I have never read such as demagoguery as “Iowa, you make me want to go home.” In the writer’s opinion, homosexuality, racism, fetishes and agriculture are “push-button issues” with Iowans. The problem with this statement is the implied exclusivity and pervasiveness of these sentiments. Your push-button issues are in no way exclusive to Iowa. Regardless of someone’s stance on the issues, racism, bigotry and food are important in their mind. Those who are truly racist or truly anti-food are not nearly as prevalent here as you would suggest. People in Iowa tend to not go off on maniacal lynchings of minorities or gays. But, as with every state in the country, there is a vocal minority that will stand up and scream at the top of their bigoted lungs to make sure that anyone they don’t like feels uncomfortable. This condition is inescapable no matter where you live. Los Angeles is hardly an example of tolerance and open-mindedness at work. Major racial incidents are a dime a dozen there and disproportionately frequent for its population. This is clear to anyone of average intelligence who watches the news. I define a major racial incident as something involving violence, rather than a couple of drunk idiots calling someone names. Neither are acceptable, but clearly lynching and name-calling aren’t in the same category. Essentially, L.A. is much worse than here. So we’d only be improving the tolerance average by going there. We should support those of differing opinions and practices. It is the diversity of opinion and the exposure to it that allows real progress in the world. Although it is hard to make an analogy between a civil rights group and a group that practices a fetish, I would rather not walk down the road of denying funds to controversial groups just to save the students from having to donate 10 cents to Cuffs. David Klipec

Junior

Computer engineering