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Show SUMMER THE UTAH CHRONICLE AiY. U THE CHRONICLE'S VIEW oy foe L'Minsp A Hist ory of the JL JL 10L I'lOL 9i n Eiiect is a natural and Extinction process. atmospheric shifts alter an ecosystem favoring some forms of life and totally devastating others. mass Throughout history, extinctions have killed thousands of species (think dinosaurs), hut nothing knocks out plant and animal life like us humans. While can't blame Homo his for demise, many large sapiens mammals that once covered Australia, Europe and North America likely can, according to the work of University of Utah researcher Linda Aylifte and her to associates. No other species in the history of the planet has caused a major extinction before, but when humans hit the scene, ecosystems changed and major mammals couldn't compete. In Australia, massive snakes and marsupial lions couldn't hang on once humans arrived 56,000 years T-R- ago. Ayliffc's work, though not the last word on the causes of major extinctions, points the finger at humans, Environmental activists and animal lovers have been screaming about the devastating implications of humans on wildlife for decades. The extinctions outlined by Ayliffc's research focus on large and visible mammals such as the woolly mammoth, but humans have been charged with the extinctions of much smaller life forms as well. Rain forest beetles and small island birds also have become extinct because of human decisions. Ayliffc's research backs up these claims and shows how humans have historically destroyed life on every continent a mere thousand years after they first touched the soil Many of the most visible animals have already become extinct, while dozens more live almost exclusively in zoos and animal sanctuaries. Some people are working to reintroduce animals into their native habitats, an example being bringing wolves back to Yellowstone. These efforts should be applauded. Even more laudable are those who are working to protect those smaller species that don't tug on the heartstrings, like the bugs and plants hidden in the wilderness. While little can be done about the marsupial lion, we can still save the rain forest beetle and stop, or at least lessen, the mass extinction. Unsigned editorials reflect the majority opinion of The Daily Utah Chronicle Editorial Board. Editorial columns and letters to the editor are strictly the opinions of the author. The forum created on the Opinion Page is one based on vlqorous debate, while at the same time demanding tolerance and respect. Materia! defamatory to an Individual or group because of race, ethnic background, qender, appearance or sexual orientation will be edited or wili not be published. LETTER Editor: It would be nice, for once, of you to see how your "Editorial Policy" is respected by yourselves, right above, say, in what you feel pleased to call your far-fam- without a single Prejudging Christina Axson-Flyn- n argument throughout your blessed "View," with no more claims on it than "It's just not that simple" and the dismissal "exactly where this lawsuit belongs and where it belonged a year and a half ago...in the trash can," is not a "View." It's a dereliction of duty, and you are the derelicts. Did you knuckleheads never listen up in Journalese 101 when you had to deliver not only on the "What" but don't know why did it. Afterward, I felt like apologizing to someone. I felt guilty, a little dirty, but most of all, frustrated. In the midst of all the productive and enlightening things I could have done for that half hour, I decided instead to watch the evening news. I'm sorry. It was a couple of weeks ago, and the story that caught my eye was the main thrust of the news cast. To my horror, Brian Mulahy of KUTV was informing me of the worst. Not only were there white supremacists in Utah (Oh my God!) but they were targeting our children (Ahhhhhh!!). It was big news. According to Channel 2 and the other eyewitness sources giving developments of the story, The World Church of the Creator had come to Utah and was holding an "organized" meeting while outlining its plans to expand in the area and hoping to attract young adherents to their plans. Then came the "organized" meeting. Action shots were beamed directly to my TV as the discussed their reluctance to allow pure white blood to mix with dirty brown blood. Protestors had crashed the World Church's meeting and were engaging these I te es was disappointed. Where were the But swastikas? The shaved heads? The mass rallies? The horrible posters and the obnoxious chants? Where were the white supremacists, damn it? At the end of the story, it was reported that the only actual members of The World Church of the Creator in attendance at the meeting were the two twits we saw on TV. The other four maybe fivepeople viewers had caught a glimpse of in the meeting, were protestors. In fact, without the news cameras and the protestors, these guys would have just chilled in a big room and talked about how horrible brown people were but they would have done it alone. Come to think of it, lots of relatively obscure "organizations" probably had meetings scheduled that fine Saturday afternoon. Big Men With Booger Fetishes might have been meeting that particular day across the hall from Bearded Women Who Love Putting Snails on Their Noses. Where was Channel 2 and all of their cameras at those meetings? Oh yeah, I forgot. The World Church of the Creator is targeting ou'r children. Big Men With Booger Fetishes only want our...well you get the point. Behind Mulahy's horrifying words, and behind the images of The World Church of the Creator's mass rally in downtown Salt Lake, there really was no story to be told. At least no I I CHRONICLE OPINION EDITOR Axson-Flynn'- s, Would she say so, or would she put it in different way? Who do you guys represent anyhow? It is clear you do not represent the students, and that you are not independent. You say nothing about the antisocial ostracism and the isolation imposed on inflicted on Axson-Flynher by her department. Maybe that's why you are a bunch of losers looking for a fix. n, DAVID SHAW City, Utah Salt Lake also the "Why?" six. Opinion Editor The "View" you fail to present was by your own, she "accused the faculty of being less relucthan accommodating to her religiously-base- d the Lord's name in and to 'the vain' utter tance "View." proud members of the Aryan race in a veritable debate about freedom and human rights. The camera moved across the room, and one could have reasonably counted five people maybe Chronicle THE EDITOR A Dereliction of Duty Let the R acists SCOTT LEWIS TO SCOTT LEWIS wn Megaphone news segstory one could tell in a ment. The news media and the protesters created exactly what they wanted. The news stations were excited to warn us that someone was threatening our children (as if that somehow made their bigotry that much more appalling), and the protestors were excited to actually two-minu- te God bless America, Glory GJory Hallelujah, blah blah blah. oppose in person some bona fide fascists. Oh yeah. The other people that got what they wanted were the two leaders of the Utah Branch of The World Church of the Creator. Sure, they had the right to meet. They had the right to speak out. They even had the right to use the public library to make asses out of themselves. God bless America, Glory Glory Hallelujah, blah blah blah. While I respect and am even rather proud of the fact that everyone has the right to free speech, I don't understand why Mulahy and the rest of the news cats around town decided to give them a megaphone. Oh yeah, I keep forgetting. The bastards were targeting our children. Maybe a sudden desire to provide free publicity to bizarre organizations suddenly overcame the producers and editors around the val LETTERSCHRONICLE.UTAH.EDU ley. Maybe they felt it was their duty to provide a forum for all to have their views exposed and presented for judgment to the mainstream audience. If so, I bet the dudes over at Big Men With Booger Fetishes would like to do some recruiting of their own. Call Mulahy, guys, see what he thinks. What would have happened if everyone ignored the racists like they do most of the trash that collects in Society's gutters? Although filled to the brim with our own worries and social ills, Salt Lake City is not comparable to Munich after World War I. Although a young Adolf may be able to find a comparable amount of friends in this great state as he did in that German city almost 80 years ago, there is nothing to suggest that the same sort of racist social upheaval has any chance of succeeding here. The-tworganizers would have sat in their in the library and told each other how room big white they thought the other was. At home they would feel good about their whiteness and their pride would boil over into their reading and writing. The next day, I would get another letter to the editor from the U employee who can't seem to persuade me to agree with the thing. Meanwhile, what do the Big Men with Booger Fetishes do to get their message out? Maybe they should target our children it , : seems to work for everyone else. u slewischroni-cle.utah.edScotr welcomes feedback at: or send a letter to the editor to: o Anti-Semit- 581-704- 1 ic |
