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■ QUOTABLE
4 • The Red and Black • Thursday. May 31. 1990
OPINIONS
"From them I received much encouragement. Even greater than
from President Bush."
— Cao Yulln. pres, of the Student Union of Chinese, on Univer
sity students' reaction to the Tiananmen Square massacre.
The Red & Black
Established 1 89 3—Incorporated 1980
An independent student neuspaper not affiliated uitA the University of Georgia
Charlene Smith/Editor-in-Chief
Amy Bellew/Managing Editor
Hogai Nassery/Opinions Editor
■ EDITORIALS
Freedom of advice
The United States is still trying to recover from The
Reagan Legacy. No, not the S & L scandal. No, not the
staggering national debt. This time, the Supreme
Court has agreed to review federal abortion regulations
that were issued by the Reagan administration in 1988.
These regulations barred government-funded
clinics from performing abortions or advising women
that abortion is an option at other clinics. A federal
appeals court in New York has upheld the ban, but
other federal courts have ruled that it is
unconstitutional. The Supreme Court will rule on these
contradictory decisions next year.
Regardless of one’s position on abortion, it is only
logical that if some women are to be allowed to undergo
this procedure, then it should be available to all
women. If the federal government doesn’t want to fund
abortions, again, that doesn’t justify limiting the flow of
information to women who are in search of
alternatives. These regulations, in effect, discriminate
against lower-income women, who are the main
clientele of these clinics, and for whom unplanned
pregnancies can prove to be economically disastrous.
Aside from inhibiting a woman’s right to choose,
these regulations inhibit freedom of speech. Since when
has access to information been under the government’s
jurisdiction? Especially when it concerns a health
issue? Withholding the facts on abortion is an
ineffective effort to legislate morality in a manner that
has a critical impact on a woman’s life.
A woman deserves to have all the facts when she is
confronted with a decision of this magnitude. Even if
she’s poor.
An impressive start
The Students for Environmental Awareness
members and University staff who selflessly audited
the University’ effect on the environment are to be
congratulated. SEA has demonstrated a lot more
fortitude than many student organizations, including
the Student Government Association, which would do
well to get involved in some policy-making at this
stage. So far, only a select few SA members have
participated
Kudos to the administration for publishing the
findings and a comprehensive, appropriate response
which included many pledges to improve the
University’s impact on the environment, and for
allowing University staff to participate in this ground
breaking audit.lt isn’t often that an institution allows a
group of students and staff to evaluate it. Now the
administration must continue this cooperation by
letting students and staff evaluate its compliance.lt
remains to be seen how the University will follow up on
those pledges and who will play the watchdog. SEA
held a meeting Wednesday night to discuss how to
monitor the University’s adherence to environmentally
sound practices. It’s only a start, and as yet, only a lot
of words.
University President Charles Knapp demonstrated
the power of public relations in his state of the
University address when he called for the University to
adopt a leadership role in environmental ethics.
Fortunately, the goal-oriented SEA cracked the whip
and cashed in on his promises.Not all of the goals will
be met. In the short term, the inevitable red tape must
be waded through, which will delay results, and
students will have to donate even more of their time.
The SEA has already demonstrated its ability to get
things done. Ali Jones, SEA director of education, said
they already receive cooperation from Public Safety,
which is investigating a possible pyridine leak in the
Biological Sciences Complex.
Hopefully, reform now will mean a healthier
tomorrow.
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Georgia flag a reminder of painful past
For 34 years, the lawn of the capitol in At
lanta has flown the present state flag as a bla
tant manifestation of the tradition and ideology
of the Old South and the Confederacy. For more
than three years, as I have passed beneath the
arches of this University, I have been greeted
each day by the sight of the U.S. flag and di
rectly below it the flag of Georgia.
Georgia is perhaps the most progressive
state in the New South. Atlanta personifies this
growth and development. In order for us to
maintain our reputation, we need to break the
ties that bind us with the attitudes and tradi
tions of the Old South and the Confederacy.
This is a big task, but a simple and effective
start would be to replace the present state flag,
adopted on July 1, 1956, with the former flag of
Georgia.
The former Georgia state flag was officially
adopted in 1879 during the reconstruction pe
riod following the Civil War. It contained
scarlet and white alternating stripes with the
Georgia state seal filling out the far left side of
the flag. Although the stripes were a part of the
official flag of the Confederacy, it’s still a less
offensive symbol than the present flag in that it
only serves as an innocuous historical reminder
of Georgia’s involvement in the tainting of the
South in the 1860’s
The present Georgia flag was the idea of
John Simmons Bell, chairman of the state
Democratic Party during the 1950’s. Bell
wanted the Battle Flag (minus it’s white
Mark
Heath
border) instead of the scarlet and white stripes
that had adorned the flag. Bell’s petition for
changing the flag suspicously coincided with
the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in 1954 to
enforce a rule against public school segrega
tion. The present Georgia flag was thus
adopted in a hostile political environment, in a
defiant reaction to the Supreme Court’s deci
sion. This little known fact nas been ignored, so
that much of the public either never knew or
has forgotten the origins of our present flag and
what it connotes and represents.
Furthermore, a flag is a symbol which is “an
emblem, token, or sign" which “represents an
idea, attitude, or sentiment.” The present flag,
which contains a full representation of the Con
federate Battle Flag, thus adheres to the idea
and sentiments of what the original version of
that flag idealized and was also referred to as
the “Jackson Flag” and “White Man’s Flag.”
Furthermore, the Battle Flag seems to clan
destinely pop-up during most KKK demonstra
tions, neo-Nazi rallies, and any other radical
gathering that promotes intolerance of a mains
tream heterogenous population. It’s rather
ironic that our pledge to our flag reads,“I pledge
allegiance to the Georgia flag and to the prin
ciples for which it stands, Wisdom, Justice and
Moderation.” The fact that two-third’s of the
flag has never reflected the ideals of our pledge
to it shows that it’s original inception was
based on a distortion of those concepts. This
makes Georgians appear to be hypocrites, since
our flag betrays the principles for which it sup
posedly stands.
Consequently, we must break the ties that
bind us to the attitudes, ideology, and tradi
tions of the Old South. Surely we won’t forget or
ignore the colorfully tainted past of the Old
South, but we don’t have to institutionalize it
by representing it’s ideology on our current
flag.
Today is a new day in Georgia and as our
pledge to our flag states, let’s display actions of
wisdom, justice, and moderation by departing
from the impulsive, reactionary, and defiant
connotations of this flag. The time for change is
now, as we attempt to uphold and proudly dis
play our position as the real and true front
runners of the New South.
Mark Heath is a junior English major.
State flag reflects Georgia’s heritage
Some Georgians must be very happy with the
state’s condition these days. Despite the failure
of our state education system, the decay of
rural Georgia’s economy, and Atlanta’s record
levels of crime, they have chosen to focus their
attention on changing... the state flag.
Georgia’s flag is a favorite target for crit
icism, mainly because it uses a controversial
American symbol -- the Confederate flag, which
is often stolen by cowards with white robes and
swastikas, and used as part of their venomous
gospel of fear and hate. Many of those who
wave this flag today are not fit to unlace the
boots of the original Confederate soldiers, who
were not motivated by racial hatred, but rather
by fierce loyalty to the South. Although most
weren’t slaveowners, thousands still paid the
ultimate price for their loyalties, and it’s ridicu
lous to simplify them as “good guys” or “bad
guys.” It only works that way in Hollywood.
Here in the real world, the Confederacy is a
visible, living part of history. Those who would
erase it are going to have a very tough time
scraping the Confederate heroes off Stone
Mountain. Although it may be painful, we can’t
change our history any more than a possum can
stop a Peterbilt. History deserves our intense
study, as a guideline for shaping our future. All
the blood, sweat and tears of the past are
wasted if we fail to learn from our triumphs and
mistakes.
The War Between the States was the blood
iest, most painful chapter in American history.
Georgians played a major role, as sharecrop
pers, aristocrats, soldiers, draft dodgers, slaves
Bill
Bengston
and slaveowners. For better and for worse, our
214-year state history is complex, full of heroes
and villains of all kinds. T.iere’s nothing wrong
with acknowledging Georgia’s historic ties with
the South. It’s not an endorsement of slavery or
a call to battle, but rather a simple acknowl
edgement of Georgia’s past, with all the accom
panying pride and shame.
According to individual interpretation, the
American flag can also stand for many ugly
events: Chinese enslavement on the Western
railroads, genocide against Native Americans,
the theft of half of Mexico, and the world’s only
wartime use of nuclear weapons. The flag is a
symbol. You can salute it, bum it, or ignore it
altogether. But as a symbol, it has a different
meaning for every American.
Many people are offended by the various
symbolic meanings that have been attached to
the Confederate flag, through such bizarre acts
as the racist vandalism against Em Asian stu
dent three weeks ago. However, the actions of
some night-prowling Neanderthal with a flag in
his pocket snould not paint the flag as a simply
racist symbol. Personally, I suggest a slimy
sewer rat as a more fitting symbol for racism.
As a symbol, the Confederate banner is unde
niably “loaded,” and clearly offensive to some
people. Similarly, the Supreme Court’s defense
of flag-burning is also offensive to many people.
There is, however, no Constitutional guarantee
against being offended, whatever the cause
may be.
Attacking the flag as a symbol of racism is a
futile, divisive gesture. The cure for racism isn’t
found on a flagpole. It comes through educa
tion, increased voter registration, fair hiring
prsictices, and most of all, through steady,
gradual pressure, which encourages people to
think for themselves, not blindly accepting all
the prejudice and fears handed down from past
generations.
The process of tearing down these ancient
walls may be painfully slow, but they weren’t
built overnight, and they won’t come down
easily. Society is best changed gradually, with
reason and common sense -- not with an emo
tional wrecking ball. The Confederate bimner
on Georgia’s flag is a vital link to our past -
which was neither a lush plantation paradise
nor a man-eating slave hell. The rest of
Georgia’s flag represents a link to the future,
and it bears three words worth keeping in
mind: wisdom, justice and moderation.
Bill Bengtson is a journalism grad student.
State flag just a symptom of problem
There has been a movement in Georgia to re
move the Confederate Battle flag from the state
flag, and while this attempt to atone for past
evils is admirable, it isn’t the way to stop
racism. Black Georgians do have the right to
ask that the flag be changed; after all, it rep
resents a part of our history when blacks were
enslaved. However, to try to solve the statewide
problem of racism by changing the flag is to ad
dress the symptom and not the cause of the
problem.
Many people of rural Georgia are lower
middle class, uneducated, and poor. Many
county systems have low SAT scores and high
dropout rates, a combination that is deadly in
today’s job market that is obsessed with postse
condary education. This is where racist atti
tudes take root and grow; people will not
change their minds unless they see exceptions
to what they consider the norm-that is the way
to change attitudes, not by changing a symbol
which they still identify with.
There have always been poor uneducated
whites, especially during the “golden days” of
plantations, southern belles, and cavaliers. The
Gone With the Wind myth that every ante
bellum white owned a hundred slaves is false,
and most Southerners know that. We know
that our ancestors, unless they were very
Melissa
Griffin
wealthy, owned only a few acres of land, and no
slaves. They used their children as their work
force; labor intensive, the antebellum economy
required a lot of hands to pick the cotton. The
more hands a man could get in the field, slaves
or children, the more money he made, and the
more land he was able to buy.
In addition to this dream of greater success,
lower class whites have always had two other
things they could cling to. The Protestant work
ethic has always been strong in the Bible-belt.
A white man often took comfort that even
though his family didn’t have much, at least
they had God. Others took a different attitude;
if they were white, there was always someone
who was worse off. They felt better about them
selves because they could say, “Well, I don’t
have much, but by God, at least I’m white.”
That feeling has begun to change. In the last
thirty years, blacks have made phenomenal
strides. The number of blacks in higner levels of
the work force has increased dramatically-in
places where they have access to a good educa
tional system. In a school system where only
two people out of 81 break a combined score of
1000 on the SAT, it’s going to take an act of God
for anyone to break the poverty cycle, and often
in rural Georgia, that’s doubly difficult for
blacks. It’s sad that so much focus is put on
standardized tests when there is no such thing
as statewide standards for education.
I am aware that the present Georgia flag was
changed in the 1950’s to protest desegregation.
But if we change it back now to prove that those
feelings are no longer there, well be lying.
Until this state offers the same education op-
portunities for the rural children that it offers
the children in Atlanta, the rural whites who
are still racist will never know the black profes
sionals who could make them see that success
isn’t based on the color of someone’s skin, but
rather the education they had access to. When
people feel successful in their own right without
putting down someone else, then the flag will
be changed to symbolize the new Georgia--and
that new Georgia will stand for everyone.
Melissa Griffin is a senior English major.