People rally for peace protest perspective
To the editor,
I loved your article about the supposed peace march last Thursday, it was really interesting how you only quickly hit upon the fact that they were clearly hypocrites. The funny thing about peace activists is we really only hear about the good that they do, and the music. We never hear stories about them burning veterans’ houses down, even though the poor guys never even wanted to go to Vietnam in the first place.
If there is one thing I have learned at USM, it is that a lot of the ultra-liberals who are running around yelling “Celebrate diversity” and “Give peace a chance” tend to be just as close-minded and bigoted as the ultra-conservatives whose ideas they oppose. For instance, I have learned from the USM faculty that football encourages masculinity, which encourages rape. To become a police officer you have to daydream about killing people. And that Zionism is a Christian belief claiming that if you help Jews you will go to heaven. (Anyone who believes this should get a history book, because it would clearly state that Zionists were people who wanted to help the Jews and people that wanted to get rid of them, for instance Balfour, an avid anti-Semite).
Ironically if a professor teaches his students to question not only the people clearly in charge but also every one else, he ends up being accused of some horrible crime. The school tried making an example out of Prof. Broida for teaching his students to question everything; luckily he made an example of them. When someone marching for peace attacks a middle-aged man who has repeatedly spoken for gun control in a hunting state, you really have to wonder how peaceful the peace activists are. Question everything, not only the obvious.
Sean Kraft
senior business major
To the editor,
Hi, my name is Ali Shaffiey; I am a sophomore at the university. I read Christy Mckinnon’s article “The Right to March,” and she did a fantastic job. I like reading articles that touch me the most and those that illustrate our ever-pursuant for love of peace. I was born in Tehran, Iran, during the worst of the country’s time; the overthrowing of the shah, U.S. hostages, and having a war with our neighboring country Iraq. I remember as a child, hearing the sirens go off almost constantly, soldiers passing our classrooms, and Iraqi planes hovering above us. My family and I came to the U.S. in 1986, to live in a freedom land. Iran was the superpower in the Middle East, during up until 1979, the country changed forever that night. The reason Iraq wanted to attack Iran was for its oil, and nothing else. The reason I am writing this article is because I want people to know and understand why we should not go to war with Iraq. Saddam Hussein is a dangerous leader; he doesn’t deserve to breathe the air we breathe. For the thousands of Turks and Iranians he has killed, or used his own people as guinea pigs. I absolutely agree he should be removed, but the United States cannot start another war, it will only jeopardize the stability in that region. We should first exhaust every single option to remove Saddam from power, without the use of military force. I hope that in the next few months the Bush administration along with the United Nations reach an appropriate agreement with Iraq. And may the world live in peace, and not in dream.
Peace
Ali Shaffiey
Commuter student
To the editor,
Interesting coverage on student protest against the United Nation’s push for open and honest weapons’ inspections in Iraq. One of the great things about America is the freedom of speech, and to see it in action with flair and creativity on the streets of Portland is enough to swell your heart with pride. Too bad freedom of speech doesn’t apply to Sigma Iota Sigma. I never did like the rubber-stamp policy of the University. Then there are other sororities tearing down the pamphlets and fraternities stealing newspapers. Like that has never happened! (Please note the sarcasm.)
Their arguments and creative ways to hate our President did not convince me, though, that there should not be extreme pressure placed on the Saddam dictatorship to ensure that he has no access to chemical, biological or radioactive (CBR) weapons. It was generally accepted in CBR-related fields that it was just a matter of time before the United States was attacked with a major CBR weapon. This is based on several facts: the zeal at which a number of countries were attempting to obtain weapons of mass destruction and the instability of these countries and their history of use. The United Nation’s failure to follow through with accurate inspection of Iraq and then Sept. 11 infused in the general population the same fear and made the use of military force a political option.
The situation in which we now find ourselves, with the use of force on the horizon, is not a pleasant one. I wish that when Iraq was putting out its propaganda and evicting the arms’ inspectors back on Dec. 15, 1998, that there would have been student protesters then, demanding full access for inspectors and for human rights in Iraq. Instead the same group of people were out criticizing the embargo against Saddam.
Protesters seem to be asking, “Where is the proof?” Have they forgotten the bloody lesson of Saddam Hussein’s son-in-law, Hussein Kamil? He defected to Jordan then revealed the existence of offensive biological warfare capabilities in Iraq including anthrax, botulinum toxin, ricin, and aflatoxin. When presented with this evidence Saddam did admit that they did have it but it was overlooked. An administrative oversight. Hussein was killed when he returned to his homeland under promises that he would not be harmed.
There is too much proof. You could fill a book with proof. Certainly too much for a “letter to the editor.” A good Web site I would like to recommend is http://www.iraqwatch.org, a nonpartisan source of information on Iraq’s attempts at obtaining nuclear/biological/radioactive weapons of mass destruction.
Additionally, I have the good fortune of living in a place with a large population of Iraqis, or more specifically Chaldeans (Iraqi Catholics). While, like us, their opinions vary on what we should do, one opinion is a general truth among them: there is nothing good about the Saddam regime. If there has been anything close to evil, it is he. This is not villianizing but a simple truth born from pain and suffering.
So the question that really remains is, do we sit back and do nothing, closing our eyes to the suffering of an entire nation and place at risk our own peace and security, or do we take charge and prevent Sept. 11 from happening all over again?
Erik Reynolds
Alumnus 1998
Smoked Out
To the Editor,
I’m writing in response to, “To Smoke or NOT to Smoke, That Is NOT the Question” by Lisa “I’m a Yankee” Crain.
I wholeheartedly agree with her stance on smoking. Personally, I am not a smoker, nor have I ever tried it. Being around smokers most of my life, it gets sickening because everyone these days seems to have to smoke for one reason or another. Everywhere you turn, one out of two individuals has a cancer stick in hand. Why is that?
She made good points, like “I just want to have the option of not having to breathe in your smoke every time I go to class.”
Great point, but where are the USM faculty members that are supposed to uphold the rules and regulations such as not smoking within a certain distance from an entrance? I have never seen anyone enforce the ‘smoking rule.’ Yet everytime I turn to leave a building there is someone two feet from the doorway, smoking a butt. It may be just me, but I do not see any enforcement of the rules and regulations.
As for myself, if I were a smoker, shit, I would just close the door and smoke. I am lazy. I would not abide by the rule if nobody is going to enforce it. Maybe USM should come up with a new plan because the one that is supposed to be in place is obviously not working.
It lies on each individual smoker to have respect for those of us who do not smoke, but it’s also USM’s job to uphold the rules and regulations, which they do not. If people want to smoke cigarettes, let them. But if you are going to have a written rule, ENFORCE it.
Michael Damon, Social Work Major