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From: ee163acp@sdcc13.UUCP (DARIN JOHNSON)
Newsgroups: net.politics
Subject: Re: uc divestment
Message-ID: <238@sdcc13.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 9-May-85 22:01:17 EDT
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Posted: Thu May  9 22:01:17 1985
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> >>In order to demonstrate our resolve, the members of the Coalition for
> >>a Free South Africa have been sitting in at the Winnie Mandela
> >>Library and holding teach-ins and debates to educate the campus and
> >>community at large.  

Disclaimer: I am in no exagerated stretch of the imagination a supporter
	    of apartheid, and support the student protest as far as is
	    it is morally and lawfully executed.

  The problem is, after the 'teach-in' 2 of my friends came away
convinced of erroneous facts.  They heard the statement "UC invests 2.6
billion dollars in companies investing in South Africa."  Their
interpretation, and the one I think they were influenced to believe, was
that this 2.6 billion dollars were going directly to South Africa.  This
is false.  What the statement means is that 2.6 billions go to the
companies (that happen to invest in SA).  Since the average investment
is 1% in SA by these companies, it seems that only about 26 million ever
makes it over there.  Don't get me wrong, I think this is a horrible
amount still.  The problem is that people at the sit/teach in were
mislead (albeit, not intentionally).  I can imagine these students then
telling other students, etc.  It is things like this that make
outside viewers take us less seriously than they ought.  Ok, I'm
through, but one last piece of advice.  Since so many people are looking
to throw dirt at us, lets make sure they look elsewhere to find it.


Darin Johnson