Page 6 A Little Lesson b Geor_e Hie:ei The Collegian Alexander the, Great (356323 8.C.): King of Macedonia and one of the foremost conquerors the world has ever known. A supreme commander in the art of war, he was noted for his genius of military strategy and his speed for traveling great distances to defeat his enemies. Ultimately, his conquests spanned most of the Eastern world. There is one other thing I'd like you to know about Alexander. He was bisexual. "If you take the word homosexual out of their argument and put' the word woman or black in its place, you can notice an ugly trend." Eugene, Prince of Savoy (1663-1736): Austrian general and the most talented military man of his day. The most notable feat of Eugene's illustrious career was his cunning leadership in the War of Spanish Succession as a No compromise, no sell b Tarsha L. Proctor The Collegian It's 1992 and interracial dating is bigger than ever at Behrend College. There is a great percentage of African-American men at Behrend who would rather go out with a Caucasian woman than a sistah. I've been told, "We must stick together; there's 9. nly a few of us here," protests an African-American student who had physical contact with a Caucasian woman. "We need to stick together, yet he has to go to a white woman to find companionship. What's wrong my brother? Are you trying to say the sistahs aren't good enough for you?" My problem.with this brother, and I use the word "brother" lightly, is that he's telling me that we need la suck together, yet he has to go to a white woman to find companionship. What's wrong my brother? Are you trying to say the sistahs aren't good enough for you? If it's blond hair and blue eyes you want, inquire within. There are sistahs with blonde hair and blue eyes. if that is what you want. member of the Grand Alliance. He, along with the English commander Duke of Marlbough. spearheaded one victory after another against the French army. Eugene was, without doubt, a brilliant leader of men in times of war. He was also a homosexual. Frederick the Great (1712- '786): Esteemed Prussian general and king of Prussia for twenty six years. The height of his military prowess was illustrated during, the Seven Years War. Aided only by financial assistance from England, Frederick's troops - took on the armies of Russia, Sweden, France, Saxony, and Austria. As king, he increased both the competence and the size of the Prussian fighting forces. He made sure there was strict discipline throughout the ranks. He also penned books on the. art of warfare for his generals. Frederick, by the way, was also a homosexual. Are you asking yourself what IS the relevance of pointing out these three noteworthy men of military history? I will tell you. Presently, our soon to be President Bill Clinton has been taking a lot of flack for his vow to lift thin ban on allowing Despite the fact that most of the black men on campus are pursuing relationships with Caucasian women, there are a few brothers that have a different outlook on the situation. • "It doesn't bother me that my friends date white women. I just wouldn't do it," said one brother quite frankly. He goes on to say, "Besides, if I can't walk around the block with her, then I crazy can't have her! That's just the way it is where I'm from." Such comments are shared. It's put more abruptly by another brother who said, "It seems like when brothers get high up, such as Behrend brothers, they have to accentuate their success with a blind white b--@*!!!" YSB (the magazine for young sisters and brothers), took a poll in the November 1992 issue on interracial dating. The responses were overwhelming. One sistah said, "When I'm walking down the street and I see a black guy with a white woman, I get upset- I get very upset.l ger real offended because I feel that they are taking one of my own." Another says, "...I think that black men don't think black women are good enough." Jungle Fever, the black man's obsession with a white woman, has been expressed more than enough at Behrend. There is no doubt that this whole concept of Jungle Fever is very controversial and has left some people angered and very Opinion ......................:.....---4..,.......1.i,,,,y , ,,2!,,i,,:,!.!.11!,!.!,:iii.!,:,!11iy!,1! ~..:....:.....,....,...... ..,..... „...........,.........„......„.„:„..........„,......,,,,„....,....., 111 ........-Histery ~.........H..:...........................................:......:::::.....„...•„„„..,,,....,„: ..... ....... ........ ,...„..„„..„.......„„....„..„:„„.....„.......,„,...., ... ~...........„....................... .... homosexuals in the military. Generals, people on. Capitol Hill, and others have all worked themselves into a mad dog rage over Clinton's proposal. ' The nation's military leadership says that letting homosexuals will kill morale and discipline. They also threaten that it will bring about wholesale resignations. One of the most outspoken critics of the b; homy d- has been General Cohn Powell, the head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Seeing as General Powell has risen to a p•osition no other black person has held before hint, LfAnd WI ignorant attitude disturbed. However, there are others who choose to take a quite different stand on the issue. Coordinator of residential life, Jacquie Wade commented by saying, "I like to think of it in terms of intercultural instead of interracial. Interracial puts the focus back on the people's race instead of on their culture's, and what those two cultures bring to a race." That point is valid, but culture refers to the lifestyle in which you have lived and what you obtain through your race. How can a black person not focus on their race? Senior Angela Johnson evaluates the issue by toward -homosexuals especially disappointing. Why am i coming down so hard on General Powell? Because, as a black man, he should understand the injustice of being a victim ofprejudice in the military. You see, around forty five years ago black soldiers were in much the same kind of situation homosexuals find themselves in today. Black soldiers were thought of as inferior and were kept apart from white soldiers, But Harry Truman, who absorbed as much heat then, as Clinton is now, had the guts to end the long running separation of blacks and .whites in the military. Mack soldiers have more than proven their worth in battle since then. Worth they should never have had to prove. I've listened to and read the words of those who speak out against allowing homosexuals in the military. And to my somewhat logical mind, there is a very disturbing repetitive tone to what these dissidents are saying. If you take the word homosexual out of their argument and put the word woman or black in its place, you can notice an ugly trend. Their arguments haven't commenting that "the black man needs a strong black woman to support and motivate him. By us going to other races for companionship, we are breaking the bond of the black family. Some black men aren't strong enough to deal with a strong black woman, so they go to a white woman." This interracial or "intercultural" perception is much larger than just talk on campus. This is a nationwide epideinic. Epidemic, meaning affecting or tending to affect many individuals within a population .or community. This is exactly the way I perceive the interracial dating factor at Behrend. In my opinion, the tradition of the black family should not be one of race mixing. Tamara Wiley, a freshman at Behrend, commented on the issue by saying, "There's more of an opportunity for black males to date white females in this predominantly white environment. If you notice, most of the black guys who are dating white girls are older, which means they've grown accustomed to the situation. I don't see any freshmad guys jumping over white girls!" The more I think about the situation, the more I realize that there is a lack of education within the black community at Behrend. Some people may ask,"How can them be a lack of Thursday, December 3, 1992 Changed...only tbe people they re trying to discriminate against have changed. As of today, fourteen out of the sixteen nations involved in NATO . accept homosexuals as a part •of their military. Some dissenters point out that most of these nations arc inferior in terms of military efficiency and eomplexity when compared to *the United States. But among those fourteen NATO nations with homosexuals in their armed forces is Israel. Does anyone -want to question their combat tenacity? As you've undoubtedly figured ..out by this time, I'm strongly , in favor of lifting the ban on homosexuals in the military. By stating this opinion, I'd like to make it clear that I'm neither judging nor advocating homosexuality as a lifestyle. What I am advocating is defending the rights of others. There are too many people who know when their own rights are being violated, but..don't give a damn when someone else's rights are being violated. If you're one of these people, then leave a wake up call for yourself. Remember, rights around the world are only as good as we have hen at:home. out educati....hen these are college students that you are dealing with?" That's exactly what I wondered when I was faced with the issue. It's pretty sad when a black person doesn't know who Malcom X was and what he had done for the black community. Obviously these miseducated individuals are in need of one of two things: a library, so that they can research their history, or "Senior Angela Johnson evaluates the issue by commenting that "the black man needs a strong black woman to support and motivate him." By us going to other races for companionship, we are breaking the bond of the black family." more importantly, a black education, something that they are not gelling at Behrend. If you can not rely on your family to educate you about your own history, you definitely can't depend on a white school for it! I wish all African-Americans lived by Malcom X's famous words, NO COMPROMISE, NO SELL OUT!
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