LETTERS 02/28

It has come to my attention that there are many people upset about the Campus Libertarians' poster for the event about the threats to civil liberties during wartime. As a female member of the Campus Libertarians and a feminist, I thought I should clarify the meaning of the poster, since it was apparently not clear.

When I first saw the picture for the poster I wondered why it was that something so sacred (the idea of justice and liberty) should be a sex symbol. Although, as you know Lady Justice is a Greek statue and the Greeks celebrated the naked human body. In this context, and since America is founded on the priciples of Greek democracy, I don't see how we could have not left her in her true form, naked. But why does this woman have to be shown abused by a man?

Well, the recent passing of the Patriot Act has made it clear to me why a subjugated woman is indeed the right symbol to portray a loss of justice and liberty. The woman on the poster is a symbol of "blind justice", obviously not the kind of American justice that keeps hundreds of citizens detained without cause and feels the need to spy on its own citizens. The woman (justice) is being mistreated by a soldier whose purpose may be to protect, yet in the end she is assaulted by him. I think people should be angry about the poster, not because of the woman in the compromised position but by the government that treats the very ideals it was founded on so horribly.

As far as any "racist" notions about the poster, I think it is ridiculous. The trooper is of course dressed in black. I don't know if you have ever been close to a soldier dressed in riot gear, toting an automatic weapon during a peaceful demonstration, but it can be a very scary experience. There is no exaggeration with the trooper on the poster. I hope that anyone who was offended by a simple image on a poster will rethink whom their anger should be directed at: A poster depicting the horrors of a state tyranny or the government who creates a "Patriot Act" in order to squelch the free speech of its own citizens.

By the way, I'm sorry that you missed the event. Our poster has been completely misinterpreted by a whole lot of people. I don't understand it. We are saying that violence against people (including women, of course) by taking away their very rights is inexcusable. Why the poster has been interpreted the opposite way, as if we would promote violence, is a mystery to me.

Molly House