European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - September 11, 1977, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Sunday september 11, 1977 the stars and stripes Page 15 James j. Kilpatrick i m very they d have Archie fetch his own Beer the civil rights commission delivered itself of a remarkable report the other Day. The report was All kinds of things. It was angry aggressive Earnest encouraging pathetic Wistful and unintentionally hilarious All at the same time. The report dealt with women and minorities on television. What the commission s staff discovered As you might have predicted is that women and minorities Are treated shabbily on the tube. They Are treated better today than they were five or ten years ago better by the staff s criteria but the situation is still intolerable. The staff Longs for the Day when the last stereotyped charac ter will have been eliminated and the last vestiges of sexism rooted out. The Mary Tyler Moore show might have been regarded As an example of what the commission would like to see More of but no. Says the report the women in situation comedies still tend to be subordinate to the men in their lives. Mary Calls her Boss or. Grant even though everyone else Calls him Lou Edith Bunker scoots into the Kitchen to fetch Archie a Beer and rarely fails to have dinner on the table by 6 . Louise Jeffer son s desire to seek employment has been both criticized and impeded by her Hus band  the report bears Down heavily on Situa Tion comedies with an ethnic flavor. In Stead of realistically exploring issues related to the characters ethnic Back grounds these comedies shun controversial issues. A show called on the rocks was set in a minimum Security prison. It could have explored the Quality of the american penal system. Instead it focused on inmate  perhaps did not occur to the authors of the report that a comedy program exploring the Quality of the american penal system might not have been very Tunny but humor is the last thing the authors want to see on the screen. They want reality. Or so they say. But one wonders read ing through this querulous report if what the commission seeks is not a depiction of society As it is but rather of society As the staff would like it to be. For example the report complains that More than half the female characters in to shows could not be identified in an occupational role whereas More than 69 per cent of White males and 60 per cent of the nonwhite males could be so identified. Is this unrealistic the report complains that More Whites were managers and More nonwhites were service  is this not confirmed by common observation White males held better jobs than nonwhite males in the fashion of candidates for doctoral degrees shaping statistics by their Chip squares the authors have prepared some marvelous tables. One of these tables if you would believe it reports Deadpan on the proportion of major characters As heroes and villains by race and  from this it appears that among White males 55.7 per cent were cast As heroes. Among Black males 63.8 per cent were cast As heroes. In the period examined the authors found Only six nonwhite villains compared to 133 White villains. There were incidentally 217 White males who were mixed being both heroic and villainous. Proportionately there were More mixed females than males. What could All this mean the civil rights commission demands Reform. Writers and producers Are now constrained especially by their mad Chase after ratings and profits from introducing More realistic and diverse images of women and minorities. The situation must be redressed by the Federal communications commission through its regu lation of the broadcasting  television should accurately reflect the ethnic and gender diversity of the nation and the Federal government should ensure that this is  Well the acc has walked at any such proposal saying that governmental censorship of to scripts would provide a cure worse than the disease. That s surely True. But perhaps a Little voluntarism would ease the authors pain. Maybe next year. Archie could fetch his own Beer. C Washington Star �977 Roy Wilkins Vorster could learn from the . Prime minister John Vorster of South Africa has reacted to acts by the Carter administration by interpreting them As pressure of Black citizens of the United states for action in the Field of for eign relations in Southern Africa Why Southern Africa Well for years the United states had no policy on Africa. It was thought to be unnecessary to have a policy for the Ore bearing Congo a Colony of Belgium one of our allies. It did t matter that reports of unimaginable treatment of the natives. Rom. Filtered out. And what really did we have tothe staff s analysis of to Content turned do with England s handling of its colonies up differences by both race and sex but then the european controlled Colo males held better jobs than females but were freed by the Mother countries and became Independent to choose their own forms of government some Good some very bad As in Uganda. The Only parts of Africa not controlled by its people were Rhodesia South Africa and Nami Bia which South Africa illegally has taken under her Wing. That is the Southern Africa to which Vorster refers in his discussions. Now along comes the Carter administration with its Clear Cut policy on Southern Africa. In simple terms it rejects apart Heid and believes that there should be full political participation by All South Afri  is More to Vorster s charge that the policy of the Carter administration is promoting chaos and anarchy in South pm Africa than his words imply. Most South african Whites passionately believe that pressure of one government on another it brought at All should be brought by White men in behalf of other White men. They do not believe that the presence of Black men should enter into the question of plans for a nation s future. That the Carter administration would make any moves at All to try to bring about majority Rule in South Africa is bad enough but to make them in response to an alleged debt claimed by Black voters is impossible. It is apparently beyond the comprehension of the prime minister of South Africa that the african policy of the United states is hardly based on what he believes to be a political debt but on the Carter administration s concept of human rights. Of course Vorster s angry outburst against the Carter policy is i am sure not unmindful of its pressures on the economic life of South Africa. American private in the opinions expressed in the columns and cartoons on this Page represent those of the authors and Are in no Way to be considered As representing the views of the stars and stripes or the United states government. Vestment in South Africa is said to have slumped and the South african govern ment believes that the United states government is discouraging american Banks from increasing their interests in South Africa. Even As Vorster protects and de fends the idea of White superiority so must he also protect White capital which the system of apartheid maintains. As Vorster charges that political pres sure has affected the shaping of Carter s african policy he might clarify his think ing if possible by a perusal of our Decla columns comments ration of Independence. Since its writing America has been a declared disciple of human rights. The first of these is Equality in the body politic. While the United states is not without guilt in denying some of its citizens Equality in the body politic it has come now through Long Travail to a place worthy of the classification of a free country and it has a president who believes the Declara Tion of Independence and the Bill of rights Are documents worthy of setting a Pace of Freedom for the world. Vorster could learn from us. C Register Tribune Syndicate