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24 July 91

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Supervisor Carol Midgen
City Hall
San Francisco CA 94103
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Shred of Dignity
World Power Systems
Tom Jennings
666 Illinois
San Francisco CA 94107
(415)-552-8156
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Saw somewhere in SF WEEKLY about your trying to get ``low¨
literacy'' safe-sex propaganda for SF's kids. Enclosed is exactly¨
that thing, or at least our version of it.

I reproduce these at my cost for inclusion with HOMOCORE zines I¨
ship, and to hand out where possible. I had plans to dump piles¨
of them in obvious places (Diamond Youth Shelter, etc) but I¨
simply don't have the funds, nor the time to do distribution.

In any case -- it's our opinion that most safe-sex propaganda¨
simply doesn't work for us; the overly-cautious language¨
(probably necessary for funding) alienates most of the people who¨
could use the information, and they use language you'd expect in¨
a classroom (oppressive) or from a mother or uncle (oppressive). 

This flyer assumes that people are having sex, like it, and are¨
not going to stop. The language is graphic, and simple without¨
being insulting. It treats drugs as a reality, without preaching.¨
It was authored (as you can see) by Torontonian sex workers.¨
Zanne, a local dyke cartoonist, did the custom poly-sexual¨
drawings.

At the 1000 quantity level, they cost as little as 6 cents each¨
to make. (2.5\cents\ per impression (one each side) plus 
1\cents\ per sheet of paper. At quantity 10,000, probably under a¨
nickel. They were designed to tolerate poor reproduction; wide¨
margins, standard paper size, decent line thickness.

If you are interested, I will provide, for free, the originals¨
for reproduction, and even make changes to the text if necessary.¨
I will contact the Toronto prostitutes about reproduction¨
rights\footnote*{\twentypointpunk Sorry for the pun, I couldn't pass up the¨
opportunity!}; I doubt they'll be anything but pleased to see it¨
distributed en masse.

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Don't know if you're familiar with HOMOCORE and it's offshoots.¨
(Too) briefly -- it's gay-driven ``punk'', or non-assimilationist¨
(in the broadest sense) culture. High emphasis on 
do-it-yourself, and home-made values. (Actually it's very¨
American but I rarely mention it for obvious reasons.) 

Shred of Dignity was going to be Duke Crestfield's gay skateboard¨
group, but in 1986 S.F. Supe Kennedy proposed an absurd city-wide¨
``skateboard ban''. We foiled it, and then turned it to skaters'¨
advantage. We went on to do free skate and cultural events for a¨
few years: ``hit and run'' shows; barbeques and picnics; free¨
music shows without permits in unused lots; HOMOCORE shows at the¨
Womens' Building and elsewhere, etc. We've since expanded into¨
other areas. All of our work is gay-positive and inclusive, but¨
not exclusively gay. We get lots of both straight and gay people,¨
and make that clear right up front; we've had remarkable success¨
and near-zero trouble.

We are starting a comprehensive graphics facility for our¨
community at large. We just leased a brand-new Canon copier, and¨
are providing access to it on a membership basis (\$10/month¨
membership, low per-copy cost) and making our silk-screening,¨
computer and general office stuff more accessible. Collectively¨
we're kinda fringy, but do an amazing amount of stuff in this¨
city; zines, shows, artwork, films, support services, that kinda¨
stuff.

It occurs to me -- if you would be interested in contracting us¨
to produce the enclosed flyers or similar for the city at say,¨
10--20\cents\ each, in decent quantities, it would provide the¨
city with cheap, effective flyers, and us with a small source of¨
money to support our print shop. (Though the offer to supply the¨
originals for free still stands, regardless.)

If you or someone else is interested, call any time. (Before 10AM¨
is probably a bad idea.)


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Sincerely,
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Tom Jennings
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