Perhaps one day a visionary Daily 49er staff will insist on changing the name of Cal State Long Beach’s pre-eminent student newspaper to one that doesn’t harken to the golden age of California racism; the Gold Rush of 1849.
The entire mythology that greedy, murdering mining rats should be considered as outstanding symbols of human achievement is painful to many on our campus, including American Indians and people of Mexican descendancy.
Avaricious gold searchers were responsible for one of the most horrendous genocides in U.S. history. In their quest for gold, claim jumpers were responsible for the deaths of tens of thousands of California Indians and indigenous Mexicans.
Prospectors advertised bounties for Indian scalps in mining camp newspapers; some ads offered bounties as low as $25 for males, $10 for women and $5 for children.
Women and children were sold into slavery. In many camps, women’s bodies were mutilated after being raped, with their detached body parts displayed as trophies and sold as keepsakes. Such is the despicable legacy of “forty-niners.”
But our progressive university hails the forty-niners with a large statue, sports teams and the Prospector Pete mascot.
Our campus community as a whole is not offended by such outward displays of racism, but a tiny group takes offense at the inclusion of a small image of Ernesto “Che” Guevara on a mural in the stairwell in the McIntosh Building.
They’ve made such an issue of it as to propose that the Associated Students Inc. paint over or remove it.
In the first “Whereas” of Senate Resolution #2010, the “Negative Propaganda Act 9” presented to the ASI Senate yesterday, Sen. Mark Rizk wrote “it is appropriate and necessary to put only well-known historical/political figures that represent not only the ideals of CSULB but also of our great nation.” That is, of course, only “well-known historical/political figures” of his choosing, we presume.
The second “Whereas” is equally hilarious, where it reads, “Anything which pertains to denigrate anyone of any racial and religious group of people is considered offensive.”
Maybe he’d be happier if Che were replaced with Lou Dobbs. This nativist proposition somehow latches onto playing the race card in an attempt to bastardize the First Amendment.
The depiction of Che might offend some, but he was a hero against political oppression to many. In the same image are such icons as Martin Luther King Jr., Angela Davis and Mahatma Ghandi. Each had their detractors, but shouldn’t be removed because they are deemed offensive by a few. It’s freedom of artistic expression and must be defended.
If this small group of dissidents takes umbrage at Che’s picture, what’s next, drawing a mustache on the Mona Lisa?
Perhaps they want the Walter Pyramid leveled because Egyptians used slave labor. Maybe we should tear down the naked men sculptures on the Engineering Building. After all, they are not only nude, but also are castrated. Ouch, we hate castration.
Since we have the oppression ladders out, let’s get rid of that heart sculpture on the Lecture Halls building. Some are offended because they think it looks like an aborted brown fetus, while others claim angst that it resembles a bronze woman’s gnarled vagina.
While Rizk and his screwball collaborators are at it, they should close the lower level of the University Student Union, where such subversive and offensive activities as billiards, ping pong and bowling take place.
Naturally, the Horn Center would need to be closed because of all of the students downloading porn and Disney. According to the resolution’s logic, the Puvungna sacred site is a prime spot for a mini-mall. Who needs freedom of religion? Certainly not the Tongva peoples who practice spirituality on the lands of their ancestors.
What assault on the First Amendment would be complete if Rizk and friends didn’t tear down the Library or burn every book they don’t like?
The bottom line is; if Che must go, then by their argument, so should all art. The only way to exclude images that offend no one would be to paint the entire campus industrial gray — but then again, industrial gray offends us.