More Daily Orange Stupidity

Hey, did you ever put something away in a place where it wouldn't get lost and then forget where you put it? I just spent 5 minutes searching all over my room for yesterday's Daily Orange, and then I remembered that it was in a drawer right under the computer. Now that I have it, I can write about a hilariously asinine column from yesterday, and I'll also talk about an incredibly stupid letter to the editor that I saw today.

First of all, as I said yesterday, they decided to put a hex on Donald Rumsfeld. There's a box in the upper left hand corner of the page, and it says "Hex: Donald Rumsfeld." There's a partial picture of a pentagram next to the words, and under them, there's a cartoon of Rumsfeld sporting devil horns and surrounded by fire, and he's pointing angrily at the reader. Under the picture is a brief explanation of why he has been given this "honor."

According to the author: "We curse him because of his dubious, ambivalent public predictions about the duration of the war in Iraq. Though it's no surprise that he sucks, his latest insider memo admits that the U.S. military has a 'long, hard slog' ahead of it, rather than the quick liberation the administration intended."

There's more, but I have a paranoid fear of copyright laws, so I'll leave it at that. This is frickin' idiotic. The fact that they're insulting Rummy with classic idiotarian nonsense is bad enough, but how can a school that prides itself on creating an environment where everyone feels safe allow the publishing of something that uses what could be considered satanic symbols and rituals to do so?

Now, I'm not one of those crazy "Satan is lurking around every corner" Christians, but I really think they've gone too far with this one. Keep in mind, the DO also published a letter calling the Bible a "useless moral guide," and I believe they once featured a cartoon implying that Jesus was a pervert. Sick. Just plain sick. I could go on about the various dumb things this person said about the war, but you can figure that out by reading this excerpt.

Now, on to today's edition, in which a letter to the editor informs us that Syracuse has a gender bias and is intolerant of transvestites! Oh no! Not the transvestites! Here's the situation: In a letter entitled "SU campus coursing with gender bias," the author explains what happened to him over the weekend. According to him:

I attended a Halloween bash Saturday night and opted to dress up in a skirt, stockings, a corset and woman's jacket.

Okay, I understand dressing as a woman for a party. It's just for fun. However, he was just looking for trouble with what he did next:

...I went with my partymates to Darwin's later in the evening(I think Darwin's is a bar or a club or something...I don't get out much. -ed.). Only a few minutes in the door, I had a very confrontational young man in my face, calling me a "f***ing faggot."

I agree that you shouldn't use that kind of language, as it's just plain ignorant, but why would you be surprised about it? It's a frickin' bar, moron. He continues:

I expected the finger pointing, but two people tried to pull down my skirt, one attempted to remove my wig, and several more questioned my sanity, implying that cross-dressing was not a wise idea.

No, really? Cross-dressing? I thought it was as American as flag burning! How dare they point out your gender confusion! Those bigots! Here's the kicker:

I thought this was Syracuse, not Syria. I must say I am rather embarrassed to know that people with such conservative views on gender identity are welcome here.

Bingo! There's that double standard everyone was waiting for! So, it's okay if you think cross-dressing is totally normal, but if you think it's strange, you're comparable to Syria (whatever that implies)?

How do these idiots find the door in the morning? It seems to me that if you think conservatives shouldn't be welcome on campus, you're intolerant. That's the real definition. This is yet another example of how tolerance and equality only apply if you agree with someone, which isn't tolerance at all, but approval (interestingly, the chancellor said that one of the goals of the school's diversity program should be for people to move "beyond tolerance to appreciation," which shows that they aren't even satisfied with true tolerance).

It also strikes me as very odd that you can be stigmatized for holding the view that men shouldn't dress as women (unless it's for comedic purposes; I am a Monty Python fan, you know), and that conservative views in general are considered extreme and outdated. I really don't know what to think about all this. Syracuse really walks the fine line between liberal and idiotarian sometimes. I think they've crossed it here. And now, I will publish this post and start working on yet another one.

Posted by CD on October 30, 2003 01:26 PM
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