The Loyal Opposition

: Content warning: This article contains extensive discussion regarding the sexual abuse of minors.
The Loyal Opposition is a 26-page zine published by Bjo Trimble and John Trimble in March 1964. 
The topic of the zine is Walter Breen, convicted serial child sex offender and husband of Marion Zimmer Bradley. It dealt with the fannish reaction to a convicted child molester in the midst of 1960s science fiction fandom and the discourse between the people who didn't want to believe it and those who did, and what these things meant for future conventions. 
The zine addressed this topic in relation to Breendoggle, a fan controversy in which some fans wanted Breen banned from Worldcon due to the fact he had sexually molested young girls and boys on multiple occasions and over a period of many years. In fact, Breen was convicted in 1954, likely also in 1964, and then later in the 1990s, and he ultimately died in prison.
"The Loyal Opposition's" content and focus were testimonials from other BNFs who supported Breen and either did not believe these accusations, or did not think they were very important. 
This zine was a direct response to a document called The Great Breen Boondoggle, Or All Berkeley Is Plunged Into War which was written and distributed by Pacificon II Committeeman Bill Donaho and mailed to a select group of Bay Area fans as well as other fans in the United States. Some content in "The Loyal Opposition" was quoted in Minac #12, a zine which contains much commentary in defense of Breen.
In "The Loyal Opposition," the Trimbles stated that they "take full responsibility for its contents; with the exception of the excerpts from Dick Ellington's Open Letter and the reprinted mater­ial, all of the contents of this magazine have been solicited by us."
"The Loyal Opposition" contains three illos by Ray Nelson. 
==Who Received the Zine?==
 
==Some Topics Discussed in "The Loyal Opposition"==
Some to the topics and arguments made in "The Loyal Opposition" included:
* some fan publications had been turned over to the police, something that made some fans anxious and paranoid that their personal world was being infiltrated by mundanes, and lead to the embarrassment and hassle of being involved in a criminal case
* that statements that marrying a woman will make one moral and law-abiding, and was a cure for being a homosexual
* some of the abused children liked being abused
* separation of children and adults at cons is bad because where will the next generation learn to be fans? Also having new (sometimes sexual, sometimes involving alcohol) experiences is good for young fans
 
* it was important to circle the wagons to protect us weird fans from the outside world
* brothers need to stick up for brothers
* yes, "monster-fan" cons have a lot of children at them, and sometimes these children drink alcohol
* all this unpleasant talk will make future cons not as fun
* if Breen has to leave fandom, why can't this all be done quietly so it wasn't such an embarrassment?
* parents should be allowed to police their own children, not have to listen to nosy, non-parents
* Breen is harmless as he is basically a child himself, and besides, he had amnesia
* Breen is good at following directions, so if you tell him to leave your kid alone and ban him from your house, he will probably obey
* all this fuss makes fans look bad
 
* "The World Science Fiction Convention is a continuing entity, and deserves the support of all fans."
* fans, are by nature, proudly bohemian, weird, creative, and out of step, which makes a lot of behaviors okay
* many comments conflate homosexuality and child sexual abuse
==The Table of Contents==
From Walter Breen
* Cover by Bjo Trimble 
* Trial by Fanzine by Al Lewis (2)
* Thanks to Bill Donaho, comments by Ed Clinton, Jesse Clinton, Jerry Knight, and Miriam Knight (4)
* Excerpts from "Boondoggle" (7)
* From the Neutral Corner by Dick Ellington (9)
* All Men Are Brothers by Bob Lichtman (10)
* Quotes From An Old Fmz by Dave Like and Bill Donaho (11)
* Man Or Monster by Ardis Waters (13) 
* A Letter From Don Fitch by Don Fitch (15)
* More Excerpts from Letters, Zines, Etc., by John Boardman, Prentiss Choate, Walter Breen, and Marion Zimmer Bradley (many of these letters were excerpted from Minac #13A. See a pdf here.) (16)
* Summing Up by Bjo Trimble (18)
* Where We Pass the Hat by Ray Nelson (22)
* A Bit About Monster Fans by Bjo Trimble (23)
* Dimicare by Al Lewis (24)
* BaCover/Mailing Page (26)
==Excerpts from the Zine Itself==
==="Here is What Has Happened: from "All Men are Brothers"===
From Bob Lichtman: 
===Why "The Loyal Opposition" Was Created: Some General Excerpts===
From Ed Clinton, Jerry Knight, Miriam Knight, and Jessie Clinton: 
From Al Lewis: 
From Prentiss Choate: 
From Al Lewis: 
===In Which Walter Has a Right to His Eccentricities: Like Sex-Play With Three Year Olds===
Several accounts from The Great Breen Boondoggle of Breen's wildly inappropriate interactions with children were excerpted in The Loyal Opposition for the purposes of criticising or refuting them. One such account described Walter's "sex play" with three-year-old [P E].:
 
The Loyal Opposition printed a response to this from [P]'s father, excerpted with his permission from an "Open Letter to MINAC":
===Watch Out for the Postal Service===
From Marion Zimmer Bradley: 
===The Oakland Fuzz and Crack-Pots===
 
===Well, This Whole Affair Spoils the Fun at Present and Future Cons===
From Bjo Trimble: 
From Al Lewis: 
===It Could Happen to You!===
From Bjo Trimble: 
From Prentiss Choate: 
===Some Conventions Are Just Plain Boring (Especially the Clothes), and Are Hardly the Place of Illicit Sex===
From Bjo Trimble: 
===Breen's Lack of Control, His Awkwardness, His Child-Like Sense of Wonder... Amnesia Doesn't Just Happen in Fanfic===
From Bjo Trimble: 
From Bill Donaho from the zine "In a World He Never Made: The Walter Breen Appreciation Issue", published June 1962, some comments reprinted in "The Loyal Opposition" :
===Breen's Upcoming Marriage to Marion Zimmer Bradley: Don't Spoil His Chance At a "Normal Life With a Fine Woman" ===
Several fans brought up Breen's upcoming nuptials to Marion Zimmer Bradley. Some fans said that even if he were guilty of abusing children, this marriage would put a stop to it. Some fans said that his marriage would prove that Breen wasn't gay, and used that non-sequitur as proof of either his innocence, or his future actions. Some fans felt that it was mean to make Breen and Bradley suffer so on the eve of what was supposed to be a joyous event.
From Marion Zimmer Bradley: 
From Bjo Trimble: 
From Al Lewis: 
From Prentiss Choate: 
===Worldcon Shouldn't be Responsible for the Actions of Their Attendees... Plus Cons Are Already Full of Dirty Old Men Stealing Blankets===
From Ardis Waters: 
=== In Which Fondling and Raping Children is Compared to Taking a Book Out of Someone Else's Mailbox, or Driving Over the Speed Limit===
From Ardis Waters: 
From Ardis Waters: 
===Passing the Hat for the Cash: Let's Give Walter $500!===
From Ray Nelson: 
==References==
Category:Science Fiction Zines
Category:Science Fiction Fandom
Category:Scandals
Category:1964 Zines
Category:2021 Featured Articles