Kaufman unfair, ignores truth
I find it appalling that Ziv Kaufman would submit a piece as
logically fallacious as “Activists should heed facts, not
hype” (Viewpoint, Oct. 15). Name me one group, Kaufman, that
supports the human rights violations of which you speak. Explain to
me further, Kaufman, what pro-Palestinian activists have to do with
such violations. Do you mean to insinuate that if a person supports
Palestinian rights, they therefore support Arab regime
atrocities?
By that same rationale, if I supported the Civil Rights
movements of the 1960s does that mean I supported the atrocities
committed by black leaders of African nations? I didn’t
realize when I looked into this Middle East conflagration that if I
supported the Palestinians I would be buying into dictatorial and
oppressive ideals propagated by regimes of the same ethnicity. I
don’t know if anyone else sees a problem, but that sounds an
awful lot like stereotyping to me. As far as referring to anyone
who supports Palestinians as “blind and ignorant,” any
community college student enrolled in a beginning speech class can
tell you ad hominem attacks are a sure sign of a weak and failing
argument. I am embarrassed for this college community that must
call you, and your fallacious arguments, a fellow
alumnusScott Anderson Fourth-year, business
economics
Bashing of MyUCLA forums is absurd
The article on Oct. 15 titled “Forums raise monitoring
questions” is a one-sided argument that unfairly makes the
users of the MyUCLA forum look like a bunch of hooligans. The
forums are a place of free speech. This being the case, having a
post about an anonymous sex club is no less free speech than seeing
an article in the Daily Bruin about how to have a kinky love life.
But as a user of the forums, I recall a heated debate that spawned
from that post, not doodles on a “stall wall in a gas station
rest room.”
Additionally, Mignot pointed out a case where a user called
another user “a whore.” Unfortunately for Mignot, the
term “whore” does not hold the same negative
connotation as it does in real life. Mignot also failed to
correctly quote the term, which is actually “forum
whore,” a friendly joke among the forum community referring
to users who post a lot.
Most importantly, Mignot decided to use the “Social
Corner” as the only defining point about the forums. However,
it is blindingly obvious that the social forum is a place where the
posts have no greater purpose beyond socializing. If he had taken
the 10 minutes to do the research, Mignot would have seen that
there is another forum specifically for political debate, which
provides a place for political views to be argued.
Mignot’s article starts off characterizing the original
intention of the forums, saying “they were intended to
provide students with the opportunity to exchange ideas, ask for
advice and make new friends.” After using the forums for over
a year, I find that, even in the “Social Corner,” ideas
are exchanged, advice is given, and friendships are
forged.Michiaki Kono Second-year, English
Political speech not graffiti
Over the past few days I think I’ve heard every possible
argument for or against the chalking that took place during
National Coming Out Week, but Sean Gregson’s Monday viewpoint
just takes the cake (“Coming Out Day tagging unproductive,
disunifying,” Oct. 14). How melodramatic can a person
get?
I wholeheartedly agree with Gregson that the chalking on the
buildings was inappropriate. But as for the rest of the
“graffiti,” I for one think it was FABULOUS. Every day
I walk down Bruin Walk and get bombarded with flyers and recruiters
and bible quotes and evangelism. Every time I turn around,
there’s some sort of propaganda for some political or
cultural group.
Nobody ever says anything when people chalk for any other
political purpose; why start with last week’s chalking? If
we’re all so similar, as Gregson so graciously grants, then
we deserve to be heard by all people, not just by those who
identify as LGBT. Yes, we are here too, and we demand visibility.
Maybe the people who chalked paid little mind to aesthetic value,
but their message was clear: we are your friends, your family, your
everyone and we refuse to be invisible.
As for Gregson’s plea for some sort of artistic
expression, I have just one question: Where was Gregson last week?
Was Gregson there when GALA hosted Candace Gingrich, who spoke in
Meyerhoff Park on Monday? Where was he during La Familia’s
art show in Kerckhoff? Where was he when Mishpacha showed
“Trembling Before God” and invited students to pursue
their trains of thought by posing questions to a panel of rabbis?
What was Gregson doing when BlaQue invited women from all over
campus to come express themselves through music, poetry, and other
such forms of artistic communication?
Unfortunately, the people who get heard on this campus are the
ones who shout. If it takes some rogue LGBT folks’ chalking
to grab the attention of those who would otherwise ignore us, so be
it.Lisa Concoff Fourth-year, communications