June 26, 1997, Thursday

Censors beware: there are two alternatives: freedom or the fight for freedom.

For one thing, there will always be a majority of Americans who would gladly live in Romper Room.

D


espite today's Supreme Court ruling permanently vanquishing the embarrassing Communications Deceny Act, there is no rest for us wicked people who like to say whatever the hell we want on the internet. For one thing, there will always be a majority of Americans who would gladly live in Romper Room. For another, numerous states have passed legislation similar to the CDA. With politicians so devoid of real ideas and with Americans as frightened and stupid as charging cattle, commanding battles against the evil internet can always be served up as ersatz leadership. I'm not saying anything new here, of course. Indeed, I don't even feel particularly liberated by today's ruling. The CDA's chill never once influenced my content. However, anyone whose content was affected by the CDA should hang his head in shame.



How would you like to be living in Hong Kong right now? That has to suck. From here it's like watching an innocent man put to death. Even though repression leads to an improvement in the quality of art. That is, if you're an artist; (I have no pity for businessmen.) That is, if the artists aren't shot. And their parents made to pay for the bullets. It's just a variant of "what doesn't kill you will only make you stronger." I have to admit that I like living in a country where repressive laws more suitable to China are indeed found to be inappropriate. Yet the forces of repression that come up with these laws are still plugged into the power structure, somehow avoiding ridicule by the dominant media.

T


hese days I always treat Peggy like she doesn't exist. Somehow that's easier than actually kicking her out. I feel a little bad about it. No, I feel terrible about it. But I feel like any friendliness I show her will make it that much easier for her to put off for another day the necessity of getting a place to live and a job. The poison has built to irrational levels. For God's sake, I was throwing bottles at a pregnant woman last night simply because Wonderboy Neek was standing nearby!

She immediately ran out the door and drove off in the Toyota Race Car. I felt terrible; like a monster.

Today Peggy came up to me and said she'd found a new place to live. She'd be renting a small house in an apple orchard on the top of Carter's Mountain to the the immediate south of Charlottesville. In case you don't recall, Carter's Mountain is where the boy Jesse flipped over his truck full of merry drunks back in December.

What I'm wondering here is "How long will it be before Zachary's reckless driving kills him and/or Peggy on that treacherous mountain?"
When Peggy was done telling me about the new place, she said, "I know you've been getting a little sick of us staying at your house..." "Yeah...?" I asked. Then she added, "But thanks for letting us stay here..." Her voice trailed off into an alarming warp of sadness. She immediately ran out the door and drove off in the Toyota Race Car. I felt terrible; like a monster. Suddenly I couldn't think of anything bad that Peggy had ever done to me. But that's the way it is with parasites. They never do any one thing that's wrong. Furthermore, I'm sure that if I'd been nothing but nice to Peggy (like my housemates have been) this day would have taken much longer to finally arrive.

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