Tuesday, October 21, 1997
Ban on rap lyrics not a question of racism
COMMUNISM Recent propaganda distorts concept of constitutional
rights and free speech
By Todd Smith
I read Michelle Oberman’s article "Hearing what they don’t want
you to see" (Oct. 16), and what I read only confirms my belief that
communists continue to be totally out of touch with reality. Leave
it to the bona-fide communists on campus to take a minor event,
twist it around and then use it as an opportunity to spread their
own propaganda, which is not only out of context considering the
situation, but (as usual) factually incorrect and hypocritical.
First of all, the ban on rap music/offensive lyrics is neither
racist nor unconstitutional. As I understand it, the ban was
brought on because students and their parents had heard some
particularly offensive music being played in the lobbies of the
residence halls and complained about it.
Imagine being a parent, saying your final farewell to your child
as he or she embarks on a new chapter in his or her life. You are
already nervous about leaving them, but now as you walk into their
new home, you are greeted by Snoop Dogg or some other gangsta rap
"artist" using every racist and sexist word in the book.
Or imagine you are waiting for a friend in the lobby and you
just don’t want to hear words like "nigger" and "bitch" blared in
your ears. Banning offensive lyrics in a place like a residence
hall lobby, where a relatively captive audience exists, is neither
unconstitutional nor racist. It is common courtesy more than
anything else.
This is not a conspiracy to eliminate rap music or oppress black
people as a whole. The administration is not "going after anyone
who dares to even listen to African American music," as Oberman
claims. No one is stopping students from listening to whatever
music they want to on their headphones as they walk to class, as
mind-numbing and spirit-crushing as it may be.
No one is keeping them from playing Tupac as loud as their
neighbor who is simultaneously blaring Marilyn Manson (or worse
yet, Garth Brooks). And don’t tell me that walkmen and home stereos
are next in line, because no one is buying that line.
That being said, let’s move onto the other ridiculous statements
made by Oberman. Supposedly this ban is aimed at rolling back "all
democratic rights and reinforcing every backward, racist, sexist,
xenophobic prejudice." How about the lyrics in these songs! Oberman
admits that the lyrics reflect "backward attitudes like
anti-Semitism, sexism, anti-gay prejudice and anti-immigrant
racism." So how does banning this music encourage the very message
contained in the lyrics! Supposedly the offensive lyrics are due to
the oppression that minorities face. But let’s face it. If fewer
people listened to this stuff, it would probably do more to improve
race-relations and attitudes than if we repeal the ban and increase
the number of people who listen to this music.
Supposedly the ban "comes not coincidentally in the wake of
Propositions 187 and 209." Actually, it is a coincidence. There is
not a conspiracy against minorities in this country. Voters don’t
like illegal immigration and racial preferences and set-asides.
Parents don’t like rap music. One has nothing to do with the other
despite what the communists on campus might think.
I don’t know if any student read Oberman’s article and took it
seriously, but I hope not. Communism is one of the true evils in
this world that I would be willing to lay down my life to stop.
Communist countries tell you what to think, what to believe, what
to worship, and what to do. They crush dissenting free expression
and free thought. Inevitably, communism brings the country to ruin
because it is based on a fundamentally-flawed economic theory that
fails every time it is tried. I’m sure that the Spartacus Youth
Club (SYC) would say that they would do it right if they took over.
"We know Castro, Lenin, Stalin and all the other commies had their
flaws, but we would be better." Yeah right. Tell it to the students
at Tiananmen Square who were massacred, or the victims of Castro’s
executions, or all the other innocents crushed under the boot of
communism. The only way for the communists to retain power for any
length of time is through the use of force.
Oberman even complains that the evil, capitalist, racist,
sexist, xenophobic ruling class has the audacity to arrest
Proposition 209 protesters. The whole point of the protests is to
get arrested, make a point and get attention! She can’t even seem
to keep her own ridiculous claims straight.
Don’t listen to the communists on campus, and don’t be persuaded
by their propaganda. Let’s keep them what they are. An oddity. A
topic of conversation. A relic of an intellectual school of thought
that has long overstayed its welcome. If you enjoy college life,
i.e., worshipping what you choose, saying what you choose without
hiding, protesting without being massacred, watching "Simpsons"
reruns, drinking 64 ounces of Coke in one sitting, surfing the
internet and posting whatever you feel like, and having the
opportunity to get a job and make as much money as your abilities
will allow, the last thing you want to do is support the SYC.
Communists genuinely believe in a violent overthrow of the
government in order to get what they want and crush (i.e. kill) the
people that get in the way. In this case, the communists are
crushing the people who want to hold onto the things that make
college life enjoyable.