The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, November 01, 1991, Page 3, Image 3
Columbus
Recent controversy over holiday
just another sign of the times
When Christopher Columbus sailed the ocean blue, he probably
didn't guess that in 500 years he would be a national pariah. Columbus
has become a symbol of Western imperialism and oppression
of Native Americans. This phenomenon is just a small part of
the national crusade to "revise" history to fit our modern
conceptions.
To be sure, Columbus was no saint. He enslaved "Indians," he
brought European diseases with his crew that would eventually
kill millions of native people and his journey did start the brutal
colonial exploitation of America. His mission was to find a new
route of trade to Asia, and he never quite got it through his head
that he had discovered new continents instead.
However, it is highly unlikely that a modern person could find
anyone living in 1492 (of any ethnic group, gender or religion)
that fit? 1001 ?tnnHarrl? nf ronHiirt anH H#?n?nr.v Mnrlf.m Am^ri
cans would find the year 1492 a thoroughly repulsive time to be
alive.
Let's face it, few of the great people in the history of the world
believed in egalitarian democracy or the freedoms we enjoy today.
Julius Caesar was a ruthless conqueror and slaver. Plato believed
that his having sex with pubescent boys was good for
them! The other great Greek philosophers believed in slavery and
the submissive role of women. Abraham Lincoln offered to send
all freed blacks to Nicaragua.
Any historical figure is going to be harmed by the comparison
to modem ethical standards. We glorify them for their role in
creating 'the world we know today. They cannot be judged by our
standards when they were raised in a time that is essentially alien
to us. Columbus did play an important role in American history.
If we deem him unworthy of celebration, we better find some
new faces to put on American money: Kennedy was a blatant womanizer.
Roosevelt put American citizens of Japanese descent in
concentration camps. George Washington and Thomas Jefferson
were slave-owners. The above men were not perfect, but they did
advance the United States and made it a better Dlace in the lone
run. That is why we remember them, and that is why we remember
Columbus.
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Asst. Classified 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 will'
not withhold names under any circumstance.
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I Use of N-w<
very offensi
To the editor:
In response to Mr. John I
editorial in the October 21
of The Gamecock, "Soni \
persecuted."
Mr. Rhodes, first of all,
the African-American Ass(
for Students, it's the Assc
for African-American Stud
an African-American, f
though Ms. Donna Mooreken
the necessary steps agai
Soni. I know Ms. Moore
ally and she's not the Eun
"me" type. That means she
look out for self, unlike mai
ocentric people. I fully agri
a boycott and a report to the
Business Bureau. Mr. Soni i
sinessman and he should <
himself as such.
Trivial? You are sayir
"nigger" is trivial? Who a
but another Caucasian sett
standard for what is offi
Caucasians have dictated th
dards in the past, such as
way of life, language and i
(just to name a few), and yc
cle only shows that you a
dictating.
We are all people, but we
unique. What I find offensi
not be offensive to you. Sc
who are you to judge whai
fensive to others? I am si
tired of reading The Gamect
everytime African-Americz
press themselves, there is al
Caucasian that will object a
are wrong. Take for instai
"Cockwheat" issue: "Why
black people getting so up;
just a joke." A joke to you,
racism to me.
"Nigger" is a negative wc
extends deep, I mean deep
history. We were brougt
against our will, forced t<
under horrendous conditio)
were unable to communica
each other, our women rap
men castrated and hangc
along with all of these inj
Aft#
|:f|LETTERST
we were called "niggers." You
)rd ^r- Rhodes, you don't undersu
you don't understand the pain
ive the awful memories. We are tr)
to rebuild our pyramids, but \
European sticks.
If there are any editorials in
thodes position to what I have written,
edition matter what you say, you will
jnfairly understand.
. 4 "Stop setting your standai
it.s not stop!"
Edward J. Matthews
)ciation Electrical engineering jui
ents. I,
eel as
Racists shoul
person- ? ^ ??
)centnc be prejudice*
doesn't r **
ay Eur- ? ,
ee with To ^ edltor:
? Better "Life is hard enough when
is a bu- belong here." What I do not un
induct stand is why people consta
want to make it so much n
complex and infinitely hardei
ig that utterly irrelevant issues like
^ ism Rarism is something thfl
y\ju, - ? ? ? o
ing the entirely beyond my comprel
ensive. si?n- It is something that I c
>e stan- even fathom,
beauty, . ,
religion 1 was raised to appreciate pe<
,ur arti- Afferent races and cultures f
re still very time that I could un
stand that people were differ
Because of my upbringing, I
; are all not even notice the difference
ve may skin, religion and culture, but s<
> I ask, people's ignorance knows
t is of- bounds if they perceive a th
ck and from a different culture.
?ck and
ins ex- From skinheads and the Klai
ways a the Black Panthers, racism is >
s if we much alive and thriving, e
ice tne wild! li exists 111 a time wnc
are the should be dead, a thing inconc
set, it's able to most. Anyone who can
blatant hrace an ideology of hatred anc
olence, no matter how passr
(for negligence is observance'
>rd that how pure their intentions may
in our are more deserving of our (
it here tempt and hatred than some
) work whose only difference is the dii
is. We ence of pigmentation. But ret
te with ing the emotions they so richly
ed, our serve will accomplish nothing
id and bring forth only more hatred,
justices must take these people and n
r
OT SURE,CHRIS, BUT IT ^
BE ANOTHER EWIP OF
CALLY INCORRECT ,
<TA FANS. ^^
J?]
I isn't it,-fellas}
O THE EDITOR
see them see that within them is the
ind, true oppressor, that they are the
and "nigger" and the "honky."
ring So badly I want to shut my eyes
vith to a world where equality is supposedly
prevalent, but in actuality
op- is nonexistent, but our eyes have
, no been shut too long. Our silence has
not convicted us to a sentence of violence,
fear and unchallenged hate,
rds, but when will we raise our voices
in anger against the idiocy which
; m has reigned over the feeble-minded
lior of this world for far too long?
Perry Scott
Psychology freshman
id
f?nr rlnAnn 14
UUCMI I
enjoy paper
you
der- To the editor:
ntly As members of an advanced
lore non-fiction writing class (English
by 460), we are writing to express our
rac- dissatisfaction with the editorial
it is negligence and lack of professionien
alism this fall in The Gamecock,
an't resulting in a publication comparable
to the National Enquirer.
Specifically, we are concerned abople
out the sensationalism and subordiirom
nation of significant issues, as well
der- as inaccurate reporting and incoment.
petent editing,
do Even the pictures trivialize
s of events. Why should we be disame
tracted from important campus
no news by pictures of women urinatreat
ing or students feeding parking
meters? These incidents are not
isolated; nor are we responding
n to from a sense of prudery. They are
fQry simply not newsworthy,
ven
n it We feel that a student newseiv
paper should have a dual function
em- of providing accurate, pertinent inl
vi- formation, as well as providing
/ely practical experience for aspiring
) or writers. The disparity between the
be, ideal and reality culminated last
:on- week when Jimmy Jacobs, a stuone
dent in our class, attempted to pubffer
lish a film review in The
urn- Gamecock.
de- When Jimmy volunteered to
and write reviews (or The Gamecock,
We the Features Editor responded enlake
thusiastically, giving him an as
f 1
?mmm??
signment to submit a review of
The Super by October 7. He was
so serious about the assignment
that he asked the class to peer-edit
his review before submitting it.
Because he realized it was lengthy,
he attached a note to the Features
Editor expressing his willingness
to meet with her for an editing session.
She did not contact him, so
after several days, he attempted
numerous times to contact her,
with no success.
Based on previous conversations
with her, it was his clear understanding
that his review would be
published. Therefore, we were all
shocked the following Friday to
find a review of the same movie
under a different author's byline.
Upon reading it, we were further
chagrined to note the numerous similorih'no
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IIIUUIIUVO U1 1UUU UVlY*W?ll UK IWU
reviews.
At this point, we want to ask a
series of questions about the processes
potential contributions to
The Gamecock undergo. What are
the criteria that must be met to
have an article published? If an
editor has a writer commit personal
time and skills to a project,
is it not the editor's professional
responsibility to communicate to
that writer any problems with the
work and what might be done to
correct them? If the editor decides
not to publish a submitted article,
does it not follow that the editor
should notify that writer of this decision?
We realize that all submitted
articles cannot be published,
but certain professional guidelines
should be followed at all times.
Also, is there a plagiarism policy
protecting contributors' ideas?
The editor's responsibility does
not end with the contributing writers;
the readers also deserve con
sideration. The Gamecock is a reflection
of the Carolina community
? writers and readers. Simply
stated, we are repulsed by the editorial
negligence that has been displayed
throughout this newspaper.
Because of this blatant disregard
for professional etiquette and ethics,
we find ourselves asking why
anyone would want to contribute
articles to this student publication?
Dr. Butterworth'i
ENGL 460 cltttf
s
y
.
lit