There has been a lot of confusion and disgust over my piece “Keeping an open mind about incest,” which ran last Monday. I would like to clarify my intentions and explain what led it astray.
The original title of the article was “Sophomore year: Keeping an open mind.” That title gave the piece a sense of surprise heading into the second paragraph, which was intended to be half the fun. Also, the article itself was heavily edited without my knowing. There wasn’t anything vulgar or shocking, it was just edited for length purposes and some of the best material was cut. I think it worked on a much higher level with the excluded quotes, which were over-the-top and made the piece sound more like a satire and not an advocacy piece. Cut from the article:
Andrew Sheffield, a sophomore at the University of Florida, has this to say in regard to the latter, “I don’t trust anyone who says they haven’t harbored secret thoughts about their attractive cousins. It helps to think about it logically, too: you’d never have to deal with an annoying in-law ever again. Look at FDR and Eleanor, two outstanding American citizens who also happened to be two outstanding cousins. Look at all they accomplished because they could focus on beating the Nazis instead being nagged at by in-laws.”
Freshman Eric Deutsch, wise beyond his years, wonders, “How can there possibly be a law on the books that would prevent me from pursuing a night of passionate love with the Olsens, Hiltons or Gyllenhaals?”
Florida State University sophomore Stephen K. Smith bemoans such restrictions as well. “Now, I don’t have any siblings, but if I did, I’d at least want the right to pursue any kind of relationship I wanted. As a libertarian, that’s what I expect. Anything less is big government shoving its big hand into my personal affairs.”
Anyway, the topic of incest was chosen mostly due to the direction of The Miami Hurricane. It wasn’t so much me wanting to be edgy or cool or controversial, because honestly I couldn’t care less. The subject is reflective of topics that have made the paper in recent weeks. (Just look at a recent Dear V or Hurriqueen column.) I see The Hurricane becoming more and more like JuicyCampus, instead of what it should be – an outlet for smart, creative and informative writing.
Daniel Drucker is a sophomore majoring in economics and political science. He may be contacted at d.drucker@umiami.edu.