\input tex \dropcaps \twelvepointconcreteroman \advance\baselineskip2pt \font\dc=ccr12 scaled\magstep6 \footline={\hfill\twelvepointsanserif\folio\hfill 21 July 92} Teg -- \dropcap{O}h boy you're not gonna like this -- you have finally done¨ it. {\it You} have dragged me across a line that {\it I} do not wish¨ to cross. Regarding BOS\#6. Specifically kid's sexuality. More¨ specifically, erotica with a boy-child in it. The problem is not the¨ linear one. Don't jump to conclusions. Let me analogize the point before I illustrate it. If we were monkeys living in the trees, confined to the trees because¨ dangerous large cats will eat us down there in the plains, you can¨ scream your bloody head off that yes, we have the right to be down in¨ the plains as they do. I will agree with you, as I do now. However,¨ the fact remains -- in the current environment -- if I go down there I¨ will be killed. You have thrown me, and others, out of the tree, without asking me if¨ I want in on this battle. I don't. The righteousness of your battle is¨ not cause enough to drag others in with you unwittingly. Consent, Teg! You have involved me, and anyone else you correspond¨ with that receives your zine, in high-profile not-legal stuff. The¨ bottom line is -- I'm now far more likely to have the police show up¨ at my door, or add me to another list I don't want to be on. {\it I¨ will choose} what I become involved in. \bigskip \dropcap{H}ere I am going to be a bit unpleasant. This is criticism of¨ your process. I genuinely like you, and admire you. I follow BOS and¨ therefore your thought processes (to some degree) and generally admire¨ the path you are following. Remember in another letter I outlined Don Juan's barriers in the path¨ of a Warrior? {\it FEAR}, the mind-killer, nearly every human on the¨ planet keeping themselves ``in their place'', in closets of all kinds.¨ The relatively few that overcome fear do so only in limited areas,¨ such as the sexual coming out of the closet, and never extrapolate¨ that process to larger life. Some few realize that instead of¨ ``overcoming'' fear, that it is just another wall, a curtain, that is¨ ever present and must be gone through over and over. These few pass¨ through one trap, only to fall into another even more insidious if¨ less populated. The next trap is what Don Juan called {\it power} itself. While that¨ makes poetic sense, I am embarrassed to say only recently I realized,¨ in our Western world, this means {\it RIGHTEOUSNESS}. Logic that says,¨ because I do in fact wield this power, my actions and decisions are¨ correct. My plan has a totality of connectedness. Because my idea is¨ good, I can do no wrong, and people who object are standing in my way,¨ and I will push them aside. \bigskip \dropcap{T}aking other people into account means being self-effacing,¨ Teg. It means you sometimes have to back off, even when it feels¨ wrong, even when you know you are right, because others have equally¨ strong thought-systems in {\it their} heads. Even if they are wrong¨ ones, they are valid {\it because they think them}. It means not¨ correcting every wrong impression. Not insisting on being right all¨ the time! Further, even if some persons thoughts and actions are fucked today,¨ doesn't mean they are not on some path you cannot even recognize. Or¨ even suspect the existence of. You admire me, but if the Teg of July¨ 1992 met the Tom Jennings of even 1985, chances are you would not have¨ liked the apolitical technical person I was. My advice (worth what you've paid for it) -- do the good things you¨ see and desire to have happen, and ignore or work around the bad¨ things and people. Because people are not static objects. Making¨ enemies is a bad sign, Teg, not a good one. Any fool can make enemies. \bigskip \dropcap{Y}eah, I'm angry at you, but you are still welcome to visit¨ and crash in my house. Nothing else has changed. I'm writing this the¨ day after I talked to you on the phone; if these thoughts were fully¨ formed then I would have brought them up (just in case you were¨ wondering why I didn't). I do look forward to hanging out with you when you get to San¨ Francisco. I don't hold grudges. And if you can somehow convince me¨ that BOS\#6 won't hurt me, I'll change my mind. \bigskip \line{\hfill Tom Jennings} \line{\hfill P.O. Box 77731} \line{\hfill San Fagsicko} \line{\hfill CA 94107 USA} \bigskip \dropcap{PS:} There's no way this will sound right. You'll just have¨ to believe me, that it is not a symbolic act, but a physical one to¨ hopefully save my mortal ass: if you have a BOS mailing list, I'd like¨ you to remove my name from it. I believe that strongly that you'll get¨ busted. As a matter of fact, if I was you I'd consider destroying it¨ outright or at least putting it somewhere very safe, which means not¨ in your house. Someone I know had all of his property seized by the cops because, it¨ turns out, he was corresponding with someone who, the Feds claimed,¨ was ``suspected'' of trafficking in ``child porn''. No charges filed.¨ Never got any property back. This person is a gay man, quite out, even¨ when he worked on a very famous massively-secret project during WWII. Shit happens, Teg. You are casting spells that will invoke demons you¨ think you know, but do not. Danger! \bye