1986_03 The Daily Collegian March 1986

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Page 4  The Daily Collegian
OPINION    March 10,1986
March 10,1986 OPINION
Stuggles of Nicaraguanstold
A Closer Look
The Daily Collegian   Page 5
STEVE BSUHN
What may prove to be one of the most
important decisions in Nicaraguan history
is scheduled to be made in a couple of
weeks, but this decision is not going to be
e by t>
.t by o
Congress.
The issue is Reagan's request for $100
aid to the Contras, a band of several thou¬
sand mercenaries that are fighting the
Nicaraguan government on behalf of the
United States The Contras , remnants of
the hated Nicaraguan National Guard,
have absolutely no chance of winning, and
continued U.S. support for these terror¬
ists can only mean more pain and suffer¬
ing for the very people we should be sup-
But to the Reagan administration, where
make-believe and  self-deception are a
brave group of "freedom fighters" deter-
This claim could hardly be further from
tragic results; the second will examine the
changes brought about  by a successful
establishment of the American Empire
the  post  World   War   II  competiti
America supposedly had to dominate i
expansion that began before the Ameri¬
can revolution was even finished. The
Nicaraguan people may understand this
While large numbers of native Ameri¬
can Indians were being tricked out of. or
simply robbed  of, their land after the
began to look outward. The Monroe Doc¬
trine was issued shortly after Mexico and
Central America became independant
from Spain. This was America's way of
declaring a "closed door policy" for the
Western hemisphere — in other words,
the Western hemisphere was declared
"ours." The U.S. soon began preparing to
grab half of Mexico as Central America
elites were fjghting among themselves.
Some of the powerful Nicaraguan fami¬
lies began hiring mercenaries from the
U.S. to fight over parts of the country.
One such mercenary from Tennessee, Wil¬
liam Walker, turned on his bossand, with
implied support from Washington, de¬
clared himself president of Nicaragua in
1856. Walker was interested in reestab-
ery in Central
king a
it of
long A period of
lowed as the large Nicaraguan families
drove away and killed the indigenous
people, set up large coffee plantations,
and  established  close  tics  with  North
instrumental in preventing it, unless, of
course, one wishes to define freedom as
the "freedom to rob."
An American general, Smedley D.
Butler, wrote in 1935, "! spent 33 years
and four months in active service as a
member of the...Marine Corps... And
during that period I spent most of my time
being a high-class muscle man for Big
Business...! helped purify Nicaragua for
the international banking house of Brown
Brothers in 1909 to 1912." The "interna¬
tional communist conspiracy" had not
been invented yet, so the Marines had to
save Nicaragua from the Germans and the
British.
A rebel leader named Augusto Ceasar
Sandino became a well-known hero for
his fight against the Marines. Sandino saw
his country being raped and resented
American economic dominance and polit¬
ical interference. Sandino and his follow¬
ers were determined to defend Nicaraguan
sovereignty, and the Marines were unable
to defeat him after five years of fighting
The Marines were pulled out >n 1933. only
after training and arming what  wj; tc
under the leadership of Am
oza Garcia.
paid manager and the Guardia his per¬
sonal bodyguards and hit squad.
Between 1949and 1964 the U.S. trained
at least 3,000 military officers for the
Guardia, which had earned its reputation
as one of the world's most human rights
violators. Somoza's son, Anastasio Som-
oza Debayle. a West Point graduate,
became president and followed in his
father's footsteps, building the family for¬
tune as the Guardia tortured, murdered,
and terrorized the population into sub-
e I970's
r-fctar.
gu;
t-World War II politic.
BLOOM COUNTY
:oncerned with protecting I
crests and obtaining rights to build an
nteroceanic canal In other words, Amer-
can investments had to be protected in
imes of political instability caused by all
he robbery that was taking place, and the
lemisphere had to be protected from for¬
eign "aggression" (European econorrtic
:ompetition).
The U.S. Marines were sent to Nicara-
1893, 1895, 1896. 1898, 1909 and
id thev occupied the country from
i 1933 These interventions and
is had nothing to do with further-
;ause of freedom and in fact were
by B*MJM Breathed
;ing run by robber
ic people who had
off th
ild
profit.
Somoza met with Sandino and ihen
had him murdered. Under his director¬
ship. Somoza had his U.S.-trained Guar¬
dia massacre many of Sandino's followers
and he made himslef president in 1937.
The Somoza family ran the country as if ii
were their personal property for 43 years.
The Somoza's were kept in power by
the Guardia's terroism and the total sup¬
port he received from the United States.
Many observers considered Nicaragua a
U.S. colony, with Somoza as its hizhlv-
the world's poore..  	
oza's family wealth had been estimated at
about $900 million. The family owned at
least 135 businesses and 20 percent of the
land.
While the Somoza family and Ameri¬
can multinational corporations robbed
and exploited ihe Nicaraguan people until
they successfully rebelled in 1979, most
Americans hadn't heard much about what
was going on, or didn't care, and the
media were not interested. Living condi¬
tions for the overwhelming majority of
Nicaraguans were absolutely intolerable.
After international aid poured into
Nicaragua   following  an  earthquake  in
aid and began to sell Ihe supplies. This was
loo much: even some of the more well-off
Nicaraguans moved away from the dicta¬
torship, and this triggered a chain of
events that eventually led to Somoza's
overthrow in 1979.
The Sandinista Front for National Lib¬
eration (FSLN) was named after Sandino
and had been organizing in the rural areas
since the early 1960s. The Guardia tried to
exterminate the FSLN, and American
presidents unanimously supported (even
cheered) mass slaughter as the Guardia
operated on the peasant population with
impunity. Even Jimmy Carter supported
Somoza until almost the very end.
In July 1979 the FSLN marched into
applai
>c of tr
University Lecture Series Presents
FAIRY TALE
OF THE
FROG PRINCE
Through humor and storytelling,Dr.
Janet Lapp explodes myths about women and men.
An associate professor jn the CSUF
psychology department, she has been known
over the years for her many appearances on Valley
T.V.
Tuesday, March 11
12 o'clock noon
CSUF Upstairs Cafeteria Room 200
| No Charge for Admission
j Funded in part by the Associated Students, College Union, and Academic Affairs
%%X%%%XXXX%X%XX%%XXXXS%*X##t]
Pat's Fest coming
Saint Patrick's
The ceili is kicking off Friday, March 14
know how lo dance Irish (or maybe you're
a wee bit rusty), there will be free Irish
dancing lessons lo live fiddling earlier in
the evening at 5:00. Clogs are optional.
Besides the regular Irish menu buffet at
S6 and ihe bar, there will be food stands
selling ethnic favorites such as sodabread
forget the ordinary bars'pitiful attempts
at St. Patrick's Day frolics with their
green-tinted beer and Wet Green T-Shirt
Contests and the like No one celebrates
the good saint's day better than the Irish
and Finn McCoul's Irish Pub in down¬
town Fresno intends to celebrate it with
four, count 'em, four, days of feasting,
dancing and storytelling.
Owner Francis Donohue has decided to
go the whole hairy hog. He is bringmg in
nationally and internationally famous per¬
formers to local favorites. There will be
Celtic pipers, fiddlers, harpists, dancers
Most of tr
of thee
Banquet Hall, and the adjacent 25.000 sq.
foot courtyard. Obviously, Finn McCoul's
is expecting a huge crowd. The cover
charge is $4, but if you'd like to come
every day of the fest (and also avoid stand-
For more information on buying the
four-day pass (which can be purchased in
advance until Friday) and the daily sche¬
dule of entertainment, call 485-FINN.
Doubtless, there will be plenty of Irish-
style entertainment offered around Fresno
as the big day approaches. There's talk
about a St. Patrick's Day parade in down¬
town Fresno this Saturday but not too
If vou manage to get downtown, you
might like to check out old St. John's
Cathedral on Mariposa. Tip-toe discreetly
in and look for the big, splendid stained
glass window with the storybook depic-
t   of  the   Emi
hild, i
will be
I   Isle.  (The
nated at this portrait when she should
have had her atteniion on More Impor¬
tant Things — mea culpa, padre.)
Hope you all have fun, but please
remember unless you want to meet the
saint in person, don't overdo drinkin"
healths to St. Paddy.	
Argument to ban guns not always practical
To the Point
LEROYBARNETT
"Guns dont kill people, people kill
people.-
That statement is just one of many slo¬
gans that are often bandied about by pro-
gun advocates when they attempt to argue
in favor of the "right of the people to keep'
and bear arms."
But oftentimes, in a heated discussion
about the merits of private ownership of
handguns and long guns, the legitimate
contentions jnade by the gun fraternity
People c
And thev deliver tl
much punch as a ,375 Holland and
Holland,
One of the major arguments offered by
anti-gun groups u), "Banning handguns
must work, because England does, and
look at its crime.rate!"
A 1971 study at England Cambridge
University rips that widely believed non
scquitur by concluding that social and cul¬
tural factors (not gun control) account for
Britain's low violence rates. It points out
that "the use of firearms in crimes was
very much less" before 1920 when Britain
had "no controls of any sort."
The Cambridge study — the only in-
depth study ever done of English gun laws
— recommended "abolishing or substan¬
tially reducing control" because their
administration involves an immense, un-'
productive expense and diverts police
s from programs (hat might reduce
It is true that England only has 1.1 hom¬
icides per 100,000 people. But it is also
true that Switzerland, which requires
people to keep a machine gun in their
homes, has only0.9 homicides per I00300
It is difficult to see how those who
befieve that the United States should
adopt England's policy can resist the
equally simple-minded pro-gun argument
that gun possession deters crime; "Eve¬
rybody ought to have a machine gun in his
house because the Swiss and Israelis do.
and look how low their crime rates are."
. Using the rationale that a certain policy
works in another country so it will work in
the Unitad Stales, is a fallacy. A law that
was bred out of another country and
anothersociety will not work in the United
States.
Our founding fathers were not perfect,
nor were they infallible, but attaching the
Bill of Rights to the rest of the U.S. Con¬
stitution was a smart idea. In the Bill of
Rights, the Second Amendment guaran¬
tees "the right of the people to keep and
bear arms shall not be infringed."
To say that the United States should
Simple minds abound in decision
Sure, this writer didn't really want to miss Air Guitar that much
Lip
adopt Britain's policy towaxcU firearms
mikes about as much sense as saying
Americans should all eat raw fish because
they do in Japan or Americans should
drink more tea because they do in China.
It makes more sense for each country to
look at the accepted practice* in its society
and then adootjiw* tk.r fit those customs.
Not considering all the factors within a
country, thai may make up a certain trait
that is indigenous in that country, is
foolish.
There are other factors that also con¬
tribute to England's low crime rate. Eng¬
land has an 83.5 percent homicide convic¬
tion rate; an 87.9 percent robbery con¬
viction rate; and 100 percent life sentences
In the United States, however, 20aduHs
and five juveniles are sent to jail for every
The use and ownership of firearms is
embedded in the American culture and to
deny that is to deny a country's heritage.
JANELLE SCHNEIDER
It helped our reputation within the roi
world, too. Let there be no mistake
anyone's mind (especially promoters) th
we here at CSUF want the best, that v
are definitely on the cutting edge of wha
happening in the music world, the cntc
tainment world, the world in general.
Vintage Days Committee for depriving
me of the chance to enjoy Simple Minds at
this year's Vintage Days celebration.
How unspeakably wise, how perceptive
of you to decide that what 1 realty v/am to
see is "Air Guitar!" Gosh, if you hadn't
told me,  1  probably would have gone
great concert by one of my favorite bands.
Instead, now that IVe seen the light, I
realize that nothing Would thrill me more
than watching a bunch of inebriated fra¬
ternity guys dress up in costumes resem¬
bling Alice Bowie and prance around the
amphitheater stage to the soundtrack of
"TV. Bloops, Bleepers and Practical Jokes."
"Let there be no mistake
in anyone's mind that we
here at CSUF want the
best."
—Schneider
tage Days Committee's first choice. Un¬
fortunately, Don had made a previous
commitment to do a "Passe Lounge Sin¬
gers" benefit with Bobby Volare.)
I suppose Simple Minds learned their
lesson, too. Since they were denied the
forum of the CSUF amphitheater, they
had to retaliate by scheduling a show at
Selland Arena, instead. TheyTl probably
only sell a few thousand tickets, and I
wouldn't be surprised if "Air Guitar"
really put up some stiff competition.
Jim Kerrand company might I
surprise.
.1 the ti
n of e<
ofthetx
trims
yet witnessed in Fresno, much 1
own humble university.
Listen, Jim, I'm sure it wasn't personal;
just another shiningexample of the insight¬
ful decisions made by our student repre¬
sentatives, fighting to maintain CSUF's
hard-won reputation as a second-rale
university.
See you at Selland Arena.
And  so, The  Killer  has spoken here
Arrogant. Volatile. Self-absorbed.
Spontaneous. And, yes, zealously talented.
YouVe heard the rumors, and the rumors
are true. Jerry Lee Lewis is all of the above
and probably more, but the aforementi¬
oned was all he had time to prove during
his performance in the William Saroyan
Theater Friday night.
Considering his wild reputation, the
Killer drew what appeared lo be a docile
crowd. How often do families attend con¬
certs together? But there were some row¬
dies among the ranks, just waiting for an
opportunity to be obnoxious. They would
not be denied their chance.
Ten minutes after his band began play¬
ing, the Killer was not to be seen or heard
from. Booing and shouts of "Je-ry-Lee"
sounded through the hall, but the hecklers
weren't even able to ruffle the veteran
ensemble's guitar strings.
"The Killer will be with you in a min¬
ute," reassured guitarist Kenny Lovelace,
who has accompanied Lewis for 20 years.
During that time, the man has undoubt¬
edly seen worse than anything middle-
aged Fresno could dish out.
The Killer strode on stage after a crow d-
pacifying set of Carl Perkins cover tunes
and immediately began to live up to his
self-created image.
Wearing an elaborate black leather
jacket and designer jeans, the Killer gave
t he beat-up baby grand piano a solid work
out. His recent abdominal surgerv seemed
not to affect him; the only signs of ill
health being a pasty complexion and
glassy eyes.-
But his demeanor, self control and key¬
board expertise lasted only a moment.
Monitor problems plagued him through¬
out the first number, and Lewis relaxed
only after chewing out the band and the
Pounding the piano with the palms and
sides of his hands, the heels of his boots as
well as his fanny, the Killer cranked out a
relentless set of his own brand of honky-
tonk rock 'n roll blues.
He had just kicked off an ad-lib version
of Elvis Presley's "Dont Be Cruel." when
his equipment started acting up again.
Looking back stage. Lewis yelled.
"Where'd you gel this stuff — Sears and
Roebuck?"
"You can't play rock 'n
roll unless you can hear
what you're doing."
After knocking off several Southern
rock tunes, the Killer slammed the key¬
board cover down several times, creating
a cloud of dust and much hooting and
hollering from the spectators.
With a suspicious fox trot tempo he
plinked out a familiar tune, which grew to
be the long awaited "Great Balls of Fire."
"Good Golly. Miss Molly" and "Whole
Lot of Shakin'Goin' On" followed, much
to the delight of the howling crowd.
Nearing the end of the hour-plus con¬
cert, Lewis flipped the piano bench in the
air, grabbed the microphone and panted.
"It pays to be very simple, very unique and
very...good."
' As the Killer-left the stage, Lovelace
finished off, saying, "God bless you Fresno.
The Killer has spoken."
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Predictably, he was answered with
"Great Balls of Fire."
"You can't play rock 'n roll unless you
can hear what you're doing," he replied,
pushing the troublesome
)Ot.
Then as if to spite the rock-hungry
played "Somewhere over the
Rainbow."     '     ,.
Ayqilpfr.e
Kennolgn Camps
will be on Campus
Tuesday, March llth I
recruiting for
SUMMER STAFF
See Placement Office
for further information. J
Neifafan evening job 12-
16 nours a week? If you
can type 50 wpm accu¬
rately The Daily Collegian
will train you as a type¬
setter. Call Eric or Maria
at 294-2486, after 3:00
p.m,
_y-Al