| There's been a lot of talk about this guy in rec.nude. His name is
Andrew Martinez, and I get the impression he's been doing this for
quite some time. His arrests have been for "disturbing the peace"
types of things, because simple nudity is legal in California. I don't
remember if he has ever been formally charged with something, but I'm
pretty sure they haven't made anything stick. Berkeley (sp?) is known
for its relaxed attitudes, but this has apparently got the school
administration bothered. They have suspended him, but not for long, and
he is back in class again. Not surprisingly, his peers are divided as
to whether or not his behavior is acceptable. By now I think most other
students have seen him, so either way the novelty has worn off somewhat.
I've thought about it a little, along the lines of, "will this incident
increase or decrease the social acceptability of naturism?", and, "is
this guy even a naturist, or just some weirdo who wants to create a stir?"
I've decided it is not likely to turn anyone off to nudism, and there is
a chance that some people will notice that they've come to accept his
nudity as being unremarkable, and take the mental step of extending that
idea to (simple, non-lewd) nudity in general. On a hot day, he might
even generate some envy.
From what I have heard that he has said (from reports in rec.nude,
admittedly not the most unbiased source), he does not come off as being
crazy, and his intentions seem to be honorable.
I admit a naked person in a crowded classroom would seem pretty out of
place, but the first person to do something always stands out.
BTW, the rec.nude newsgroup is archived and (somewhat) organized in the
notesfile MOIRA::REC_NUDE.
Carl
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There was an article on this guy in the Globe a few days back,
I think it was called "Dressed to Chill". Apparently he feels
he's made his point and is going on to bigger and more clothed
things. But he basically said that it came to him one day
what a ridiculous idea clothes were, so he thought he'd live
by his convictions for a while.
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