Another version of Russ Allbery's Usenet rant, by Benton Smith
Red Drag Diva
If I ever touch http://thingy.apana.org.au/~fun/agsf/ again, this will go up.
"Not in the city where I am a citizen."
From: ben...@nethescurial.net (saint benton of the one-winged dove)
Newsgroups: alt.gothic
Subject: what is greater than speech
Reply-To: ben...@nethescurial.net
Approved: by pounding sodomy
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Date: Fri, 18 Aug 2000 02:50:50 GMT
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satar did say elsewhere:
>I'm not deliberately missing your point (or at least I hope not). The
>behavior of impersonating other posters falls within my definition of
>true free speech.
oi. you.
Some time ago, I came to alt.gothic. I came because I had read
on the web of the people who were here. I read about goth and
the people that called themselves goths on the web. I participated
in mailing lists that were outpost of the subculture and was
impressed with the people therein. I thought that goth people
were really cool and I wanted to be part of it.
I met someone in the pitt in Harvard Square who was a regular
on alt.gothic, and they told me that I should join because I
was a keen person and I'd enjoy the conversations here.
I was eighteen.
I read alt.gothic for some time. I read of people's travels to
convergence four. I read how much these people enjoyed their
time together. I read their stories. I wanted to be part of
their stories. I wanted to know them.
And so, in the winter of 1998, I became a regular on alt.gothic.
Since then I have laughed with the people here. I have read
their stories. I have shared their triumphs. I have told
my stories. People have copied them down and saved them to
read on cold and rainy nights when they need to laugh or
think or smile.
I have cried for hours for the people of alt.gothic. We have
shared tragedy.
I have sung with joy and praise for the relationships that
have been formed on this group. We have children of this
group. We have marriages which not have happened if not for
this group. We have had people travel across the oceans to
know people that they have met on this group.
Because of alt.gothic, I have travelled across the continent
twice to see these people whose words I have read. People
whose words were so powerful, so funny, so rich with shared
experience that we gather once a year to see each other. In
between these times, I do know that should I leave my home
I can go from Glasgow to London to Dublin to Baltimore
to DC to NYC to Chicago to Atlanta to Jacksonville to
Oklahoma to St. Louis to Montana to Seattle to San Fransisco
to The City Of Angels to Tasmiania to Perth to Adelidale to Darwin
and I should not be alone. That people there will know my
name and open their door for me. For we know each other,
even if we have never met.
And you would toss this community down in favor of your
desire to see the theoretical limits of free speech tested.
Not in my coffeehouse.
For USENET had given us a voice. USENET has given us a home.
USENET has given us a place at the table.
You would see that the printing press be smashed and that
the pages be covered with ink. That my name be forged at
the bottom of nonsense that I did not write and that
what I have crafted and posted on the wall to be read be
covered over in the name of your definition of free speech.
Not in my salon.
The community that I am part of means more to me than your
intellectual farting about definitions of free speech.
And so, I will meet attacks with all the arts of war that
I can muster. I do not speak of such things, for that is
not productive, but our hands weave busy work behind the
scenes. Do not think that because some of us do not shout
that we do not act.
There is a place at our table, should you wish to join us.
If you do not wish to, you can continue to tilt at your
windmills. I will be having too much fun reading the people
who I enjoy and care about to note your absence.
Not in the city where I am a citizen.
May the One shine on us all, even if we do say some things.
--
saint benton of the one-winged dove -- ICQ: 32861590
The Blue Citadel: http://www.velvet.net/~benton/
alt.gothic.quotes: http://www.velvet.net/~benton/quotes.html
join the journal cult: http://benton.livejournal.com/
--
http://xenu.netizen.com.au/ http://www.caube.org.au/
"We'd love to see the business plan in NAPSTER's safe: '1. Bring entire system
of intellectual property crashing down around fat-cat music industry's ears.
2. Sell ads.'" - http://www.ntk.net/index.cgi?b=archive99/now1112.txt
Red Drag Diva
:Red Drag Diva (f...@netizen.com.au) wrote...
:> If I ever touch http://thingy.apana.org.au/~fun/agsf/ again, this will go up.
:> "Not in the city where I am a citizen."
:That's some powerful writing.
alt.gothic is a firehose (a few hundred articles a day); I high-score by
author. Benton is almost worth reading a.g for.
Or did you mean 'Approved: by pounding sodomy'?
Benton: you still got your net.* access? Hellooo?
"But mustard, mayonnaise and *especially*, that luser-of-condiments, ketchup
don't belong anywhere but the bottom of the ocean. In fact, I would say that
Ketchup is the single most vile fluid, passed off as food, ever devised by
mankind." (Darrell Fuhriman)