Friday, October 17, 1997
Not all motives behind issues imply racism
CIVIL RIGHTS: Prejudices are not necessarily cause of ban,
disadvantages
By Randy Gettman
I hate rap music. I don’t like the way rap artists speak a song.
But I respect everyone’s right to play rap music if they want. Rap,
like any other music genre, is protected by our Constitution’s
First Amendment free-speech clause.
I agree with The Bruin’s editorial ("Hip Hop Ban
Unconstitutional," Sept. 29) that chose to denounce the ban on all
rap music that was imposed on the residence halls over the
summer.
The Spartacus Youth Club ("Hearing What They Don’t Want You To
See," Tuesday) believes that the residence halls’ motive behind the
ban is racism, because rap is a predominantly an African American
music genre. However, it is a well-known fact that some rap songs
include offensive lyrics, including "four-letter" sexist and racist
words. Furthermore, rap music is not the only genre to contain such
words. The motive was aimed at its offensive lyrics.
The Bruin’s words, "If On-Campus Housing banned the playing of
sexist, racist or otherwise vulgar lyrics in a public place, The
Bruin would stand completely behind that decision" meant that a ban
on music (from any genre) with such words would be justified.
This is a civil-rights issue. People should not be forced to
listen to offensive lyrics. If someone wants to listen to such
songs, no one can prevent that person from doing so in that
person’s dorm room, apartment, house or with headphones. The
Bruin’s support of a hypothetical ban on offensive lyrics does not
only target rap music.
Oberman uses the phrase "racist capitalist exploitation."
Capitalism is not inherently racist. Many African Americans and
other minorities continue to be out-educated, to be out-earned and
to have a lower standard of living than whites overall. In an ideal
capitalist society, everyone would have an equal opportunity to
succeed. The condition of inner-city schools denies this
opportunity. Schools which operate with up-to-date textbooks and
competent teachers, under no threat of gang wars, can graduate
students who are able to compete in a largely capitalistic society,
regardless of race or other factors.
The Spartacus Youth Club goes on to talk about arrests made
during protests of California’s Propositions 187 and 209, implying
that the arrests were made as part of a "brutal police repression"
to squash the protesting viewpoint. Arrests were made each time
because protestors were violating traffic laws by sitting down in a
circle on Wilshire Boulevard and blocking traffic (USAC
ex-Presidents John Du and York Chang were both arrested in these
protests). The arrests that were made had nothing to do with the
protesters’ political views.
I voted against Proposition 187 because of one paragraph. This
paragraph stated that citizens should report possible illegal
immigrants based on looks. It meant people should turn in Latinos
because of their skin color because they could be Mexicans (or some
other nationality) in the United States illegally. That is
blatantly racist and I was surprised that it passed.
I voted for Proposition 209 because it makes affirmative action
tactics such as quotas and preferences illegal. I encourage the
reader to read Proposition 209 and the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
The reader will find a very strong resemblance. I expected it to
pass and it did.
Call what I advocate a "meritocracy." But I advocate a system
based on the assumption that all people, regardless of race, sex,
socioeconomic background and other factors, have an equal chance of
attending a higher-education institution and gaining the education
necessary to achieve the American dream. The problem is that
inner-city children, who happen to be mostly minorities, do not
have this chance. To achieve equal opportunity of proper and
adequate education, we must attack the problem at its source – the
unbalanced public-school education. Raise the quality of education
in these inner-city schools to give the people that live there a
fighting chance, which everyone deserves.
I am not a racist. I believe that the ban on rap music, which
was lifted, was unconstitutional. The fair grade-school education
of all people will empower all inner-city people to compete with
everyone else. If you agree with me on at least one point, do not
be surprised by my next sentence. I am a somewhat conservative
Republican.