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Wednesday
March 15,
2006
Degrading women is West speech a reminder
degrading to men, too of major racial issues
ROOTS RADICAL
by Josh Eaton
xanandax(a)g mail, com
Last Friday, while
eating lunch in the Z-6 with
some friends, 1 happened to
overhear the conversation
at a table next to us.
Several young men
were talking about a young
woman who had just
walked by. One of the men
said, “Hey, man. you know
what I would do to her?
Date rape!” Their table
burst into laughter, and
periodically one of them
would repeat “date rape!”
loudly. I was in shock,
almost unable to believe
what I was hearing. It was
all I could do not to call
them out on the spot.
Sadly, however, this
sort of blatant disregard
for the humanity of women
is widespread on our
campus. The term “rape”
has become slang for
doing well or succeeding
at something —as in,
“Man, I really raped that
test.”
While this usage
may seem innocent
to some, it has deeply
troubling implications.
Not only is rape equated
with something good and
positive, but succeeding at
something is equated with
dominating, hurting and
violating it.
It seems like every
week there is anew party
flier covered in half-naked
Who makes more off of those weekly loft ads, the
West Georgian or the cleaning crew that gets to
work overtime picking them up outside?
Say what you want about the Cornel West
lecture last week, but the man has
awesome hair.
It is a shame that there wasn’t a place on
campus big enough to hold all of the people
who came to see Dr. West. The mention of
a fire hazard probably reminded your
Editor-in-Chief of when the Clash played Bonds
International Casino in New York.
I hope they plant some trees close to the walkway
to the new student center. It is going to be hot
outside when that thing finally opens.
Meet Georgian
The University of West Georgia
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Carrollton, GA, 30118-0070
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Opinion
women plastering campus.
Usually, they show
more of the women’s butt
than of their face. It is
difficult to imagine seeing
men portrayed in a similar
way; and it is certainly
difficult to imagine a club
letting men in free.
The implication here
is obvious—that women
are objects for male
pleasure. Like the DJ or
the band at a club, they
get in free so that they will
be there to entertain the
guys. The sexism inherent
in Slutfest—hosted in
Carrollton for years—goes
without saying.
Then there is the
case of Bryant Hodges,
Michael Perez and Barry
Sommer, three UWG
students who, in 2002,
sexually assaulted a female
student while videotaping
it. This incident rightfully
shocked and horrified the
campus; however, it must
be undersUxxl within the
broader context of these
subtler forms of sexism.
Constantly referring
to or portraying women as
less than human makes it
far easier to treat them as
less than human.
In "Keep Ya Head
Up" musician and poet
Tupac Shakur said,
since we all came from
a woman/Got our name
Rant & Rave
from a woman and our
game from a woman/I
wonder why we take from
our women/Why we rape
our women.”
Fast forward to 1997
and Kilo Ali releases “Love
in Ya Mouth,” still a club
favorite: “...any ***** can
talk to a ***** and get the
***** j Q **** .'>
Sadly, Tupac's
message has fallen on
many deaf ears.
Kilo Ali and the
young men 1 overheard,
however, are only partially
responsible. In examining
their actions we have to
understand that sexism
cuts both ways.
Along with the
stereotype that women are
passive sexual objects goes
the equally sexist stereotype
that men—especially
black men—are sexually
aggressive and dominating.
These are images that the
media bombards us with
every day.
Our society is sick.
Author bell hooks calls
it, “the imperialist white
supremacist capitalist
patriarchy.” Dorothy
Day called it, “this filthy,
rotten system.” If we
hope to heal it, we must
reject the fashionable idea
that women are objects
lacking humanity —an
idea that does violence to
the souls of women and
men every day.
Only in so doing can
both women and men
begin to regain their full
human dignity, free from
crass caricatures and
destructive stereotypes.
Keep ya head up.
Bobby Moore, Editor-in-Chief
Stephanie Smith, Advertising & Business Manager
Kristal Dixon, News Editor
Nicholas Kirby, Sports Editor
Jesse Duke, A&E Editor
Sunay Tamashev, Photo Editor
Nate Williams, Circulation Manager
Kelly Williams, Copy Editor
Elizabeth Bounds, Copy Editor
Erik Waters, Online Editor
Doug Vinson, Advisor
“Congress shall make no law respecting an establish
ment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof;
or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the
right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition
the Government for a redress of grievances. ”
- First Amendment, United States Constitution
By Matt Torley
Stuff Columnist
tutor ley I @my. westga. edit
1 attended the Cornel
West lecture last night.
And despite the fact that
I was uncomfortably
crammed against the wall
in a doorway behind the
stage (could not see a
thing), I rather enjoyed it.
Oh surely there
were things he said that I
disagreed with, political
points and the like, but
he got me thinking about
racism.
And honestly, it
is not something I like
thinking about. It is
uncomfortable. And
to talk about it without
sounding like a jerk, or
a guilt ridden bootlicker,
is difficult. But it is
necessary.
This artificial
division has existed for
so long that it has become
’fact,’ translating itself
into a real separation
along attitudinal and
economic lines. And
these are the hardest
conditions to remedy.
How do you resolve
the economic inequities
that have resulted
from over a century of
repression bordering on
de facto slavery?
In the two generations
since the civil rights
movement made its first
(and perhaps only) great
strides, there have been
many positive changes,
but that is not enough.
The number of
African-American citizens
living in poverty is
disproportionately high, but
considering the situation it
is unsurprising.
The issue is mainly
due to attitudes and
policies that have largely
discouraged the building
of wealth in the black
community. Social and
economic repression gave
way in the Sixties to a
softer, unintentional kind
of repression; something
akin to guiltily slipping
a few dollars to a close
relative you would rather
Disclaimer
The opinions in this section do not
necessarily reflect the views of the
University of West Georgia, the staff
of the West Georgian or the
Mass Communications department.
not be seen with, but who
won’t go away.
The result is just
more resentment, giving
way to fear and hatred.
But what else can we
do? Somewhere along
the line the civil rights
movement petered out,
falling by the wayside
once the biggest problems
were dealt with.
But now that the
big issues, the ones
that could be dealt with
through legislation or
in the courts, are gone
(in theory), how do we
handle the festering
social questions?
Well, eventually,
after a few more
generations, they will
work themselves out.
But nobody wants to wait
that long. We could stop
thinking about it, stop
reinforcing the concept.
But that is not very
practical; every try not to
think of a pink elephant?
This fellow by the
name of Alan Keyes, an
economist and former
presidential candidate,
had the best idea I have
heard to date. Whether or
not it would really work,
or even get a chance, is
uncertain; but as a redress
of wrongs, and means to
rectify the situation, it
has merit.
It works like this:
For “a generation or two”
all descendants of former
slaves would be exempt
from Federal taxes.
Rather than a
shameful pay off (“Sorry
I ruined your life, here’s
five bucks,”) it is a burden
lifted. Employers would
see economic benefits
for hiring tax exempt
workers, and the workers
would see a huge jump in
their real wages.
And that jump would
(hopefully) translate
into the creation of real,
lasting, wealth.
And by wealth I mean
a house, college money
for the kids, a real stake
in society and a secure
future, not necessarily
mansions and yachts.
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of the newspaper staff or individual authors and do not necessarily
reflect the views of university faculty or staff.
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This would also have
some impact on the issue
of community attitudes.
Among the effects of
the “second class” status
that African Americans
have been relegated to
is a devaluation of life
itself.
A slave is told that
they are nothing more
than property; a man
under Jim Crowe is told
that he is not good enough
to participate in society,
and a person living in
decrepit public housing
is being told every day
that they cannot survive
on their own, that they
shouldn’t even bother.
What kind of message
is that? Tax exemption
would have at least some
effect there, making a
person more valuable
to employers and to
themselves (as their time
would be worth more).
Is that enough?
No, probably not. The
attitudinal issues are
more complicated and
more difficult to solve
than the economic woes
(as tricky as those are).
Dr. West spent some
time on this, and what bad
acoustics and physical
discomfort didn't obscure
made my head nod.
The black community
has been denied strength
and pride for a long time.
And now, that can only
come from w ithin. Aside
from not being a jerk or
otherwise getting in the
way, there is little a white
guy like me can do to
change that now.
I hope that I live to
see the day when this
nonsensical, irrational
‘racial divide’ is seen for
the artificial load of crap
that it is.
I do not know if Alan
Keyes’ proposal would
really work, but I do
know that almost nothing
the government has done
since 1968 has helped at
all.
People, on the other
hand, have done some
great things. I saw one
myself, just last night.