House of Eratosthenes

The world in which I want to live is one of honesty. When people do something ridiculous, they own up to their real motivations, and do not throw up the fetid curtain of misdirection by claiming some nobility where none exists. When a person strips naked, paints his body, and then rides a bicycle through streets and neighborhoods where other people of deeply ingrained and differing ideas of decency live, he does not claim it to be in protest of our dependency on foreign oil, or even the sheer joy of riding bicycles (as I have heard said). Instead, when asked why he joins a group of people who insist their nudity on large numbers of people who most decidedly do not approve, he is honest and answers “because I really want to piss these people off.”

Yes, this scratches an itch alright. Speaking just for myself, the dishonesty of which Andy speaks annoys me much more than the protesting itself, in whatever form it may take.

Well now hold on there just a minute. There have been a select few naked protests that I didn’t mind … well, at least not the naked part 😉

Perhaps one should go through a rigorous permit process involving a panel of judges and fitness experts ….
- philmon | 06/22/2010 @ 07:09
Ah, philmon, if only. If only.

Thanks, Morgan. My direct effort to be more pleasant has hindered my production of “Let’s get rid of” posts. Working on it, though.
- Andy | 06/22/2010 @ 07:19
So here I am, a little fella wondering why a link from Juggernaut McFreeburg ain’t getting me much love in my Sitemeter. Then I clicked on the “installments” link. Looks like Morgan was shopping for cell phone chargers while he was handing out his props.
- Andy | 06/22/2010 @ 14:35
Sweet! I ordered 5.

😉
- philmon | 06/22/2010 @ 14:37
D’Oh! Father’s Day shopping. Click here to find out what’s up with that.

I swear, I’m not to blame. It’s the eight years of failed policies of the Bush administration, yeah, that’s who’s at fault.
- mkfreeberg | 06/22/2010 @ 14:44
There we go, daddy-o! I was actually (somewhat vainly) confused as all get out. The Fourth Checkraise even linked back to your post here, and the last time I had my work anywhere near his blog it set a record for visits for me. Yet there I sat, enjoying the usual routine of checking my Sitemeter 37 times for every one visitor that popped up.
- Andy | 06/22/2010 @ 14:51
He’s gotten more “subtle” as time goes on.

It was 8 years of the head of the previous administration’s having cozy relationship with his father.

Obama did not have a cozy relationship with his father. Ergo, it can’t be his fault. He might have given a link to huffpo, or PaulMcCartney.com or something … but that would have been totally justified, and you’re racist to think otherwise.

It also gives him another protected status as coming from a broken home, which makes him better than you. Like Carrie Fisher. Who has never met him. But she’d love to.
- philmon | 06/22/2010 @ 14:53
Andy typed:

..instead, when asked why he joins a group of people who insist their nudity on large numbers of people who most decidedly do not approve, he is honest and answers “because I really want to piss these people off.”

Err. No.

This is Fremont Andy where naked cycling is decidedly down the list of things which ‘piss these people off.’

I think even conservative West Seattle (my boyhood home) would be able to handle the colorful cyclists with their less than ‘perfect’ bodies having a bit of a laugh on a chilly June day.

Now if you want to discuss the statue of VI Lenin…
- Arthurstone | 06/22/2010 @ 15:41
You have a point about Fremont, I’ll grant you that. But aside from the opening paragraph, the post is not about Fremont specifically, rather naked protesting generally. West Seattle gets theirs for one cause or another every year, as well, and handles it quite well. Whenever the West Seattle Blog announces that a ride is upcoming, a debate rages in the comments which is the usual display of two sides making no effort whatsoever to understand one another. And as noted by wonderful me, it is never about the cause the cyclists are trying to promote. Which is really my point. At least with the solstice parade it is all just a big celebration of the season and letting loose and all that, so while I want nothing to do with it, I can respect its honesty (while ridiculing its participants). And that’s all I ask. Honesty.
- Andy | 06/22/2010 @ 16:00
Too late Andy.

Any protester worth his/her salt from any spot on the political spectrum knows protest is theatre and that getting attention is the name of the game. It would certainly be nice if everyone all the time stayed on point but the world is the sum of its digressions.

Whether it’s a naked fat guy on a bicycle protesting the clubbing of baby seals or a fat guy in American Revolutionary garb armed with a musket protesting national health care the idea is to make an impression.

One is as legitimate as the other.

The fat guy in the seal mask makes as valid a point as the fat guy shouting tyranny.
- Arthurstone | 06/22/2010 @ 16:49
It’s a funny thing about liberals like Arthur.

They preach humility, and yet they have trouble distinguishing between “you said something incorrect” and “you said something with which I personally disagree.”
- mkfreeberg | 06/22/2010 @ 16:53
You have me mistaken with someone who is defending fat guys in revolutionary garb protesting national health care. Please refer to my long standing position on protesting of all kinds:

To me, protesting is like being uncontrollably horny while being irreversibly unattractive. No matter how much effort you put in, at the end of the day the only satisfaction you get is from yourself.
- Andy | 06/22/2010 @ 16:56
Well, I would say that at least fat guys in revolutionary garb are trying to bring to mind imagery related to returning to our founding principle of limited government — to which nationalized health care is an affront… while naked people on bicycles to protest dependence on foriegn oil are … naked.

I don’t know that they’re intentionally trying to piss anyone off. Frankly, I suspect most of them are unconcerned with anything outside of the power rush of shocking people and perhaps the titilation an exhibitionist gets in public.

They are both trying to garner attention, but I would say that one tries to attract attention to the message, while the other is out to attract … attention to him/herself — the message is secondary.

[tongue-in-cheek]On the other hand (and I can’t find it right now) a friend recently sent me a heart-wrenching picture of a young and apparently otherwise fit and healthy nude woman covered in black crude on a beach with a sad, dejected look on her face, and suddenly I really did want to help 😉 [/tongue-in-cheek]
- philmon | 06/23/2010 @ 09:48
Andy, I can’t find a link on your blog to previous installments of “let’s get rid of.” Can you link to them either here or on your own blog? Please?
- cylarz | 06/23/2010 @ 18:01
cylarz,

Indeed, I should be better about tagging my posts. I added a label to that one, so if you head back over there and click on the label at the end, it will bring up the others in the series.
- Andy | 06/23/2010 @ 18:11
Right you are Andy. The fat revolutionary analogy is…lousy.

And thanks for this bit of barstool philosophy:

“To me, protesting is like being uncontrollably horny while being irreversibly unattractive. No matter how much effort you put in, at the end of the day the only satisfaction you get is from yourself.”

Another of the same barkeep.
- Arthurstone | 06/24/2010 @ 09:14
Awesome comment on this subject over at the Hello-Kitty-of-Bloggin’:

The problem with both nudism and karaoke is it’s usually the wrong people.
- mkfreeberg | 06/24/2010 @ 09:49
What the hell is the Hello-Kitty-of-Bloggin’, and why does it take me to a Facebook login page?
- Andy | 06/24/2010 @ 09:53
Oh no, that one was deliberate.

Facebook is blogging, but with an automatic transmission. It’s a high profile brand name with little or no meaning, adorable & cute with pleasing primary & pastel colors.

We’re often accused of not taking FB very seriously. We plead guilty. But that witticism from Mr. Webb was killer.
- mkfreeberg | 06/24/2010 @ 10:01
Ah, I get it now.
- Andy | 06/24/2010 @ 10:03
I’m just like the old man whose kids chipped together and bought him his first color teevee: “That’s a crock of b.s., boy, I can’t see any difference.”
- mkfreeberg | 06/24/2010 @ 10:14

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Let’s Get Rid of Naked ProtestingTuesday, June 22nd, 2010

Let’s Get Rid of Naked Protesting
Tuesday, June 22nd, 2010