Open Letter to LynnLynn

In which Redheaddad defends
the first amendment of
The Constitution of The United States

Dear All Subscribers, in todays Links there is a site called ''Anna's Index of Sites'' PLEASE, do not go there, it is pretty much filled with disgusting filth!!, and how l let that slip by is beyond me, l am very sorry this mistake took place, and l can assure you l will do the best l can to have the site torn down and removed from the internet immediately. Sincerely, LynnLynn

I couldn't leave this alone. It kept coming back to my mind all day. I knew she meant well, but a deep conviction forced me to write back to her about this.

Subject: Re: WARNING

Hello,

I have been subscribed to your list only a little while and have enjoyed your links. While I can understand your regret in sharing a link, I am confused in your expressed intent of policing the internet.

My website is, for the most part, family friendly. I used to have tracking capabilities through SuperStats which enabled me to note referrers and keywords which visitors used with search engines to find my site. Some of the information I gleaned was appalling. I would never have imagined how some of my pages would be used and shared and found by all sorts of individuals.

Over a year ago, I was inspired to humor by a little boy carrying a diaper to his mother in order to be changed. Since I published that greeting page, it has been discovered by fetishists and sent around by hundreds of adults who find the wearing of diapers pleasurable. A few deviants using any of several search engines to look for child pornography happen across my joke index each month. Believe me, I advocate neither fetishism nor child pornography, and you will find neither on my site.

Not long ago, I checked out a referring page. It was published by an openly gay man. He had listed RED'S GREETINGS among links to gay greeting card sites. None of my greetings are "gay"; I am not "gay" (and could subpeona testimony to that effect), nor do I promote or condone homosexuality. I likewise found a link to one of my greetings at the end of a page filled with nauseating and meaningless new-age psychobabble. That offended me as much.

What have I done about all this, this horrible twisting and misrepresentation and abuse of my hard work? Nothing.

I do not know where you live, but I am proud to be a citizen of the United States of America. We have a constitution we value highly as the basis of our government. None of the above examples of linking to me is malicious in intent, and while I may not like or approve of it, all of those involved have free speech which is expressly protected by the First Amendment of our constitution.

To my dying breath, I will defend their right to expression, as well as that Anna's, whom you referred to, right to contain "filth", as you call it. For once we allow censorship, then somebody, somewhere, will find something to dislike about my efforts, and will find a way to "tear down" Red's Jump Page and "have it removed from the internet".

I certainly wish you well, but on this last point of yours, I must certainly also disagree.

Respectfully,
Red

Lynnlynn wrote back and retracted her stance on attempting to have the site which offended her removed. She also nicely offered to run a link to one of my pages. I appreciated that and thanked her; however, since I had no fresh pages at the time, my suggestion was to publish the letter to her which you have just read.

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