The distressing Mr. Flynt

[Greg Montalbano]

Mike Brehm sez:

>IMHO he's just like a little kid who does whatever he
>wants to get his way and prove his point. But hey! The point's important,
>because if you don't let Flynt talk, pretty soon you're on to not letting
>others talk as well. I mean I can think of dozens (if not more) of folks in
>my community who would scream real loud to have GR removed from the shelves
>lest we ruin the minds of the wee ones or give people (GOD FORBID!) bad
>ideas (mostly because of Slothrop's journey down the john and the famous
>shit-eating scene). So, in one sense, if you want Tom, then Larry comes
>along for the ride. And that's probably Larry's purpose--to stir the pot so
>all the scum doesn't form on top...

This IS the point.  
Anybody here old enough to remember Lenny Bruce?  --his continuing battles 
against an establishment that used obscenity "laws" (which were frequently,
in fact, no more than conventions) to suppress language that they found 
"offensive" -- and the reluctance that someone else mentioned on the part
of elected officials to come out in favor of "smut", which acts to encourage the
Mrs Grundys.  This applies not only to TRP's works (which, if they were more
popular, would probably already be the subject of concerned citizen witch hunts)
but to the recent attempts to control the net (and lists like this one) on the
basis of alleged "offensive" content.
Maybe not earth-shaking compared to the rape of the environment, the AIDS
epidemic,
the healthcare crisis or any of the other major challenges to living in this
place
at this time;  but if the ability to speak TO WHOM YOU CHOOSE, in the MANNER
THAT
YOU CHOOSE means anything to you, it's a subject that requires our attention and
our continuing action.

(sorry if this is muddled -- fighting the major hangover this a.m.)

~Greg~
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"...hot & clikkin & countin thay gygers & thay menne cools uv stoan.
 Smauler & smauler thay groan with Eusa in tu the hart uv the stoan
 hart uv the dans.  Evere thing blippin & bleapin & movin in the 
 shiftin uv thay Nos.  Sum tyms bitin sum tyms bit."

                   ---RIDDLEY WALKER