I bene?ciaries of discrimination, . Friday. Februaryz. 1990 H. . 5,5 . a r; "cumin?, 7; . i . Opinions - Affirmative action does not make up for past injustice By Keith E. Hakim Conservatives may have a point con- cerning af?rmative action Why should marginally quali?ed white college students and blue-collar workers shoulder over 400 years of white supremacy alone? Haven't all thtes? ?espccially the wealthy ones bene?ted from white skin-color privilege? Lets face it liberal social programs. including but not limited to af?rmative action foist the burden of brutal white savagery on the most marginally quali?ed whites, __usually students or the .white working class. The liberal social programs haven?t been all roses for blacks either. These programs have made black bene?ciaries feel as though their white persecutors, who have dealt them nothing but death and humilia- tion. are giving them something for notha ing. Black students already plagued with self-doubt wonder whether they?re really quali?ed. Worst of all. blacks face the charge that like whites they are reverse discrimination. that is. It?s absurd as if ?brothers and sisters getting into college under af?rmative action amounts to 250 years of slavery. 90 years of Jim Crow and 25 years of neodirn Crow. The liberal social experiment actually represents a sneaky reparations program without whites ever having to admit their collective misdeeds. It adds insult to injury to project the culprit as the benefactor. Since no one but the WASP elite really appreciates af?rmative action. I have a challenge for all fair?mindcd middle- and working-class white people: I will urge black people to abandon whitcdominatcd. integration-oriented. giveaway programs. if you urge white people to justly compen- sate black people for 250 years of slavery. 90 years of tow and years of non- lim Crow. Ihc settlement could be a straight cash transfer for all the black exploitation. his means just compensation for all the labor hours put in by the slaves and just compensation for all the intellectual and artistic property ripped off by all the Elvis and Pat Boones. it means com- pensation for all the money ripped off through sharecropping and just compensa- tion owing to all the black athletes of yesterday, such as Jack Jefferson and Joe Louis. It means back payment of the ?black tax,? which is the price bike that ghetto merchants and pawnbrokers charge black consumers. This settlement would include compenv sation for the loss of society blacks suffered when they were stolen from their homes in Africa. It would also include loss-of-society compensation for family members who were separated from each other when the slavemasters sold them separately to in- crease his pro?t. The settlement would tnclude compensation for pain and suffer- Ing for the mothers. fathers. husbands. wwes. sons and daughters of those blacks who were at the hands of the white mob. The settlement would include com? pensation for the pain and suffering of those who endured the Middle Passage and those who did not. It?s estimated that at least .50 milliOn Africans died on the trip between Africa and North America. Of course; the set? tlement Would interest and could not be taxed without consent. Punitive damages would be assessed against the descendants of slaveholders. Ku Kluxcrs. slumlords, redliners and all parties who caused blackg melt to die in wars to advance US. interests. Black people would not accept money obtained through the exploitation of other oppressed nationalities. Whites would have to tax themselves. or. as usual. borrow from the Japanese. Hopefully. this tax scheme could be severely progressive. Hopefully. poor whites and whites who fought .white? supremacy would pay the least. but. of course. this wouldn?t be my concern. Finally. would have the optiomof choosing their own land base or remaining in the United States. Since black people toiled most diligently in the southeastern section of the United States. this land. quite naturally. would be most suitable. That means Arkansas. Alabama. Georgia. Louisiana and Mississippi. Blacks. of course. would not be compelled to move to the black state. and. of course. peaceful whites would not be compelled to mom away This is a bargain, Whites would be relieved of the burdens of blackiaccd but white-dominated social programs, Blacks would employ themselves. teach their own children the truth and control their own neighborhoods. Black-white interaction would be voluntary instead of compelled. No more busing. no more affirmative action and. best of all. no more white guilt. White people could righteously say they have settled their debts with blacks Urban blacks long alienated from society by poverty forced segregation and media-vili?cation. would no longer strike fear In whites Think of it. whites could reclaim their cities without dispossessing anyone. Now the liberals may oppose this repa- rations program because. of course. they justify their existence by championing so- called lost causes. Others also have a material interest in black exploitation. Urban renewal money might completely dry up. the social work industry might collapse and agri-businessesAtho pro?ts from the food stamp programs might suffer losses. Also. the prison industry and ther police apparatus might be scaled back. The mass exodus of black soldiers from the US. military might also cause some short term problems. Weapons contractors would have fewer uniforms. boots. meals and ri?es to supply. But this would represent only a short setback. because America still benefits from the exploitation of many. lf'wou don't accept my challenge. [est assured that continue to be. at the very best. bumpy. White jubilation over freedom and democ- racy in Eastern Europe will continue to illustrate white American hypocrisy in black eyes, can; black-white relations will Keith Hakim is a third?year law student. Arlan Stangeland A stange man in a stange situation THE. ngeon BY JOHNNY HAZARD I?m in the mood to make fun of Arlan Stangeland, but ?rst I plain who he is. Hes the congressional rep- resentative from northwestern Minne- should probably ex-' We shouldn?t assume all private male- fcmale communication is of a sexual nature. even if it was 34l phone calls. I don?t even assume that or care if Gary Hart had an affair with the woman with whom he was ?implicated.? But there?s a level of hypocrisy to consider here: Arlan Stangeland isn?t exact- ly a crusader for sexual freedom. much less birth control. much less sex education And an opponent of government spending shouldn't be using federal money the same money he would deny to a poor woman wanting an abortion to subsi- dize his social life. A more serious ghost from Stangeland?s past emerged last Friday. Three years ago. pan): to hurry up unless he wanted public- llV?. Again. an clement of hypocrisy creeps in. Stangeland is an opponent of national health insurance. What would he suggest his victims do if they didn?t have insurA ance and were turned away from an ?Arlan Stangeland isn?t exactly a crusader for sexual 'pcc editions (on page three). and left out any reference to the victims? injuries. The Star Tribune didn?t cover It at all. If this had been a black politician. especially one from Minnesota. the story would have been splashed across page one. Rumors about alcohol and drug con- sumption would also have been included in a story about a black politician. Resi- dents of Stangeland?s district sat they frequently see him drunk in area bars he even introduces himself and shakes hands with constituents in this condition. He doesn?t have a chauffeur or a KQ desig- nated driver. And since he probably doesn?t walk home to Moorh?ead from bars in St. Cloud or Detroit Lakes. it?s logical to Cr. if ohm-a