The North Texas Daily (Denton, Tex.), Vol. 68, No. 43, Ed. 1 Thursday, November 15, 1984 Page: 2 of 8
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The North Texas Daily V/
Page 2
Thursday, November 15, 1984
Editorials
A woman's place
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Denton county voters made history last week.
By re-electing a woman county commissioner and elect-
ing another woman to fill a spot being vacated by a man,
Denton voters created the first county commissioners court
in Texas with more women on it than men. A third female
county commissioner is currently on the court and was
not up for re-election this year.
This election seems to have proven that voters have fi-
nally realized that a person's gender has nothing to do with
his or her capability to provide effective leadership and
intelligent management in government.
County-level politicians certainly do not hold the most
important elective offices, but they do have a great impact
on the day-to-day lives of the residents of their county.
Also, local offices such as city council, school board
and county commissioners court are often steppingstones
to state or national political positions, if women are becom-
ing a major force in local politics during the '80s, it stands
to reason more women will gain power at the state and
national level during the '90s.
More than half of the U.S. population is female, and
that figure holds true for Denton county.
Since a majority of the population is female, logically
a majority of our elected figures should be, also, but sad-
ly that is not the case. Discrimination against women,
though usually more subtle than that practiced against racial
minorities, still exists in this country.
Many people won't vote for a woman just because she
is a woman, no matter what her qualifications are. Wom-
en comprise less than 25 percent of both the U.S. Con-
gress and the Texas Legislature.
Although women gained the right to vote more than 60
years ago, it has only been in the past 20 years that they
have begun to exercise significant power in the fields of
politics, business and law.
Perhaps the reason more women are not involved in
politics is that many of them think they stand little chance
to win and so don't even bother to place their names on
the ballot. The majority of the local government entities
within the state don't even have one woman member.
Maybe the news about what has happened in Denton will
inspire well-qualified women throughout the state to seek
public office.
Certainly, no one should vote for a woman just because
she's part of a group that has traditionally been undcrrep-
resented at all levels of government. Hut no one should
vote against her just because she shaves her legs rather
than her face.
Education, integrity, intelligence and other qualities need-
ed to provide good government are not limited to one sex
or race. That message has been preached by feminists
and civil rights activists for a long time. It seems like
people are finally listening to it.
Denton county residents who voted in last week's elec-
tion can be proud of their role in setting a precedent.
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Crowded prisons
What they want us to hear
Texas prisons arc getting so overcrowded that Texas
Department of Corrections officials have said they might
soon have to release some prisoners before their senten-
ces are finished to make more space.
TDC director Ray Procunier said the Texas system is
rapidly approaching 95 percent occupancy. In 1983, the
Legislature adopted a "safety valve" program that per-
mits the state parole board to let inmates out early if pris-
ons reach the 95 percent occupancy level.
Currently, Texas prisons are nearly 93 percent full. With
this state's comparatively high conviction rate, the 95 per-
cent figure could be reached by the beginning of 1985.
When that percentage is reached, inmates are eligible for
parole 30 days earlier than they normally would be. If the
prison population is still not reduced, prisoners could be
released on parole 180 days before their scheduled release
date.
U.S. District Judge William Wayne Justice made major
changes in the state prison system three years ago, among
them measures to reduce overcrowding in the penal system.
Many prison officials are of the attitude that Justice
has "mollycoddled" the prisoners. But overcrowding has
been shown in several studies to incite violence among
the prisoners, including stabbings, fights and homosexual
gang rapes. Justice had good intentions in attempting to
alleviate the problem.
But the solution to the problem is not nearly so simple
as judicial action. Basically, there have been two propos-
als to alleviate overcrowding: either build more penal facili-
ties or let prisoners out early.
The conservative nature of Texas voters has been a
major stumbling block to both proposals. Citizens do not
want higher taxes, so they are opposed to building more
prison space. They also, understandably, don't want har-
dened criminals to be released onto the streets when they
should be paying their debt to society. But despite the
emotions of the man on the street, the problem is there.
One solution would be to reduce the number of people
imprisoned for so called victimless crimes, such as mari-
juana possession or sales, or involvement in prostitution
or gambling. Such "criminals" could be dealt with through
parole programs such as work-release, where the convict
performs community services such as removing litter from
roadsides for a designated period of time.
The court system in Texas, in response to calls from
the citizens to crack down on crime, has a high rate of
convictions. In some cases, with the exclusion of violent
crimes, criminals could be placed in halfway programs
instead of being sent in to further exacerbate the over-
crowding of prisons, where the truly dangerous criminals
belong.
Construction of new prisons would also help, but the
TDC's budget lor the 1986-87 fiscal year includes no funds
for building more prison units. So, in the meantime, there
is not much hope of more space for the state's 36,000
prisoners.
The violence will continue, and more prisoners will be
incarcerated, making an intolerable situation even more
so. Texans can continue to be satisfied with the present
"correctional" system, which does not do much to make
the inmates want to live a straight life, and send them
into the bloody abyss. Or they can look at the problem
with a desire for improvement. That's the only way any-
thing will ever be changed.
There are Americans who actually believe
they are superior in every aspect to peo-
ple of other nationalities. Much of this faulty
belief comes from American propaganda.
Propaganda is the widespread promotion
of particular ideas, practices, doctrines, etc.
to further one's own cause or to damage
an opposing one.
I was talking to a friend Sunday and asked
him if he voted for Mondale or Reagan for
president. "1 voted for Reagan." he said.
"Why did you vote for him?" I asked.
"Because he takes a strong stand against
those Russians. You know, those Russians
are really evil, corrupt and they're out to
overtake the world," he said.
I asked him if he was saying that the
Soviet people or the Soviet government was
evil. He said both the Soviet people and
the government are bad.
That was the sole issue on which he
decided to give his vote to Ronald Reagan.
He couldn't name anything else that he liked
or disliked about the president or any oth-
er issue that swayed him to vote.
NOW THAI 'S American propaganda,
when a person is conditioned to believe that
the people of another country are more bad
or evil than Americans.
Propaganda is also in use when Ameri-
cans believe that the Soviet government or
any country's government is more evil than
their own. There is definitely a problem in
this belief.
My friend said. "I hardly think the
American government would shoot down
an airliner full of innocent people and then
say it was a spy plane."
I would like to believe that, too, but we
don't know every little thing our govern-
ment is doing or everything it has done.
We don't know for a fact that the Korean
airliner was not on a spy mission, and we
never will. We want to believe that the plane
was not spying, but all we have heard is
American propaganda. I don't believe for
one minute that we haven't done anything
as bad as the killing of the people aboard
that airplane.
What about war'.' That is the taking of
innocent American lives, and yet our gov-
ernment has engaged in this type of activity.
Sure, maybe we have to protect our country,
but I think we should try all the negotia-
tions possible before we engage in an out-
and-out military confrontation. In the past
>i\mA
Beth
Fulton
we have not used all of those negotiations.
ONE OF THE biggest problems in the
world is the superpowers. Both the United
States and the Soviet Union need to quit
intervening in other government's affairs
unless specifically asked by the people of
that country.
In America we hear all the American pro-
paganda about the Soviets killing innocent
people and trying to take over weak gov-
ernments and make them communist re-
gimes. In the Soviet Union the people heai
about the American government trying to
intervene in Nicaragua and help coalitions
try to make it a democratic government.
Which of the two is worse? They are
both trying to make another government
similar to their own governments. Who are
the superpowers to judge which government
is the best for • >tlier countries?
Some Soviets think the American way
of life is (lie worst possible on earth. The
reason they think this way is because of
Soviet propaganda. On Soviet government
television stations each day. the Soviets see
news about the crime rate, the terrible pris-
on conditions and all the bad happenings
in America that the Soviet government can
dig up to show them.
THE SOV1E1 PEOPLE don't learn any-
thing good about the Americans or their
government through their media. Tins is
because their government supresses the infor-
mation from America that could be thought
of as good. The only information that does
not deal w ith the bad aspects of America
is leaked through underground news.
Many Americans think the Soviet way
of life is the worst imaginable. I can't recall
too much information about the Soviet |k-o
ple or government that I would consider
good, but maybe this is because of Ameri-
can propaganda. Leaders in our government
want us to believe that there is only bad
associated with communism. But if I would
have been born in Moscow. I would have
grown up believing that the American gov-
ernment was trying to take over the world,
and democracy was corrupt. My belief
would be based on Soviet propaganda.
It's the propaganda of America and the
Soviet Union that has stirred up the notion
that the people of the other country, as well
as the other's government, are bad.
The Soviets and the Americans do have
one thing in common. They are both people.
Both governments may be corrupt, but the
people in the Soviet Union and in America
are equally human.
Although it may be hard for us as Amcri
cans to think of the Soviets as people, they
are, and so are the rest of the nationalities
in this world.
When enough is enough
Raymond defends his honor by standing up for himself after years of taking heat from the boss
The office reverberated w ith the clatter
of IBM Scleetrics, and a low rumble in
the ceiling indicated that the air condition-
er was about to go out again, making Ray-
mond Chessick tuu at his tie in preparation
for another sweaty day.
Raymond pushed his pencil across the
pages, preparing yet another production
report for the boss. He eyed the bosses'
secretary as she passed, a swish of skirtails
and a whiff of perfume. But no, she'd nev-
er have anything to do with him. Enough
useless fantasy and back to work.
"Chessick. don't you have that thing fin-
ished yet! Oct to work," the boss said,
sucking hard on his Viceroy. "If I don't
have that report in 15 minutes, it'll be trou-
ble for you!"
"YES SIR," Raymond said He felt the
heat build in his face His temples began
to throb.
Hal. who was known as "sir" by the
employees to his face, or perhaps as "the
boss" or just "that son of a bitch" in a
more casual tone, slammed his office door
and sat down on the chair behind his desk.
Lousy, no-good sissy goof-off Chessick.
Hal wanted to fire Chessick. except he
couldn't think of anyone else who had an
IQ higher than 90 who would do Raymond's
job. Still, lie wouldn't stand for any slug-
gards at Amalgamated Bushing, He poured
himself a shot of C'hivas from the bottle he
kept in his top desk drawer.
Five o'clock. Raymond had finished the
dreaded production report. He pushed his
chair up to the desk and headed for the
time clock.
Hal was waiting for him. "Chessick, I'm
going to warn you one more time. If you
don't start producing, I'll sack you just as
sure as the sun comes up in the morning.
Think about that tonight."
Raymond had heard that before. He gave
his usual reply. "Yes sir."
He walked out the door to the parking
lot, being careful to stay away from the
plant employee's lot. Those rednecks gave
him a hard time, having called him a wimp,
a faggot and other less savory names. He
made it to his 1963 Renault unscathed. He
caught hell from both sides—higher-ups and
lower-downs.
THE STRAINS of classical music on
the radio soothed him. He imagined him-
self conducting an orchestra, something he
had dreamed of doing all his life. But his
appreciation of music was only imaginary.
Raymond was utterly and completely tone-
deaf, despite his mother's attempts to enroll
e
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Jerry
Boulware
him in violin lessons at an early age. He-
had frustrated one teacher after another, but
his mother had insisted the teachers were
no good.
When he arrived home, Raymond went
up the five flights of stairs to his apartment.
His lived in an efficiency high above a fail-
ing hardware store, The owner greeted him
as he approached.
"Chessick, rent's due tomorrow!"
"Yes sir. You'll have it in the morning,"
he said.
The hardware store proprietor crushed his
beer can. "Better be, or you'd best find
another place to live."
"Yes sir."
Raymond opened the door and collapsed
on the couch. Why was life so cruel to
him? What had he done? He fell asleep,
exhausted from the emotional pressure that
continually hounded him.
When he woke up. it was dark outside,
and the neon sign on the bar across the
street buzzed its way into his space. He
felt energetic after having rested, so he
became bold and decided to do something
he rarely did after dark—go for a walk.
As his shoes hit the pavement, he felt
an unusually fresh breeze blow across his
face. It was invigorating. It made him want
to think. Raymond actually felt happy to
be alive, a sensation he had not experi-
enced since at least 1971.
BUT THEN he thought of Hal, that raun-
chy moron. He loathed Hal, and wished
he could just summon the courage to quit
his lousy job. But what if he couldn't find
another'.' He lixtked at his feet as they moved
across the gritty urban pavement.
Still, isn't there a time when enough is
enough? His mother always had told him
to stand up to bullies, a bit of advice he
had never found the nerve to follow.
He came to a small park and sat down
to rest for a moment.
"Damn, I'm 37 years old, and I haven't
done a thing with my life! I haven't stood
up for anything. I'm a wimp, and I don't
have a right to live!"
A derelict who slouched nearby asked
Raymond, "You want a drink?" The wino
offered him a slug from his bagged bottle
of Ripple, but the tcctotaling Raymond
declined.
Raymond couldn't sleep at all that night.
He tossed about, seeking some form of
certainty. Then, he noticed just as he start-
ed to nod off. that it was light outside, and
he only had a few minutes to get to work
He arrived at the Amalgamated office at
9:05. Hal was waiting at the time clock,
staring at his watch.
"WHERE HAVE you been? A business
isn't run by having its employees show up
five minutes late. Where's your tie?" Hal
was puzzled at Raymond's appearance.
s
"Where's your shoes'!"
Raymond puffed up his chest and let it
out. "Hal, you arrogant airhead. I've had
enough of this company and your stuff, and
I'm not putting up with it anymore."
The blood vessels in Hal's nose became
even more visible than usual. He stammered
a moment and said. "So-ho-ho! Just what
the hell you going to do? Get in there and
get to work!"
Raymond felt better than ever, having
stood up to the boss, A crowd of secretar-
ies gathered around, urging him on. "I've
had it, and I quit!"
Hal was crimson laced. The secretaries
giggled. A few began to clap their hands.
Raymond stormed out the door, shoving it
from his path so hard that the glass shat-
tered when it made contact with the door
frame,
When he reached the parking lot. one of
the haixlhat workers started to call Raymond
a name, but Raymond shouted back an even
more vile epithet He got in his car and
drove away. A knot built in his stomach
and he began to perspire. But he knew
somehow, someway, lie would make it all
right after all.
I )
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The North Texas Daily
60th Year North texas State University Denton, Texas
Printed by the North Texas State University Printing Office
Southwestern Journalism Congress Member
PACEMAKER 6 TIMES
ALL-AMERICAN 77 TIMES
rtSV H KUt.'t
EP
TRENT EADES, editor
EDDIE RODRIGUEZ, advertising manager
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Eades, Trent. The North Texas Daily (Denton, Tex.), Vol. 68, No. 43, Ed. 1 Thursday, November 15, 1984, newspaper, November 15, 1984; Denton, TX. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth332715/m1/2/: accessed May 21, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Special Collections.