Posts Tagged diversity
Hate should not be common practice
Posted by Adam in Indiana Daily Student 2001, Newspaper Columns on April 10, 2001
Every so often I do things that remind me of why I believe in certain things. These little explorations into my soul usually happen when I least expect them. My latest soul searching came after I accidentally stumbled upon the anti-liberal Web site LiberalWatch.org.
It was a disturbing experience. After clicking past the splash page, I was taken to a list of the top 10 liberal degenerate Web sites. My gut reaction was to laugh out loud: the list consists of the North American Man Boy Love Association, Hatewatch, Inc., Anti-Racist Action, CruisingForSex.com, the National Organization for Women, Planned Parenthood, the Anti-Defamation League, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, Southern Poverty Law Center and (last, but not least) MTV.
Five of these organizations are centered around civil rights issues: NOW, Planned Parenthood, ADL, NAACP and the Southern Poverty Law Center.
Which leaves five to be digested. The first of these is NAMBLA, an organization with which I do not really agree. I couldn’t read up on the latest NAMBLA happenings because its Web site was down, but in general, I oppose lowering the age of consent much below where it rests in Indiana.
Hatewatch Inc. and Anti-Racist Action Web sites gave me no clue about their happenings. Hatewatch’s site wasn’t responding, and the Anti-Racist Action site was last updated in 1999. I haven’t heard of either organization and so reserve judgment.
The next listed Web site is Cruising for Sex, a site where gay men who like anonymous sex can get tips on the best places to cruise. Consider it the Internet version of picking somebody up at a bar.
It’s an interesting list: The LiberalWatch site combines five serious organizations that are doing their best to improve the quality of life for all Americans and four organizations that are not active on the liberal civil rights front. This makes all the organizations look bad.
MTV is included, according to the site, because it “works its will 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year, promoting its liberal filth into the minds of young kids all over the western world.”
I was disturbed on two fronts: one, that conservative groups seem to think NAMBLA represents mainstream liberal thought. That would be akin to me thinking that the Westboro Baptist Church (most famous for its antigay protests) accurately represents mainstream conservative thought. Neither organization represents mainstream thought, so for serious people to believe these are the key representations does nothing to enhance dialogue.
The other issue I found disturbing was the sudden and overwhelming presence of racist and homophobic attitudes. In the LiberalWatch diatribe against the Southern Poverty Law Center, the site notes that the organization smears anyone who “opposes racial preferences, dislikes homosexuality” and that the ex-wife of the organization’s founder “cited in divorce documents at least one homosexual encounter, and numerous mistresses.”
The diatribe against NOW is also disturbing in its anti-civil rights stance and homophobic nature, claiming that NOW’s mission is “to secure a woman’s ‘right to choose’ whether her children should be aborted at any stage of pregnancy and to promote lesbianism.”
I also visited one of the Web sites Liberal Watch recommended for news: the New Nation. The top stories were about crimes committed by Hispanic males. Another story is about “Mexican Migrant Invaders,” and another about “Berkeley black pack hate crime attacks on white youths.” The blatant use of racial descriptors is an obvious attempt to inflame hate based on race, as opposed to trying to figure out what caused the crime.
Which brings me full circle to reminding me why I am a liberal: I believe all people are created equal and should have equality of opportunity. I believe racism and homophobia stand in the way of a better, more tolerant society. I believe America benefits from the diversity its citizens represent.
The value of having a conversation involving people of all backgrounds brought together is a synergist release. The sum of the knowledge generated by having these interactions is what has propelled the U.S. to being the lead innovator in the world.
Most of the time, I chose not to believe that the conservative viewpoint does not embrace racial diversity. Whenever I encounter people who proclaim their conservativeness out of one side of their mouth, and then say something inherently racist, homophobic or otherwise bigoted, I have to stop and remind myself that they are — I hope — in the minority.
Finding a Common Purpose
Posted by Adam in Indiana Daily Student 2000, Newspaper Columns on September 21, 2000
If bad things happen in threes, IU is due for another catastrophe.
The University has already lost two prominent men in the year 2000, and neither experience has been pleasant or pretty.
The first catastrophe was the death of a man who meant much to IU — Herman B Wells. Wells defined IU. He built the University from an average state school to a world-class institution known around the world.
The second catastrophe, of course, was the firing of former coach Bob Knight. Knight defined IU to the rest of the world. Without him, it is likely IU would be a world-class school with the low profile of St. Olaf or Dartmouth, unknown outside the state.
Without either of these men, IU would be a vastly different place.
Wells, during his tenure at IU (starting in 1921), built up the University, setting a number of precedents that put IU at the forefront of higher education. As a strong supporter of the School of Music, Wells made a concerted effort to ensure IU had one of the best music schools in the world.
He also made IU a good campus, where students could live and study comfortably. For example, as University president he helped oversee the expansion of the Indiana Memorial Union. In 1957, under Wells’ leadership, the IMU remodeled the bowling alley and the Commons.
Wells also left a strong natural legacy by creating a beautiful campus. He consistently opposed cutting down trees in Dunn Woods and building over the Jordan River.
He made important strides in integrating the campus, putting African Americans and other minorities in the classrooms together with non-minority students. IU was the first University in the Big Ten to have African-American athletes because Wells thought it should be so. If we remember Wells for only one reason, it ought to be this one.
The linkage between Wells and Knight was the library. In five years, IU will no longer have the Main Library, but instead the Herman B Wells Library. It’s a fitting tribute to a man who requested money be donated to “The Herman B Wells Acquisition Fund” for the libraries instead of flowers for his memorial.
Bob Knight supported the libraries as well, making donations each year and by creating “The Bob Knight Library Endowment,” which has more than $1 million.
Ironically, Knight’s firing allowed IU to remove one more major racial barrier at IU. Mike Davis has become IU’s first black head men’s basketball coach. This is a significant step in the integration of the IU campus, and something of which Wells would be proud.
The loss of these two men was bad for the heart and soul of IU, whether you liked either one. One clearly represented the heart and soul of the University to those of us here, while the other represented the vibrant image of the University to the world. One was key in making IU a world-class institution, while the other made sure people all across the United States knew IU existed.
It is important for universities to have somebody or something to rally around or about. Everybody rallied around Wells — I remember telling my friends about the first time I was in the same room with him. Everybody rallied around Knight, debating whether he should be our basketball coach and whether he was good for the University.
To lose both of these prominent men in the same year is an unfortunate thing. It means we are left without our beloved University chancellor and an irascible general.
Right now it appears IU doesn’t really have anything to rally around. In a few months, once the furor over Knight has completely died down, we will have neither of these strong figures. We will be left looking for common ground.
It will be difficult to find: Myles Brand does not endear that same kind of support. Neither does the retiring Kenneth Gros Louis.
There doesn’t appear to be anybody who can fill the role both Knight and Wells performed so well. There are no burning issues for students on this campus to rally around or debate in a meaningful way. One can hardly call the campus parking problem, for example, a burning issue.
Until we can again find that unity in a prominent leader or on a particular issue, the IU community might be a bit aimless in its purpose and direction.
Without that sense of purpose, we are lost.