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| The Reformed Leftist, The Cultist And The Daily 49er | ||||||
| Allow me to start off this week's article with a caveat: I am not one to harbor a grudge, and the following piece is not meant to shed a bad light on anybody, but simply say what is. With all the recent accusations that the campus media is biased and unfair still lingering in the air, I was reminded of a situation that occurred on campus a few years ago that I never wrote on at the time. I really wanted to write on this particular issue after it happened, but due to certain restrictions I was not able to, mainly because people chose to be politically correct rather than honest. I will now set the record straight. | ||||||
| On Tuesday, February 18, 2003, the College Republicans held a rally on campus to counter the many leftist demonstrations that had been appearing en masse on campus due to the recent onset of the war in Iraq. One of the speakers at the rally was the famous provocateur and social activist David Horowitz, who was once one of the prominent liberals in America during the New Left movement of the 1960s but is now a staunch conservative. During his speech, Horowitz made a reference to MaulanaKarenga, the chair of the Black Studies department, and described him as a "convicted torturer," a statement that the editor-in-chief of the Daily 49er later apologized for printing in an article about the event. | ||||||
| In a letter dated Monday, February 24, 2003, Kimberly Pasquis, the editor-in-chief of the Daily 49er at the time, said, "I would also like to extend my regrets to MaulanaKarenga, of the black studies department. I am sorry that the reference to you as a 'convicted torturer' passed by copy editors and into the paper, without proper comment by you." Wait just a second, you're sorry for it? Why were you "sorry" for reporting on the truth? Isn't that our very job? | ||||||
| For those that don't know, MaulanaKarenga was convicted and did serve time in jail for torturing two women that were members of his United Slaves nationalist group of the 1960s that was opposite the Black Panthers. According to a Los Angeles Times article dated May 14, 1971, the two victims of Karenga testified about their ordeal under oath in a court of law: "Deborah Jones, who once was given the Swahili title of an African queen, said she and Gail Davis were whipped with an electrical cord and beaten with a karate baton after being ordered to remove their clothes. She testified that a hot soldering iron was placed in Miss Davis' mouth and placed against Miss Davis' face and that one of her own big toes was tightened in a vise. Karenga, head of US, also put detergent and running hoses in their mouths, she said." | ||||||
| During Karenga's sentencing, Judge Arthur L. Alarcon read the following report, provided by a psychiatrist who observed Karenga: "Since his admission here he has been isolated and has been exhibiting bizarre behavior, such as staring at the wall, talking to imaginary persons, claiming that he was attacked by dive-bombers and that his attorney was in the next cell." The report went on to say that Karenga was suffering from "hallucinations" and called his actions "paranoid and schizophrenic." Karenga, whose birth name is Ron N. Everett, served about four years in prison, and went on to create the holiday of Kwanzaa and become chair of the Black Studies department here at CSULB. | ||||||
| That being said, why did the editor-in-chief of the Daily 49er feel the need to apologize to Karenga for printing what was said about him? He has clearly reformed, but isn't it important to report the truth to avoid accusations of bias and unfairness in the news? It because of the current times and accusations by certain people that this very newspaper is biased, unfair and racist, that I felt the need to set the record straight on a two-year itch that has just been asking to be scratched. | ||||||
| Copyright Gerry Wachovsky, 2005, and Yahoo! Inc. All rights reserved. | ||||||
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