From: ecsd@tfs.com (Eric C. S. Dynamic)
Newsgroups: rec.nude
Subject: Sexuality and Social Attitudes - no apology needed
Keywords: ignore what you fear and it will have undoubtedly gone away
Date: 2 Oct 92 06:37:05 GMT
Organization: TRW Financial Systems

mbb@cbnewsb.cb.att.com (martin.brilliant) writes:

>But then I made a much more serious mistake.  In the course of an
>email dialogue with ecsd@tfs.com (Eric C. S. Dynamic), I felt that we
>had reached an agreement that there were areas of discussion about the
>association between social nudity and sexual behavior that could
>legitimately be explored in rec.nude, and I encouraged him to post
>discussion of those topics in rec.nude as long as he did not
>cross-post to alt.sex.
>
>I was immediately dismayed to see a flood of articles, at first on the
>edge, and then veering quite off-topic, from my correspondent.  What
>have I done?  I said to myself.  Am I responsible for this?

Whether they are or are not on topic *is* the matter for debate, is it not?
As I am the primary author in the stream, you would do well to wonder why
I continue writing what I do. Look around you - nudists in Berkeley,
suppression of nudity in Polk County, FL. You try to divorce *sex* from
being *human* and that is *not possible*. *I* am trying to develop a theory
about how we can own our sexuality without any of the baggage which has
heretofore been attached to it. Since even *clothed* people evoke a sexual
response, all *nudity* does is raise the stakes, as it were. Solve the
fear of sexuality, and you have solved the social fear of *nudity*, and *many
other things*. So I think I'm safe to work from the top down.

>I am at least in part responsible.  I am not a good judge of people,
>and I badly misjudged this time.  I am very sorry, and I apologize.
>
>Last but not least, I owe a personaly apology to Tom Middleton for the
>shameless invective that I indirectly unleashed on him.  I have the
>greatest respect for Tom.  He has posted all kinds of information
>about social nudity here, and he can always be a calm voice in any
>discussion.  Tom: above all people here, you don't deserve such
>disrespect.

Nothing shameless about suppressing thought, though, is there?
Let them read it who understand it and appreciate it. Tom is entitled
to see the anger his attitudes provoke, *just as much as I am*.

For the LAST time, I post under threads containing 'sex' 'sexuality'
or 'social' and you CAN killfile these. So Please Do. I sent a private
post to Marty and Tom, which I will publish here if these two do *not*
quit harrassing me.

Sorry, my mind-of-my-own sees it differently. You turn me off by doing
the killfile thing that Tom suggests. I guess I should get smart and
simply ignore these posts. YES, I'm sorry to have been so vicious with
Tom, and YES, I meant what I said.

If what I'm doing here is really counterproductive, then I will leave.
I would like to find a way to take my readership with me, so perhaps I
can do what Garrison has done with mail.gender@indiana.edu, or I can
save the mail addresses of those who wish to work on this material.
But it remains to be seen how many people share Marty's and Tom's opinions,
and I see no reason to take their word for it, as I have gotten positive
mail also.

-ec "be nice or i'll kill you" sd