When diversity,
terrorism collide

While some students, faculty and staff sat in on an SUUSA-sponsored diversity panel Friday morning, others were shooting paint balls at a picture of Osama bin Laden on the lawn behind the Dixie Leavitt Business Building.
We question whether the idea of diversity is actually accepted or desired by the people who sponsored this activity. While we certainly do not support bin Laden’s actions, we believe the actions of those participating in the paint-ball shooting were also based on hate.
The sponsors of the activity may not agree, but we believe it reflected hate not only for one man, but for the beliefs of a vaguely defined yet definite group of people, and perhaps even an entire race.
After Sept. 11, we all watched in horror as pictures of people in other nations celebrated our pain and burned our flag. Yet, an organization on our campus seems to find it acceptable to act in a similar manner.
It’s obvious that bin Laden turned to terrorism because he hated the beliefs and practices of Americans. Should we react in kind and promote terrorism because we hate the beliefs and practices of the Taliban?
We do not think so.
To us, it does not matter whether bin Laden was actually being shot at on our campus, or whether we consider the man a serial killer. What matters is that people on our campus chose to turn their disagreement and anger toward him into a representation of violence, and they were egged on by a federally and state-funded organization housed at SUU.
That is unacceptable.
While the paint-ball “marksmen” satisified an apparent blood lust in what we consider a childish manner, members of the panel — including Provost Abe Harraf, who ironically is of Middle Eastern descent — discussed diversity not only as something about cultures and race, but also about ideas.
We wonder how many of those shooting at bin Laden’s likeness have studied his ideas or thought about the reasons he hates Americans so much.
It’s not that we think they will or should agree with bin Laden; it’s just that we’re fairly certain they acted out of ignorance, a principal breeding ground for hatred and its cousins — racial and gender discrimination and terrorism.