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Show Thursday, A. December 1997 4 The Daily Utah Chronicle Perspective Chronicle Editorial Rate Concerts? Consider THe Consequences First - day you find yourself at your local grocery store, bu get all die fmrKessentials: toothpaste, toilet paper, bread, eg, Ding Dongs., .and )) realize left over. The have The vl ' SJr , ecstasy! t joy! money you you '; .... You're looking for something to spend it on and you see above you a sign advertising the Marilyn Manson concert Tixi go to die counter to order your tickets and whoa, the concert is That would offend your sense of f " v so you save your money and go out to your car. Sound a little strange? Well, just such a thing is being proposed. Concerts may soon be under a rating system similar to what die movie industry is -- d. ' ' . under now: ' A rating system would provide parents and consumers a valuable tool for 5 deciding what kind of performance they want themselves and their children, i exposed to. It will also help promoters decide which kind of act they want in 1 ' V thctf DuiWings. ' ' '"-,- " . . " - 3 Before such a system is implemented, the Chrornde would like to strongly . encourage all parties involved to seriously consider the results of such a pro- ' ' ' , gram. f. - "Wfe'd like to suggest that the musk industry he die ones responsible for the ratings rather than making them the responsibility of die government A lot ' of problems would be averted by not allowing Uncle Sam to tinker with this. , ' r. Also, some people have suggested telling a band they only want, a PG-1-3 show and anything above that will cause them to not get paid andor sued. Placing restrictions on bands not only limits their free speech, but imposes values on legal adults who are capable of making decisions as to what they'd.: like to view. Telling an adult he can't watch Ozzy do disgusting things on stage, when that adult should legally be allowed to choose for himself what he'd like to " " view, is wrong. , Another problem with ratings is demonstrated by a trend in the movie : industry. Many times, unnecessary scenes and words are added to movies, '" just to give them their would themselves With a rating system intact, many groups just push above a certain rating just to make themselves look more rebellious and therefore increase their appeal to young people. . The Chrornde isn't against a rating system, we'd just like to make sure all possible consequences are taken into consideration. the Daily Utah Chronicle is an independent student newspaper. Unsigned editorials reflect the majority opinion of the Chronicle Letters to the Editor . - . Editorial Board , Bye, Bye Rice Stadium's Trees Dear Editor, Recently, I watched the tearing down of our old stadium to make, way for the new. What a sad day for Ute football fans all over the world. Some of those trees there are 60 to old, but they were ripped down in just a few short hours. The U has one of the finest (so we're 75 years told) architecture schools in the country, to the north one of the few landscape architecture schools in the country. can't tell me that someone couldn't come up with a design that Now, you could use those pines and spruces. A few years ago I remember read- ing that some of the local designbuild firms in our state were upset that they were not getting contracts for local projects. After seeing what has happened at Rice Stadium, maybe it's because they really don't know what they are doing. How could the alumni allow this to happen? A sad day for Ute football, Utah sports, and Utah. - Allan Gibson "Letters to the Editor" is an open forum. However, letters of a scurrilous or libelous nature, or those which demean or threaten harm to any individual or group based on race, gender, sexual orientation, or religion will not be considered. Letters may be edited for style or length, and are preferably typed or sent by Phone numbers are required for verification purposes. Letters to the editor will not be edited according to style guidelines when changing the writer's words would change the meanto editorchronicle.utan.edu or drop it off at 240 Union. ing or voice of the column or letter. To submit, send Racial Preference in Amy Form Is Wrong Eric Hansen '1 T Chronicle Editorial Columnist he facts are in and you ain't gonna like them if your life is bent on promoting racial pref erence. I am referring to last week's issue of TIME in which they revealed the results of a study on racism. In this study, 89 percent of black teenagers stated that racism was NOT something that affected their daily life. On top of that, a coalition of black civil rights activists recently paid upwards of $308,000 to not have a civil rights trial go to the U.S. Supreme Court Nor would those who just think affirmative action is just as pure as peaches and cream be stunned to find out about a business that is under fire by the NAACP because it plans to replace black employees (when they retire) with Asian employees to "level the playing field." What about the New York law firm that was read the riot act for promoting a man for diversity because the partners and most of the executives are women? These cases are an insult to America. They all have one common factor; naked racial and sexual prefer-encThe only problem is those who e. benefit from affirmative action the most don't seem to desire others to partake in the benefits. Since the abolition of slavery, the war of civil rights has been waged. Noble causes were fought for such as Brown v. Board of Education, women's suffrage, and equal representation through the vote. The civil rights movement of the '60s was a time of growth for the nation and a turning point of society. Last quarter, I watched the PBS documentary "Eyes on the Prize" and was stunned at what minorities had to go through to gain a voice in society. It opened my eyes to the struggle that people And what about the beloved Rev. Louis Farrakhan, master of puppets under his commanding voice and mil- itant rhetoric? He, at first, comes across as a logical thinking person with his talk on unity, solidarity, and self sufficiency. I even agree with his idea of the Million Man March. He has done much to make sure blacks take their right to a voice in America. This does not, however, Henry Ford ditching the automobile because he just can't give up his rickety carriage. Blacks in America have finally been given the long-du-e constitutional right to have their cases heard in court. More protection is afforded and more concessions, such as affirmative action, have been instituted to give more of a chance to people of all race and color to enjoy the good life. Unfortunately, turned into a sort of double edged sword. I take as an and must still be made before we can achieve a racism-fre- e example affirmative action. This program was originally designed to "equalize" and "diversify" the workplace. Jobs given out merely through naked racial preference are seen as a way to level the playing field. society. However, I believe to achieve Much progress was made and must still be made before we can achieve a racism-fre- e there are those who have enlisted in the fight whose interests are and not appropriate today." self-servi- ng Proponents of this pro gram seem to attack and stereotype white men as soci ety. However, I believe there are those who have enlisted in the fight whose interests are self-servin-g and not appropriate today. I believe there are some who still desire the turmoil and riots .and demonstrations of the '60s. I see this when Rev. Jesse Jackson attempts to give speeches lacking hope for a peaceful society. I saw this specifically when he was invited to present his views on Proposition 209; openly, he turned this golden opportunity down. He didn't want a voice, he wanted a fight. excuse his obviously babblings and his way of morphing every issue into a race war. The ideology and tactics of "Fight the Power!" and "Kill the Man" are outdated. Blacks in America are now anti-Semit- given more opportunities, more rights, and less racism exists. To hold a mass protest on the at Washington mall lawn or a sit-ithe Capitol is unnecessary today. To do so would be like Thomas Edison tossing the light bulb idea because his Yankee candles smell so good. Or like n of late, these concessions have "Much progress was made go through freedom. as hatemongers and members of "old boys networks." I don't know about y'all, but my meager salary sure doesn't seem to qualify me for country club memberships. The irony in stereotyping by some of these proponents is that they host events like ethnic awareness weeks and claim one of their goals is to "break down stereotypes." "Hmmm...that's unifying," he said as sarcasm dripped down his chin. Alongside the attitude about whites that affirmative action seems to breed, affirmative action also seems to generate warfare between minorities. In Los Angeles, you have the blacks versus the Koreans. Nationally, blacks seem to have problems with Hispanics and vice versa. These problems occur when one minority is turned over for another at a job because of what? Affirmative action. The affirmative action problem has escalated to the Supreme Court, but what happens? Those protected by the program the most pay off the plaintiff to prevent a trial! Isn't this the day any civil rights leader would hope for? After slavery, coundess promises broken, the trials and tribulations involved with the early civil rights movement, minorities can finally have their voice heard by the highest court in the land and they turn it down. If I were Martin Luther King Jr., I'd be rolling around in my grave! National Public Radio excused this action under the basis that the Supreme Court has been "hostile" in their decisions on civil rights as of late. Hostile? More hostile than the people of Montgomery in the '60s? More hostile than the people of Boston when forced busing was arranged? No. . I'd like to close with some advice to civil rights organizations. If you can't walk the walk, don't talk the talk. Your predecessors died for a voice that you don't seem too willing to use. Now that's a sad talc. |
