Show Raymond Coffey The Salt Lake Tribune Tuesday January 13 1987 A15 What Happened to Hippies? Now Everyone s an Activist Chicago Tribune Service Within the space of about one hour the other morning the news wires carried four separate stories dealing with what were identified as “activ- ists” They included “anti-aparthe- ac- tivists” an “activist for the homeless” black “activists” and — inevita- - bly I suppose “aging activist” Abbie Hoffman All such folk used to be called in the demonstrators or protesters radicals and outside agitators hippies and yippies draft dodgers and My question is: When in the evolution of the species did the basic pain in the neck become an "activist”? Wait a minute now before you organize the lynching party I know a lot of "activists” are noble soul3 engaged in even nobler causes — fighting against racism and for human rights trying to ban the bomb and save the whales turning smokers into social lepers crusading against the American League’s designated hitter and lights in Wrigley Field home of the Chicago Cubs But the very essence of being an “activist” is — let’s face it — being a pain in the neck to someone else some other group or institution or established order And what fascinates me here is the evolution and and almost astounding proliferation of the spe- cies Take Abbie Hoffman whose latest turn in front of the TV cameras involved a court appearance with Amy Carter the daughter on charges involving their role in some anti-CIdemonstration I came to see a lot of Abbie back in the 1960s when he was a ringleader in the Chicago convention riots and subsequently stood trial as one of the Chicago Seven And I heard him called a lot of things but never an “activist” Now before he ever had a chance to be a “young activist” he is suddenly an “aging activist” Which makes Amy Carter who began her career by advising her father on nuclear weapons policy a “teen-ag- e activist” I guess or maybe an “aspiring activist” or “rookie activist” Anyway after spotting those four news stories the other morning I undertook a little research and found that hardly a day goes by anymore without "activists” turning up all over the lot Did you know for instance that Nichols who plays Lt Uhura on “Star Trek” is so persuasive as a “space activist” that NASA invited her to help recruit women and minority astronauts? We are also witnessing according to a recent news story something of a revival in the careers of such recording artists as Peter Paul and Mary Kenny Rankin (whom I never heard of before) Jennifer Warnes (whom I’ve also never heard of) and Bonnie Raitt And Raitt is quoted as saying "As a political activist I’m really excited that more and more artists are getting involved in things that aren’t getting proper attention” Me too We’ve got plenty of singers le but what we really need I’m sure you agree is more “political activist” singers Which gets us to another point about this emergent species: They seem to come in two varieties There is the general activist typified perhaps by the aging Abbie who can be counted on to turn up for anything from an Abolish-the-CIconclave to a rally so long as there is a TV crew in the neighborhood Then there are it seems the specialist activists who include according to a quick run through recent news clips “right-win- g activists” “human-right- s activists” “community activists” a “North Side political activist” “Polish activists” “Jewish activists” “activists for female prisoners” “welfare activists” a "labor A activist” “environmental activists” gay and lesbian "activists” friends of the parks “activists” and a "Cambridge activist” Don’t ask me what that last one is but I presume it has to do with Cambridge Mass since the lady so identified had something to do with a seminar there on “women war and sexual exploitation” The one trait common to all activists appears to be a strong sense of righteousness which tends to slide The universal into attitude tends to be if you’re not with us you’re against us They might keep in mind it seems to me that if some of us weren’t against some of them they wouldn’t have anything to keep them busy and keep them feeling so good about themselves The Public Forum Tribune Readers’ Opinions The Salt Lake Tribune be balanced not biased toward the left in its edito- Balance Not Bias The Tribune is to be commended for the following: The Dec 28 Common Carrier article by Dr RF Norton of BYU in which Norton supports the administration concerning its Middle East policy especially with respect to Iran shows the deliberate bias of the news media Hold a Bake Sale for the Contras Universal Press Syndicate - WASHINGTON Now that we know what happened to the $10 million contribution the sultan of Brunei made to the Contras I have an idea for a new way to raise money for the Nicaraguan “freedom fighters” What happened to the sultan’s check is that it disappeared That’s what happened to all large donations made to the Contras I call your attention to the $27 million in “humanitarian” aid that was sent in 1985 Half of it vanished What about the $30 million — or maybe it was only $10 million according to Attorney General Edwin Meese — that was skimmed off the profits of the arms sale to Iran? Gone with the wind Nobody has a clue It is obvious that big chunks of dough cannot move through the sticky fingers along the way to the "moral equivalent of the Founding Fathers" who are busy blowing up civilian buses and maiming children with no payday in sight I say let them try a bake sale And I’m talking overt I see Lafayette Park turned into a bazaar for the Contras The proceeds might be less than a million dollars which could mean that they could get it to the jungles and put into the pockets of what Secretary of State George Shultz calls “the democratic resistance” and which the new chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Sen Claiborne Pell D-calls ‘ “our terrorists” see booths set up on the grass with celebrity vendors attracting perhaps not large crowds but lots of - press and bused-i- n representatives of the 35 percent of the American people who are in favor of military aid for the Contras The first booth would be manned by the president He will be selling hermits those delicious cookies full of molasses nuts and rai I lowed with the black bag convinced him that Nicaragua needs it and had him babbling “I’m a Contra too” It’s even more impressive when you know that the sultan is a publicity hound When he opened his 1000-roopalace he had all the world’s glitteries to attract attention And his largesse to the Contras had to be a secret and all he got out of his $10 million was a frantic call from Abrams telling him to get his money back — although there was no way because Lt Col Oliver North keeper of the Swiss bank account where the sultan’s donation was last seen had been fired e Abrams ought to do a business with his manual “Private g Sector in the Third m sins that sweetened many a childhood The very name of his wares would emphasize the president’s re- moteness from the mess Next door I see the concession — manned naturally by Patrick J Buchanan White House communications director and possible presidential candidate Buchanan as we all know was recently in the park calling The Washington Post “the untethered attack dog of the American left” Maybe he could have as a come-o- n a tethered attack dog with a loud constant bark very dog-biscu- it like his own Nearby I put Gen Richard Secord who plays some role that I am not entirely sure of in the affair He is an arms merchant and why not make him a vendor of TOW missiles such as we sold to Iran? His pitch: “Protect your home with a TOW not a Doberman TOW will not leave hairs on your rug whine for Milk Bones or need to be walked” Robert McFarlane has the cakes baked in the shape of keys just like the cake he carried with him to Tehran last May in search of Iranian “moderates” who still have their heads attached to their shoulders The Elliott Abrams booth I see doing the most business Abrams is the assistant secretary of state who got the big hit from the sultan It’s one of the most spectacular strokes in the history of charity The sultan a megabillionaire hates democracy — “we tried it and it didn’t work” he says — but Shultz who went in to soften him up and Abrams who fol land-offic- Fund-Raisin- World” North of course would be on hand He’d be in full uniform presiding over a raffle: “Guess the numbers on the Swiss bank account” Winners would step up to try their skill at a Daniel Ortega dart board George Bush will be there auctioning off a free lunch at the White House mess with his mysterious Contra connection Felix Rodriguez — or maybe it’s Max Gomez Vice Adm John Poindexter is hawking palm cards for possible witnesses at congressional hearings with the Fifth Amendment printed on them for handy reference For music without which no bazaar is complete how about a quartet let’s say Shultz Caspar Weinberger Jeane Kirkpatrick and as lead singer Ed Meese? The selection: The Dec 23 column by Jim Wright concerning "The Media Elite” wherein research shows that the national media cannot stand a military officer such as Lt Col Oliver North who goes to church practices the Puritan ethic and opposes communism e The Dec 22 column by Benoist who writing for our European allies says it is time for liberal and media establishment to end national over the affair He did it with a review of history that most of the media and too many politicians want us to forget The Dec 14 column by TH Gorey on Jack Kemp concerning his media thoughts on the event and as a candidate for president in 1988 Kemp stands head and shoulders above Bush and Dole as a Reagan loyalist and as a man who understands the requirements for the survival and prosperity of the United States Hopefully The Tribune in 1987 will cease the above type of columns and columnists with at least twice as many columns by the likes of Edwin Firmage Mary McGrory Anthony Lewis and Tom Wicker For 1987 let Jean-Mari- Iran-Cont- Iran-Cont- ra ra rial pages DOOLEY P WHEELER JR Forum Rules Public Forum letters must be submitted exclusively to The Tribune and bear writer’s full name signature and address Names must be printed on political letters but may be withheld for good reason on others Writers are limited to one letter every 10 days Preference will be given to short typewritten (double spaced) letters permitting use of the writer’s true name All letters are subject to condensation Mail to the Public Forum The Salt Lake Tribune PO Box 867 Salt Lake City Utah others set us apart from nations that quell and prohibit public dissent Were it not for the persistent rabble-rousin- g on the part of the press dedicated politicians and those ordinary citizens who stay tuned to the times what sort of society would we live in? If and when the day comes that I find something so unjust that I should want to take to the streets to protest it this I will do And I’ll do it to the best of my ability permission granted or not D ALLAN STEED Bountiful Pure Malevolence Recently while attending a Utah Jazz game with my family at the Salt Palace a family member was struck in the head by a piece of ice thrown 84110 by another spectator Though quite capable of doing so in this instance the action did not cause serious injury to its victim Despite the warning that no objects I am writing in response to the Dec should be thrown by spectators dur24 Tribune editorial regarding the ing the game this action was malevoproposed limitations on speech and lently perpetrated with no regard for demonstration rights at the Universianyone else in attendance ty of Utah I have a message for anyone prone to such behavior at sportWhile I do attend the university I’ve never paid much attention to the ing events: If you cannot control your actions stay home I don’t care to Students Against Apartheid movement or the shanties Nonetheless I know the reason why that spectator find the proposed regulations quite did what he or she did because the action is inexcusable I have no desire unacceptable to witness such action again and I Free speech open demonstration have no sympathy for the persons and public solicitation have been and who perpetrate it are integral parts of our dynamic soKENNETH KARL GOURDIN Tooele ciety These rights along with many Free Speech anti-soci- SSQffilU© fiSEftflgKB 0 (kSE®5te (?Gte3IB “Stand by Your Man” How they get the returns to the jungles I don’t know Perhaps with the new l bomber with the dollars dropping from the bomb bays instead of the usual stuff although knowing this crowd they’d probably secretly pack that too and detour over ManaB-- gua 016 Otis Pike X G RTATS H E R S IT© M OR ROW President’s Budget Is a Disaster Newhouse News Service - When the presiWASHINGTON dent gets operated on for an enlarged prostate gland everyone is interested There are intimate drawings showing where the gland is what it does and why there is a problem People study the diagrams and figure out what’s attached to what why it’s important and how it gets fixed When the president gets into trouble for selling arms to Iran everyone goes into a frenzy This is great stutf high drama involving important people r When the president comes up with a budget people’s eyes glaze over Almost nobody looks at the pie charts telling you where the money comes from and where it goes More people could pass a test on where the prostate is than on where the debt is ’ Long after the Iran arms scandal hhs been forgotten the deficits of the Reagan years will be haunting us They are the scandal that time will not heal If the public is too bored to care about it too blind to see it too indifferent to turn out of office the people who have caused it they will deserve the financial debacle they will get What happens when the budget is presented to Congress? A few increasingly faint voices are heard lamenting the size1 of the deficits A great many very loud ones are heard bemoaning the fact that there isn’t more money for pet programs Democrats are as responsible as Republicans for the debacle They have created mental images for so long that they probably believe their own speeches There is the image of old poor people There certainly are old poor people and they must be taken care of but there is nothing in the Constitution that requires that old rich people get raises every year That however is what entitlement programs like Social Security military retirement and federal employees retirement give to rich and poor alike The Democrats raised so much furor when President Reagan tried to address this issue early in his administration that they scared him It is now deemed politically obligatory to say that Social Security benefits and other entitlement programs will not even be looked at and a government that is broke blindly passes out more money to everyone rich or poor The Republicans scared the Democrats to death when Walter Mondale said he was going to raise taxes thereby carrying Minnesota and nothing else When a business goes bankrupt the thing it sells are its physical as- last sets the machine tools and the raw materials and the typewriters and the cash register The president’s budget starts this dismal process Rather than raising taxes he would sell the oil we have in the ground at Elk Hills He would sell the government-owned railroad The Democrats protest but much louder than their protestations they scream that he would cut too much money out of agricultural price supports and education and that making Medicaid patients pay more for their medical care is cruel and inhumane The trillion dollar budget is full of optimistic assumptions and predictions about interest rates and the rate of growth By selling off capital assets and making rosy assumptions it comes in just barely under the Gramm-Rudma- n limit of a $108 billion 0Q©Oj00O0 (ED (SdagpEP (fiSEEIB laiiFlli deficit Democrats will nibble a little bit at the amount provided for defense but don’t think all those newly elected Democratic senators from the farm belt are going to hold still for the president’s proposed cuts in agricultural price supports The president’s budget is a disaster The Democrats will diddle with it a very little allege that they have vastly improved it and produce a disaster of their own Anyone who thinks that the budget is a bore could be sleeping with a bomb td (ifrffPm’ilfavminQ S33B ffitmjnfitEiD QflJB feMamGlkBHBl? 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