The Nude and the Prudes

Clothing was made to protect the body, not to hide it. The mind that associates impurity with the human body is itself impure. To the humanitarian, the idealist, the human body is divine, “the dwelling-place of the soul.” as the old poets sang.

To the coarse, half civilized barbarian steeped in a mixture of superstition and sensualism, the sight of a nude body suggests no higher thoughts, no nobler feelings than those which the sight of one animal of the lower order of creation produces in another.

The vulgar mind sees its own reflection in everything it views. Polution cannot escape from polution, and the poluted mind sees its own reflection in the nude body of a fello being, and arises in the early morning to enjoy the vulgar feast, and then calls on the law to punish the innocent victims whose clean bodies aroused the savage instincts is not fit company for civilized people, and should be avoided.

These reflections are based on an unfortunate occurrance that took place recently in Home.

Home is a community of free spirits, who came out into the woods to escape the poluted atmosphere of priest-ridden conventional society. One of the liberties enjoyed by Home-ites was the privilege to bathe in evening dress, or with merely the clothes nature gave them, just as they chose.

No one went rubbernecking to see which suit a person wore, who sought the purifying waters of the bay. Surely it was nobody’s business. All were sufficiently pure minded to see no vulgarity, no suggestion of anything vile or indecent in the thought or the sight of nature’s masterpiece uncovered.

But eventually a few prudes got into the community and proceeded in the brutal, un-neighborly was of the outside world to suppress the people’s freedom. They had four persons arrested on the charge of “indecent exposure.” One woman, the mother of two small children, was sent to jail. The one man arrested will also serve a term in prison. And the perpetrators of this vile action wonder why they are being boycotted.

The well-merited indignation of the people has been aroused. Their liberty has been attacked. The first step in the way of subjecting the community to all the persecution of the outside has been taken. If this was let go without resistance the progress of the prudes would be easy.

But the foolish people who came to live among us only because they found they could take advantage of our co=operation and buy goods cheaper here than elsewhere have found they got into a hornet’s nest.

Two of the stores have refused to trade with them and the members avoid them in every way.

To be sure, not all have been brought to see the importance of the situation. But the propaganda of those who do will go on, and the matter of avoiding these enemies in our midst will be pushed to the end.

The lines will be drawn and those who profess to believe in freedom will be put to the test of practice.

There is no possible grounds on which a libertarian can escape taking part in this effort to protect the freedom of Home. There is no half way. Those who refuse to aid the defense is [sic] aiding the other side. For those who want liberty and will not fight for it are parasites and do not deserve freedom. Those who are indifferent to the invasion, who can see an innocent woman torn from the side of her children and packed off to jail and are not moved to action, can not be counted among the rebels of authority. Their place is with the enemy.

The boycot will be pushed until these invaders will come to see the brutal mistake of their action, and so inform the people.

This subject will receive further consideration in future numbers.