Dear Mr Pilecki,
The danger of talking to seriously disturbed people like Brian P. Lafferty
is that the reasonable person readily assumes that there is at least some
basis, however far-fetched, to justify or explain their extreme rantings.
This assumption is often less than a safe one, as in Lafferty's case.
Mr Lafferty would have us believe that public postings made under the nom
de plume of JACKASS LAFFERTY would be understood by a passing Joe Blow
~ to have been written and sent by Mr Lafferty, and
~ to represent Mr Lafferty's repeated confession that he is a Jackass,
and thusly make Mr Lafferty the victim of a campaign of impersonation.
I am happy to concur that Mr Lafferty, judging him by his conduct, surely
is a Jackass - but that is not the point at issue. The point is whether
Lafferty himself is capable of recognizing this and admitting it in
public,
and whether J.Blow would find that a credible likelihood. One is minded of
the dilemma Yossarian faced in Catch-22. If Mr Lafferty was capable of
seeing he is a jackass, and admit the same, he'd be less of a jackass and
might eventually cease being a jackass at all (and just revert to being
merely the revolting jerk that his mother expelled through her lips).
The reality, quite evidently beyond Mr Lafferty's powers to discern, is
that postings made under the name of JACKASS LAFFERTY are so perfectly and
obviously parodies of his obnoxious postings, and as such they constitute
protected speech. There is no way that any sane Mr Blow would view them as
being written by Mr Lafferty.
I hope that Mr Lafferty's mental derailment progressed to its present
sorry
state only after he vacated the humble judicial position of Commissioner.
It is a sobering thought that, due to overcrowding in the state
facilities,
there are many others, still crazier than him, free to roam the streets.
Mr Pilecki, continue your valuable work in making the country safe. You've
my sympathies at having your time wasted by this odoriferous cephalopod
who
would try to stifle freedom of expression once the freedom served to
expose
his abasement. Lafferty has the damn nerve to post very scurrilous
material
under anonymous banners and then to protest against his own trash. This is
why his ban on so many forums is ineffective, as the one thing at which he
excels is forgery.
Yours truly,
O.o.S. Attorney
Society for the Encouragement of Jack***** to Walk Head-First into
Woodchippers
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