak dollar, w strangle the expansion. strict the Fed's c?T pnrip.r Oftnrc m uie 111<111U1<21<1U1 iiig ate- ? ? ? c :rve slammed on the monet- growth measu eafter accommodated only up getting rich ses in what would become There's Coi t landing. Throughout the eral reregula of the 1981 tax reductions Budget Direct sly eroded away with Social tiated" a mass ases and other "revenue "deficit reduct likely to hear i , the current downturn finds tol Hill, the n not in August 1990, but in Reagan expan: en by booming commercial duction or dei estate markets, a vibrant fi- cade ago. r\Q Ur1 . - - -i 5 Soldiers died i; without cause ?s as' To the editor: 4 jjy The 29 soldiers who were killed * les a ^cuc* missile attack on Feb. jn 25 were from my hometown of | ^ Greensburg, Pennsylvania. Among 1?s the list of dead were names of peo- .j. pie who I grew up and went to school with. v kc To those who fill these pages _ Tie with regurgitated administration ? als rhetoric, I can assure you, no reason you have yet advanced for this j war can explain why these men are ^ g,j gone. No king's thrdne was worth he the life of a single one of them. No ^ I patriotic slogan or song can cover ^ e(j the bitter taste of their deaths. They did indeed choose to wear ? the uniform and accept the associated risks. That does not give, y re however, a president license to n e(j place them in unwise peril; they n were not cannon fodder. v res Those supporting this war have 0 ' labeled war opponents as "flag s on burners, hippies, or left wing." I ien am none of these. Until recently, I f . proudly considered myself a conral servative Republican. America was s iis founded by a great group of men t ies w*10 ?PP?se^ war? debt, taxation, { { j big government and governmental /as P?mP- p In three short years, Bush has c bl- forced upon us the two inevitables )o- in life: death and taxes. George c iv- Bush has betrayed the conservative a re- movement and must go in 1992. i sit. Pax Americana leads neither to s sch peace or stability. Rather, Bush's ent war only plunges our nation deeper >AVV/ LOA 1IIV1VUUV *? iivmiiv v* ion." But contrary to what you're on a nightly newscast or on Capijcession cannot be blamed on the sion, nor on the policies of tax re egulation which sparked it a delto bankruptcy while it steals the ves of its youth. John C. Adams USC law student Columnist has igo problems 0 the editor: I would like to address Mr. Tige /atts, author of the editorial "Peole should not be persecuted for leas" printed in the Feb. 27 issue. Mr. Watts, you are a disgrace to rogressive idealism. You are as lose-minded as the people who ou criticize for being reactionaies. In your black-and-white real;y, those who don't agree with ou are simply dismissed as pucker-butt conservatives." I would figure that a person dth a high level of social awareess such as yourself would have lore depth, but i guess I am /rong. You childishly label groups if people to place yourself on one ide of some self-conceived bipoir political world to make yourseif eel important. If you are truly concerned about ociety's problems, then you have tetter things to do with your time han to parade your face on the >ages of newspapers and tell pco>le how proud you are to be liffercnt. I'm sorry, Mr. Watts, but you :annot serve society and your ego it the same time. Until you grow ip and realize this, don't call yourelf a liberal. Philip Powell Economics senior V j cession :s sector and the high-tech deics industry, the economies of >sachusetts, New Hampshire and irged ahead of the nation in inloyment growth. ix Reform Act of 1986 raised the tax rate to an historically high inated most commercial real esives. At the same time, defense had peaked, with the Gramm? of October 1987. ed effect of these events was to tunes of the Northeastern states, ssion first took hold. The ruins of ew England and the wrecked cael Dukakis stand as grim testilanged landscape. )n affords us a lot of blame to . There's Saddam Hussein, who y spike in oil prices. There's Fed i Greenspan, for maybe not easier. There are the advocates of a 'ho invite higher inflation and re; options. There's Senate Majority je Mitchell, for blocking prores because someone might end ngress, relentlessly pushing fedtion of the economy. There's Dr Richard Darman, who "nego'ii/o toy inrrpacp in thp n?iru> nf