Obnoxious protesters sabotage own causes with sticker litter

Amen – your Thursday editorial about the anti-Bush stickers all over campus completely sums it up. I fully agree that people should be able to protest; however, they should do it in a respectful manner. I try to be open to each side on a subject, but the way it is presented to me certainly affects how I view it. If it is just thrown at me, or screamed, (or in this case, stamped everywhere I look) then I tend to just roll my eyes and ignore it, but if it is formally done in a respectful manner, I will definitely take time to stop and read over it, and then form my own opinion on the subject. This idea of just thrusting ideas upon people is a very classless and childish way of getting a point across. It’s too bad that the distributor (in this case The World Can’t Wait, but certainly not the only group that does this) fails to see this and only cares about getting its point across, not about how it may affect the people who see it. Without taking this into account, in the long run it may end up hurting their cause as people just get fed up with the obnoxious ploys groups use to get their attention.

Darin zumBrunnen
pre-education sophomore

Canceling offensive materials with legislation completely idiotic

I would like to congratulate the Arizona state Legislature on its bid to win this year’s “”Biggest Group of Idiots”” award. It’s up against strong competition from some Kansas school boards, but I think it’s got a good solid chance at the win.

Guess what folks: Sometimes the world is offensive. Sometimes the things you have to learn do not mesh with your personal beliefs. When you run into these situations, you have two options. You can objectively analyze the material and in the end know that you’re a more educated person, or you can hide your face and cry because the whole world doesn’t think the same way you do.

The state government wants to make it easy for us to get away from this pesky education thing. So kudos on that. Don’t want to agree that a lot of scientists think that maybe an organism could become more complex over eons of time? You don’t have to! Don’t want to hear about that violent Hamlet guy because murder is a sin? You don’t have to! Not up to algebra today? Just say Arabic numerals offend you! Thanks, Arizona Legislature!

Tyler Coles
computer engineering senior

UAPD tribute to France touching

I would like to exploit this forum for something we don’t do often: express gratitude to the University of Arizona Police Department. In the spirit of reconciliation with our friends in the nation of France, I see the UAPD has chosen to festoon its police cruisers with the flag of that great republic. After the debacle that was the American response to disagreement over the war in Iraq by European nations (e.g. “”freedom fries,”” etc.), it warms my heart to see our public servants showing solidarity with the great sovereign “”republique.”” I’m sure the “”gendarmes”” keeping the streets of the French Republic safe would be delighted to see the UAPD bestowing upon them such an honor. The French Republic honored us with the Statue of Liberty in 1886, and now we have finally repaid that gracious measure in turn. Senators and congressman of our state and federal government should pay heed to this courageous action and follow suit.

We should extend this courtesy to other nations we may have disagreed with in the past. After the generous offer by Hugo Chavez of The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela to provide cheap, affordable energy to America’s poor, wouldn’t it only be polite for us to reciprocate with a small but meaningful gesture? Adopting Chavez’s signature red beret as the official “”headgear”” of the president of the U.S. would draw us closer to many Latin American “”revolutionaries,”” as well as show that we in the U.S. can be revolutionary as well. This same respect could be extended to many other nations we may have been in conflict with in the past (and present). Would it really be that outlandish to require Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert to grow facial hair like Fidel Castro of the Repǧblica de Cuba, or for Condoleezza Rice to wear a hijab? If Vice President Cheney sported a fashionable jogging suit like Kim Jong II, our atomic issues with the Democratic People’s Republic of North Korea would have been solved long ago. These simple and symbolic gestures would raise U.S. international stature in these turbulent times, consisting of seeming global disagreement with U.S. governmental policies. Would the rest of the world really be all that interested in our signing the Kyoto protocols if Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld were to dazzle foreign leaders with poetry and wit while dressed in the flowing robes of the Ayatollah Khomeini (may he rest in peace), spiritual leader of the Islamic revolution of The Islamic Republic of Iran?

Forgive me for engaging in these fanciful reveries, but imagine the joy that the average American would encounter in foreign countries upon locals discovering their place of origin. No longer would an American flag be an object of hatred and disgust in many countries. The UAPD has come forth with a truly heroic gesture and deserves our praise. I for one will give a hearty “”bonjour”” to UAPD officers upon meeting them, followed by either a firm handshake or a kiss on each cheek, depending on their gender and countenance.

Ben Pri-Tal
ecology and evolutionary biology junior

Muslim-Christian comparison misses the point

After reading Joanna Egleston’s letter Thursday (“”‘Piss Christ’ Shows Reaction of Christians to blasphemy””), it reinforced my belief that many Americans do not understand this issue at all. These protests cannot be compared to examples of offensive Christian imagery. It is not the way in which the prophet is portrayed in the cartoons that sparked outrage; it is the fact that he is portrayed at all. There is no such distinction in Christianity, and therefore it is irresponsible to say that they are the same thing. It’s become obvious to me that there are a great many people who cannot see the difference. I can only imagine how insulting it must be for Muslims to be told to lighten up or take a joke. To dismiss their outrage in this way is ignorant and shows a lack of respect for their religion and beliefs.

Nick Hornung
journalism junior