The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, October 02, 1992, Page 3, Image 3
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Perot
Supporters quick to forget
candidate s betrayal
Thirty-two days until the presidential election and another man
has jumped into the short-lived two-way race.
H. Ross Perot has taken another great leap into the campaign
and is bent on changing the outcome.
For those of you partisan Democrats and Republicans who think
he can't do it, just watch and see. Perot has a whole month to
pump in his thirty-minute info-mercials, all financed by his own
bankroll.
His former supporters will soon completely forget his betrayal of
them back in July, as they have already welcomed him back with
open arms. As a result, Perot will take the election into the wee
hours of the morning, or even to the House of Representatives.
His month-long crusade will split the base of support in the
regions the Democrats and Republicans need to win the White
House. Perot attacks such Republican southern strongholds as
Texas and North Carolina, which were part of what has been
termed as the new "Solid South" for Republican presidential candidates.
And in states such as California, where until now Clinton
had the lead, Perot looks strong in a shattered state economy burdened
by billion-dollar debt.
Perot, although splitting the vote in many cases, is more than
just a spoiler ? he is the only independent or third-party candidate
in this century who has had a viable chance of winning the presidency.
Like his combative style or not, Perot is also the only independent
since Teddy Roosevelt who has had a national appeal.
Other presidential bids, such as the campaigns of former senator
John Anderson in 1980 and former governor George Wallace in
1968, were essentially regional in appeal, at least in their base of
support,"and faltered for lack of funds. Both of these are problems
Perot will not face.
Perot's naming of James Stockdale, former Vietnam POW, as his
running mate, adds fuel to the presidential bid as the issue of prisoners
left behind was and is Perot's only PR coup. James Stockdale
is a reflective and intellectual man whose story will be played out
in the media to the hilt, showing him to be a hero and not a silly
politician like either of his opponents, Gore and Quayle.
It is surprising how shrewd someone can be when it comes
down to the wire. But this kind of scenario was in Perot's head all
along. But his supporters don't care because along with the messenger
comes a formidable message: the other candidates avoid
tough issues like the federal deficit, and tough choices and sacrifices
needed to solve the problems that plague our country. They
are afraid to take it to the American people. H. Ross Perot, for all
his faults, is not.
District is > .
f \ the Deans'list? vhS
V No, its the Deans' j
XP>anircock
Editor in Chief Greg Rickabaugh
Managing Editor Patrick Villegas
Copy Desk Chief Jay King
News Editors Chad Bray
J.T. Waaenheim
Viewpoints Editor Jack Dunn
Paoti iroc PHitnr I qq Plnnt7
i ^aiuiuo i? viviiic.
Sports Editors Nancy Salomonsky
Tim Thorsen
Photo Editor Stephanie Newlin
Graphics Editor Ryan Sims
Cartoonist Paul Jon
Asst. News Editor Melissa Tennen
Asst. Features Editor Jennifer Fuller
Asst. Sports Editor -...Rob Rodusky
Asst. Viewpoints Editor C.E. Holman
Asst. Photo Editor.. Lea Clayton
Asst. Graphics Editors Kristin Buehlman
Gregory Perez
Asst. Copy Desk Editor Brian Garland
Production Manager Laura Day
Asst. Production Manager Jim Green
Faculty Advisor Erik Collins
Advertising Manager Renee Gibson
Student Media Coordinator ....Jim McKellar
Graduate Asst Brian McGuire
Darkroom Technicians Erin Galloway
Rika Hashimoto
The Gamecock will try to print all letters received.
Letters-should be 200-250 words. Full name and
professional title, or year and major if a student, must
be included along with address and phone number.
The Gamecock reserves the right to edit letters for
style, possible libel or space limitations. The
Gamecock will not withold names under any
circumstances.
/iew
Capital puni;
Capital punishment is wrong. It i
Capital punishment by definitiot
a society wants to rid itself of the
its well-being, such as Pee Wee G
festation of societal aggression wl
tions to cheer when the streetlights
Whether this form of punishmer
is questionable at best. With the
afforded by all 50 states, very fe
being executed. If this is a known
death rows of this country being ac
One of the best arguments for tl
life imprisonment. Any sane persoi
rape, overcrowded conditions and
going to have a worthwhile life, m
ment is not a good alternative. It
tioned earlier.
One must look to the source ol
for capital punishment? The Unite
ask itself why its murder rate i
European nations that do not have <
Statistically, the major committ
poor, ethnic minorities. These pec
they are the dregs of society and li
thinking something like, "I'm pot
anything," and no one tells then
develops. The cure I am proposing
concentration on children in high t
children is much less than dealing
If people are given a good educatii
perhaps, morality will follow, wip
such as capital punishment.
- Lea Clayton, Asst
Malcolm X
Malcolm X. What does his na
think of? Black revolutionary? I
necessary? Racist? Malcolm X co
or none of these things, depending
of view and knowledge of this cont
Walking around campus I see p
Malcolm X hats and T-shirts bear
I think to myself, do all these pec
Malcolm's philosophies? If they do
hats and clothing bearing his name
a great man. If they do not know
ry, then wearing an X on their c
another name brand, a fad for the n
Malcolm is a hero who never hel
quit fighting and never sold out.
I would never wear any Malcoli
dise. Malcolm strived to unite all
economically and socially. I believi
the companies selling Malcolm >
are owned by white people. If you
your money down to buy Malcoli
dise, make an effort to see whe
goes. If you believe in Malcolm st
Recent anolopv.
? j 7
unbiased coverage
necessary
To the editor:
I hesitate to write this editorial,
feel as though I am falling prey t<
a liberal ploy to stir up controver
sy. I cannot, however, in good con
science allow the remarks of Tig<
Watts to go unanswered, especial 1;
since for the first time in my fou
year college career, this paper ha
moved closer to the mainstream
unbiased, style of journalism, tha
the journalism department ought t<
be teaching.
So, with this in mind, let's Uy ai
experiment. Everyone hold you
hand out in front of your face
Now, extend your little finger. Tigi
asserts that he has more profesion
alism in his little finger than thi
entiie staff of The Gamecock havi
in their "rag." With the libera
stance that he continually ramme*
down our throats last year 01
issues like pornography, gay rights
and sexual promiscuity, I'm sun
we can all imagine what Tige doe
with his "professionalism!" I don'
know, maybe his little finger is ai
appropriate comparison after all.
All joking aside, and to be sun
Tige is a joke, let's look at what hi
said, and I quote, "We had the gut
to tackle social issues like abortion
gay rights, animal rights, etc
Meanwhile, social issues to you i
if Sparky Woods can coach well o
not." Well Tige, I am almost cer
tain that Coach Woods' status i
mnrp imnnrtant tn thp avpraop ctn
Ol*.
dent than the continual haiping yoi
did on the Holderman Scandal
puilll
I Crc
shment drastic
is the symptom of a very sick society.
1 is a state's mechanism of self defense;
?se people perceived to be dangerous to
laskins. But it also seems to be a manilen
crowds attend midnight electrocudim.
it acts as a deterrant of homicidal crime
lengthy and expensive appeals process
w convicted criminals actually end up
fact, then why are the already crowded
Ided to at alarming rates? ,
lis form of punishment is its alternative,
ii realizes a person faced with homicidal
being treated like a lower animal is not
uch less be rehabilitated. Life imprison
is merely treating the symptom I menthe
problem ? what creates the need
d States, as a responsible society, must
s so much higher than most western
capital punishment statutes. ~
ers of such crimes in this country are
>ple have grown up with a stigma that
ikely criminals. When children grow up
>r and black and I'll never amount to
1 otherwise, a self-fulfilling prophecy
is a mental and financial governmental
:rime areas. The cost of educating these
with them later in the criminal process,
on early on, a sense of self respect and,
)ing out any need for drastic measures
Photo Editor for The Gamemock
should be m
me make you
By any means TTT1TPM?TT
uld be any, all
on your point r Q L U M N
rovcrsial man. L U L u m i
eople wearing ?
ing his image. to pUt your dollars down
>ple believe in much.
, then weaiing Malcolm has always
is a tribute to ^ press critics say he
his whole sto- jhe lruth js before h
lothing is just changed his views on \
ineties. lo me pens is people read half
d back, never make accuSations.
what he says then you
n X merchan- fightjng for black prog
black people, white man.
e that some of Another misconceptio
: merchandise Maitin Luther King Jr. v
choose to lay reasons. Before Malt
n X merchan- began to lean towari
re the money Malcolm X's widow, E
rongly enough recen, article in the
H A 1
You didn't let up, even after it was
over. Even if there was no new
news, you would put a picture of
him in there.
Finally, you told our current editor
to "stop playing Jesus and ...
grow up." Now I don't know Mr.
Rickabaugh, but I would be willing
3 to bet that he has no Christ complex
and that his maturity is
reflected in his grades. Can you
e say the same? Rumor has it that
^ you can't! Grow up, Mr. Watts!
1 John Lewis
Humanities Senior
1 To the editor:
I thank you for your apology of
Sept. 28. It was much needed.
1 I do like the direction the paper
1 is taking. It's even getting so that
people aren't ashamed to be caught
L reading The Gamecock anymore.
I mean, Dexter Clinkscale, exL
Dallas Cowboy, writing about footL
ball? No humor-man column, no
' whiny articles about what the H^
man either did or didn't do?
11 I like it.
As for the complaints of Mr.
2 Watts ? he should just rest easy.
s Mr. Watts, anyone who has ever
1 read a column of yours would nev1
er have a doubt about die level of
your competence, professionalism
e or intelligence.
Under Greg Rickabaugh, The
s Gamecock has achieved
'' respectability ? and they're not
even being threatened with a laws
suit for libel.
1 Keep up the good work Greg!
Neil F. Lewis
Ad/PR Senior
Ll
:s
ISSl
Death penalty
Imagine for one minute if you wi
and now it's time to go hrflme. Yoi
on campus, and look forward to torr
But something happened on the 1
You never got one: You were supj
Your date didn't ihake it. In fact y<
before.
You are understandably panicked
where without telling anyone. You
are going through your mind, and tl
clock ticks off another second. The
By now, two weeks have passed
The lonely moments are the worst,
but vou can't heln it. You can't ??
j r C3
keep from thinking all the terribl
mind.
Finally word. They found your
nothing they could do. They are so
don't hear any of it. Your legs get
floor with a thud. This couldn't be r
You can't believe it. It can't be tr
ago you were going out. Your Iner
body want to hurt, kill?
You will never see each other agt
They found the man they were It
fessed to everything. Guilty. Killer.
Rage. Hate. He took a human life
People kill people each other eve
happen to someone you know and It
We have hundreds, thousands of
of America, land of the free. They ;
taxes. Living. Why?
Two wrongs may not make a rigt
Tim Thorsen,
ore than me
IMRHB IU "Malcolm
wrermm determinai
Uttfl * _ essary" n
make pros
IP T :sp; 1 c
f Now 21
people ari
i, then you owe Malcolm h?Pe ev e
knows the
been misrepresented in iea9 "ie,
was a racist white hater, hmes, an
e was assassinated he nov^j .
vhite people. What hap- f*cally- 1
of his autobiography and 118e
When you read carefully . at.CVl
i realize he was a man Pe^-se 01
ress, not destroying the I111 a ul
is you c
n is that Malcolm X and Aut?b10Sn
yere fishting for different an M?/eaj
:olm was murdered he ^ 90 s th
J the ideas of MLK. gel ,over Jl
tetty Shabazz, said in a WG1 ,n" 10
Atlanta Constitution, vvor '
Editorial attack
uncalled for
To the editor:
This semester I have been
repeatedly appalled by a number of
articles in The Gamecock. Having
been Editor of the publication, I
felt'it would be inappropriate for
me to write a letter such as this.
But after reading Monday's editorial,
"Apology," I no longer feel the
need for restraint, since obviously
Mr. Rickabaugh neglected to use
any in his commentary.
We were already "subjected" to
Mr. Rickabaugh's tooting his own
horn in his opening column of the
semester. It hardly seems a sequel
was necessary. The editorial
showed a complete lack of judgment
uncharacteristic of The
Gamecock. I hardly believe the
majority of the paper's staff supported
such petty drivel. I would
advise the editor to remember the
lead editorial is designed to showcase
the ideas of your staff, not to
nurse your own starving ego.
This is only the latest in a series
of ethically questionable judgments
such as Mr. Rickabaugh's fraternity
brother writing a column about
rush and the dredging up of the
Cockwheat issue yet again.
Perhaps Mr. Rickabaugh's time
would be better spent apologizing
for his own ridiculous behaivor,
and proving he deserves to be the
editor of a publication serving
intelligent readers instead of wasting
time questioning the competency
of his predecessors.
Shelley Magee
Summer '92 Editor
of The Gamecock
=ire
Y necessary
11 V Mil' * m Ko/l n rvn? nn n /Intn nil rtinkt
it. i yju w ia,lii v/ui v/u u uatt an infill,
j and your date part ways somewhere
lorrow night.
way home. You were expecting a call.
X)sed to meet for lunch the next day.
)ur date never made it home the night
, It's just not like him/her to go someare
scared to death. Terrible thoughts
ley get worse and worse everytime the
days pass. No word. Until...
. You are going through a living hell.
You keep trying not to think about it,
et to sleep. You can't eat. You can't
e thoughts from going through your
date. They were too late. There was
rry. Nothing they say matters and you
weak. You can't help it. You hit the
lappening. Dead. Killed,
ue. It's a bad dream. It was just weeks
id was so full of life. How could anytin
K>king for. The news said so. He conMurderer.
Why?
. What gave him the right?
ry day. We can never stop it. It could
ive. It could happen to you.
murderers sitting in the penetentiaries
lie living in our jails, living off of our
it, but it damn sure makes it even.
Sports Editor for The Gamecock
xchandising
's agenda was human rights... and self
tion." His slogan "by any means necleans
that he would do anything to
tress for the black race.
' years after his death, I am glad to see
e remembering this great man, but I
ryone who wears his merchandise
complete story of Malcolm X. I have
Autobiography of Malcolm X two
am in the process of my third reading
Icolm's story has changed my life draslate
to see a man who gave his life for
being exploited.
er your opinions are of Malcolm X,
lot judge him without knowing the real
t him. No matter what color your skin
an learn a lot by reading The
tphy of Malcolm X. By the way I am
old white man from Florida. This is
e aays or racial bigotry are over. Let s
jdging people by their color and start
igether to solve the real problems in die
Divorce column
misses point
To the editor:
I would like to respond to Greg
Perez, who wrote a column
Wednesday about the case of
Gregory Kingsley. Mr. Perez
should know the facts about this
case before yet another load of
crud spews from his mouth. I have
been following the Kingsley case.
Gregory was an abused child. He
has been in foster homes for much
of his life (12 years); although his
mother claims to have always
wanted to take care of him, she has
seldom visited Gregory. She has
been on welfare much of the time,
and is currently living with a physically
abusive boyfriend. It was
probably for the best that
Gregory's mother surrendered him
to foster care, where he is no
longer subjected to various forms
of abuse and poor role models.
Mr. Perez completely missed the
logic behind this court case, and
downplayed the effects abuse and
neglect have on children. He has
twisted the serious issue of abuse
into a trivial matter of whether a
spoiled brat can get anything (s)he
wants. Anyone who has followed
the Kingsley case as I have could
clearly see that this is absolutley
not the case with Gregory.
I pray more children living in
abusive environments will come to
realize, as Gregory did, that one is
never too young to begin a healthy
life.
Anna M. Berry
Criminal Justice junior