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August 21, 2006
Here's a tale I've been meaning
to tell for ages:
Stuart Reges, fired because he chose
to speak out against the Drug Policy
forced on Staford by the federal
government.
Stuart Reges was a well-repected (albeit
untenured) professor of computer science
at Stanford, who somewhere along the
way decided to be an Honest Man.
No wonder he confused people.
I once heard him tell the story of
trying to get arrested for "sodomy"
when he was living in Texas. He
walked into the police station, and
tried to give himself up. The cops
were confused about the legal
definition of "sodomy" (as many
people are), and didn't want to
believe that oral sex with other
men counted. Also, they were confused
about his motives "Uh, do you feel
*guilty* about this?" Finally they
concluded "Oh... you're just trying
to prove a point!", and threw him out.
Like I said, an honest man.
While he was at Stanford in the 80s,
he decided that the "War on Drugs"
was bullshit, and started writing
letters to people in the government He claimed he had written
to try and provoke them in some way. his well-regarded text book
No one paid any attention to him for while wired on cocaine.
a long time... finally he suceeded
in annoying a brand new "Drug Czar", He publically
and then the fun began. announced that he
would not follow
Unfortunately, around that the university's
time, Stanford was involved "Drug and Alcohol
with an "indirect cost Policy"...
scandal"... they'd been doing
funny things with government Somewhere along
money, like buying a yacht. the way he listed
various cases where
The Stanford administration he believed he had
was in even less mood to violated it.
stand up to the Federal
administration than they o He took a bunch
would have been normally. of undergrads out
to dinner and
The feds said "jump", let one order a
and Stanford said "how high?"... glass of wine.
and set about firing Reges.
o An undergrad who
had used LSD in the
They needed to come up past was considering
with some grounds for MDMA, and asked
getting rid of him. Reges for his
opinion. Reges
Care to guess which said something
one they picked? like "Well, I've
never had any problem
Letting an undergrad with it."
order a glass of wine.
o He claimed to
Off with his head. Around that often carry an
time it was "illegal drug"
not at all around campus
The general unusual for in his backpack.
reaction to dorm parties
this at to spend He would walk
Stanford money on about on campus
was along heavy alcohol. with an bright
the lines of: red day pack --
There were
Oh what's there undergrads (The backpack
to be upset about? getting was apparently
wasted on chosen intentionally
It's not like vodka every to be on the
he had tenure. other weekend, line between
or so it public and
And what did seemed to me... private space.)
he expect,
making waves
during the But what's a Part of a game
"indirect little hypocrisy he was playing
cost scandal"? in our institutions later was to be
of Higher Learning, coy about what
eh? drug it was
(Actually: he exactly.
started on this
before that
scandal broke; I had a couple
it was the feds of theories
that picked the (neither of
time to make which I would
waves.) bet on):
(1) he was
After Reges had been fired, referring to
he called a gathering of the detectable
his supporters on the lawn traces of
in "white plaza"... coccaine that
are supposed
It turns out that he wanted to to be present
tell the kids not to get on most US
excited and do anything currency.
silly: he argued it would be
far better to just continue (2) maybe it
with their careers and try to was something
change things later after they like AZT?
were established in their Could he have
fields. AIDS?
Then a guy in the audience
spoke up, a fortyish black I mentioned that
guy who led off with a line to a few people
like "You people make me and it's funny how
sick! Do you call yourself plausible they
revolutionaries?" thought that notion
was. A fatal
Reges just looked at him illness was a
with a furrowed brow, and perfect explanation
said "But what would you for his "strange
suggest?" behavior".
The guy went on ranting Altruistic motives
about the need to take are completely
action or some such, unbelievable,
without getting very unless there's
specific. a fatal illness
involved.
I was getting annoyed
after a minute of this
and commented aloud
"But what is he talking
about??!"
A guy sitting next to me
said "Have you ever heard
of an agent provacateur".
I immediately calmed down.
"Oh, yeah. You could be
right."
And of course he
was right. It was The coverage in the
obvious once pointed Stanford Daily the
out... a half hearted next day mentioned The Daily
attempt at rabble rousing this fellow. The article was
a bunch of people quietly reporter had tried useless in
lounging around in the to talk to him, and all other
sun, chatting about got a name, and a respects.
things... claim that he was
affiliated with the The author
law school. accused him
And that was my of just
one and only The law school had being after
encounter with no knowledge of the media
a real live man. attention.
US provacateur.
(That I (It's funny
know of.) how common
that accusation
is from
conservatives.
They don't
just disagree
with liberal
Sorry if this all seems idealists,
trivial now... this was they don't
a more innocent time, believe
a few Repblicans ago, it's possible
when the country they exist.)
hadn't slid quite so
far...
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