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TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2011

PERSPECTIVE EDITOR: Philip Case - 815.753.9643

PERSPECTIVE
www.northernstar.info

LETTER TO THE EDITOR | Your Voice

Anti-environmentalism is an indefensible position

of snow on the Midwest, but they would be confusing weather with climate. And contrary to popular belief, there is not fervent debate about the existence of global climate change among scientists. NATHAN FULKERSON Scienti cally, we have moved COLUMNIST beyond doubting whether warming is happening, said Loubere. We only have one Earth, one litIt is now a matter of what will tle habitable chunk of rock careenhappen and when. ing through space. Let us assume for a moment that It is hardly a controversial global warming is not happening, claim to make and, barring sevor at least not as dramatically as eral groundbreaking scientic adis currently thought. If that were vancements, this little rock will the case, could anyone still argue have to do for some time yet. that massive deforestation, kickSome people have not gured ing up soot and pollutants into the that out. Certainly not those in air, and dumping toxic waste into Congress, who last week proposed our lake water is a good idea? a draft of legislation to strip the I nd such a position hard to deEnvironmental Protection Agency fend from a rational standpoint, of its authority to regulate greenFrank Simek | Northern Star other than nding a better soluhouse gases, which they think is a tion is hard. But then I thought power best left to Congress. This estimation comes from the Aesop was doing the right Giving environmental regulation the big elephant in the room bethe Intergovernmental Panel thing is rarely easy. powers to politicians in the pock- tween us all: climate change. According to Paul Loubere, on Climate Change, which pubWe can either agree to put ets of oil company lobbyists is bad enough, but the reasoning behind professor of geology and en- lished its most recent collection aside our loyalties and biases vironmental geosciences, last of ndings in 2007. long enough to agree that prothe bill is worse. And yet there is a prevailing tecting the earth is important EPA regulations, according to the year was the hottest on record, attitude that climate change re- for everyone, or we can accept proponents of the legislation, will with 2005 in second. Once climate reaches a 2 de- ally is not a big deal, is over- the consequences of failing to kill jobs and reduce competition. Heres an idea: allocate more mon- gree increase, we may begin to exaggerated or, worse yet, is a do anything when we are bakey to alternative energy research see irreversible damage, said hoax perpetuated by a cabal of ing inside our own skins. Loubere. Right now, we are at tree-hugging scientists. That, or we can hope for some and create more jobs instead. Detractors might point at the shuttles to take us to another But this column is not just 0.7; we are almost halfway there. about combative politicians. By the end of the century, we massive blizzard that recent- rock. I hear Mars is lovely this ly dumped more than 20 inches time of year. This is about you, and me, and could pass the threshold.

Black History Month is a time for unity, not divisive discourse

February is Black History Month, so it is tting to read a letter to the editor regarding the newly appointed president pro tempore of the Senate and a letter she wrote herself many years ago regarding racial tension in her dorm. In her letter, she asked for students to understand the struggle of the black community, among other things. This is an honest request because for many of us, its hard to imagine that many of our fellow Huskies return home to a world far different from our own. Most of us are unfazed by the constant reports of violence within the inner city, but to some of our students its not a news bite, but rather their reality. As we begin this month dedicated to our black brothers and sisters, let us take a moment to pause and re ect on those who have given up so much. There are countless examples of people who didnt allow the color of their skin to keep them from reaching their God-given talents. Our young nation has many blemishes where minorities were treated as such, these moments in time seemingly unimaginable to most of us today. Let us unite, ensuring that we learn from past generations mistakes. I encourage the NIU community to take an active role in trying to understand those who dont share our same backgrounds and racial makeups. Black History Month is a point on the calendar to remember the plight of the black community, but every day should be used to celebrate what makes us unique and special. We have a powerful reminder of how far we have come in that the same White House that was built by slaves is now inhabited by a black family. That said, we still have a long way to go to achieve the goal of a truly colorblind society. Not one where we forget our heritage, but one in which we dont judge people by how they look. In the end, its up to our generation to leave this world better than we found it. Austin M. D. Quick senior political science major SA Senator

Racial jokes may do more harm than good

tled Judge Rules White Girl Will Be Tried as Black Adult by satirical news website The Onion was hilarious to me. One thing that made me even more comfortable with it was the fact that The Onion made no attempt TAUREAN SMALL to desensitize the segment. COLUMNIST What stood out the most, howWhen it comes to comedy, I was ever, was the ambient acting by always the rst person to laugh at the extras in each scene. Like when the defendant (a white the distasteful jokes. Not because theyre funny all teenage female who was just conthe time, but because I felt the victed as an adult black male) was need to break the ice. Im sure leaving the court, a white juror you can imagine how hard it is immediately clutched her purse to entertain a crowd of people in fear of it being stolen. As amusing as that was, I can who think youre a racist. But as I got older I felt less recall many occasions where the obligated. In fact, I wondered same thing has happened to me. if being an icebreaker did more At that point (after I nished laughing of course), I asked myharm than good. I always felt pressured by politi- self, Does racial humor enforce cal correctness, but also felt a need stereotypes? and, ultimately, Is enforcing stereotypes through for it after personal experiences. For example, a mock story ti- humor a good thing? In his study for the Journal of Communication titled Naturalizing Racial Differences Through Comedy: Asian, Black, and White Views on Racial Stereotypes in Rush Hour 2, Ji Hoon Park, assistant professor of communication at Hope College, writes, Racial stereotypes in comedy are problematic precisely because they help validate racial differences through humor, thus rendering them natural and unchallengeable. Park later explained how comedy is considered inoffensive because, as one of the participants in his study said, Its not as offensive when you know its supposed to be funny. Like Parks study, I found myself taking the jokes in the video by The Onion lightly because I know they are all in good humor. Whats more concerning is the societys conservative interactions after the jokes are over. Cant we translate the level of comfort we experience in comedy in everyday life? Park argues no, for the effect of racial humor only serves as an identier of social labels rather than an abolisher. In other words, participants active viewing and pleasure were based on the self-validation of racial characteristics rather than on the subversion of stereotypes, Park said. Race is a touchy subject. Avoiding it altogether is usually the smartest idea. But where does that leave us? Separated? Misunderstood? At the risk of sounding even more clich and sappy, I must say this: although we have different frames of references, we share the same planet. Therefore, eliminating political correctness probably will not make every race comfortable, but its a start to universal understanding.

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Taken from the UWIRE

When marginalized people lament the lack of diversity on the big screen, a common, though patronizing, retort is they need not seek validation from the entertainment industry. Hollywood is about as quintessentially American as football. It is a staple of our culture and if people of color are not represented, they might as well not exist. Although some might have been hopeful after the Academy Awards last year when MoNique took home the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for her role in Precious and Kathryn Bigelow became the rst woman to win Best Director for the The Hurt Locker, others were rightfully trepidatious. While it was exciting to see MoNique recognized, one must wonder why it took such a dark role for her to earn the accolade. --Eva Mckend, The Phoenix, Swarthmore College