Three Ex Presidents and James Franco (16 page)

              She has plans for a national respect motion which she's putting before student council. She's such a little trooper. It never would have even crossed her mind to let it go and just tell people she didn't care for the play. No, she needs to make some sort of a stand. And I can't blame her, we have politics in our genes.

              The idea seems to be a ban on any college activity which compromises or draws into doubt patriotism or national respect. Having Clinton come along will be the icing on the cake for her. Even if he hasn’t a clue what madness some random student council is brewing.

              Noone, of course, is going to question the motion. Eric's idea to ban Muslims was rejected because it wasn't tolerant enough, this will be passed because tolerance has its limits.

              It’s all rubbish, of course. She's not a liberal. She thinks she is, which she thinks is the same thing. Most liberals balk at the suggestion that any of their views are remotely conservative. They seem to think that being a liberal is like joining any organisation. As soon as you're a member, that's that. She doesn't seem to realise it’s a constant struggle to try to act the right way, a constant nagging question as to whether or not our actions are correct. That’s too complicated for her, and most others.

              I dont hate her, but I hate her. Do you know what I mean?

-Jake

78.
I wonder if the High Noon music is what went through Clinton's head as he walked around the White House. He probably saw himself as the lone hero standing up to injustice and oppression in a town without any allies. I wish he could meet James. That’s the consequence of Clinton's heroism. A man's life almost completely shattered. I told James the other day he'd meet Clinton eventually, if not in this lifetime, in heaven or in hell, and he'd have a chance to tell him just how unlike Gary Cooper he really is. As soon as he heard the steam engine coming Clinton disappeared. Though in his case not with his new wife, but with his new intern.

              I hear Eric and Fiona are meeting up a bit. No harm in that. I have to say, you've had as much fun with that man as I imagine you ever will have.

              They're planning the motion for student council together. Fiona can't do it herself. It would be seen as a bit weird for her to make a public attack on me. And frankly, it is weird. So Eric is going to do it instead. He's some operator, I get the impression it was all his idea.

              I wonder if he's been using you. But it will end.

              Out of curiosity, ask him what he thinks High Noon is about. I’d be interested to hear his take.

79.
So, Eric says the film is about priorities? I see his point. A man has to choose between his new wife and his conscience. And his conscience wins out. He realises that on his deathbed he won’t be remembered for his family, but his relevance and importance to his community. He won’t be remembered for answering the call of a biological urge, but for the respect from his peers.

              Really Irish, do I need to interpret his answer for you any further?

80.
The weird priest turns out not to just look weird. He's dead now, so he looks even weirder, if that’s possible. Hung himself in the motel with the electric wire from the ceiling light. The sight defied words.

              There was a street kid in the room, tied to the bed, he had his clothes on which was something. His screams are what brought us running. A tough nut, nearly bit and scraped me to shreds. We took him with us, he had nowehere else to go, when we high tailed it out of there, along with a letter the priest had left.

              The kids name is Nick. Poor kid, the fucked up priest had wanted him to see him kill himself. He'd picked him up off the street, with money I'd given him, which is the sickening thing. Or, I should say, another sickening thing. He'd ranted something about doing his penance and how the boy had to watch. Making his peace with God.

              The letter didn't cast any more light. It just said: "I've brought the African curse down on his head. Find Daniel Doherty. In Dublin. I've brought the African curse down on his head. " Bizarre. Was probably a missionary. I stuck Daniel Doherty into a search engine and couldn't find him, so if he exists he isn't famous. Do you know him? Do all you Irish people know each other?

              Anyway, that is the hectic and eventful time we've been having. The two bondage guys are spooked, I don't think they'll be around much longer. To be truthful, we're all spooked. You should have seen the sight, the bulging eyes, the folds of the neck skin rolling over the tight cord. I'm going to try to never think of it again.

              Some fucked up people come out of your country Irish.

81.
Nick isn't a good kid. I know I should start by describing him as a good kid who has had a bad time of it. He says he's 17, but must be 15, and looks much younger, which is his selling point. But he certainly has nowhere to go. No matter how much I try to clean him up, he still has that look of pure hate in his eyes. And he has the mouth of a sailor.

              Though I should embrace my liberal instincts and say that he's just had a hard life of it, and give him a chance, he's simply a terrible kid, a child in fact. I don't know where his parents are. My first attempt to find out just lead to a barrage of insults and swearing. And he's also aggressive. He took a knife to me at first, convinced I was some kind of rapist. I would have been hurt too if James hadn't intervened.

              But, despite all this, he seems up for the plan. And he'll be great accomplice as long as I keep paying him. The plan, the new plan, is to begin tonight. He's to go about his business as usual, followed by us, at a discreet distance. And when he's picked up, we are to swing into action.

              You must be hearing alarm bells. Don’t worry, he won’t be having sex. Jesus.

82.
The paedophiles are the enemy.

              As long as we keep pretending that they have nothing to do with us, the worse off we are. Its not that gays are more likely to be paedophiles. It’s that we are, and must be, the most likely to confront it. We are honest about sex. No straight guys sitting in a bar would share such questions on the sexual proclivities of the clientele.

              We need to take a stand. But I'm not sure what that stand is.

              We're under assault. From the paedophiles. From the genetic crush. From politicians who won't give us our rights.

              We need action. Now.

83.
At the start it seemed like the plan was going to work. Nick did his job like a pro. He got into his client’s car, they pulled off without incident and we met up with them in the car park in the backend of nowhere.

              At this point it all fell apart. I’d find it hilarious if it weren't so serious. We dragged the guy out of his car, trembling and screaming. The problem at this point is that we'd never discussed what to do next. The guy was in his forties, obese, ugly. So we beat him. Kicked, punched, kicked. Until it seemed we could go too far and then we left.

              My only intellectual contribution was to say we'd leave him with his wallet. We then left a note telling him that the next time he picked up a kid like that he'd end up dead. The Romans didn't conquer by being able to defeat all their territories at once. If one rose up against them they threw all their force in that direction. They could never have sustained uprisings from everyone at the same time. The idea was to have the word spread that picking up kids would lead to this. We couldn't be everywhere at once, but we would get you eventually.

84.
I got sick today. We did it again, second night in a row. This time he was a suit wearing, thin, accountant type. I didn't have the heart to beat him too much. He cried and cried, which is what made me sick. We left his wallet and a note again.

85.
I think I want to construct some sort of code. Something tangible to hold onto. I'm a crusader in search of a mission. I would have done well during the French Revolution, I think you’re right. I would have killed a few people.

              We need to spread the sperm. That’s the first thing. We need to avoid being wiped out. We also need to take on the politicians and the prejudice. Am I mad? Is there as much prejudice as I imagine? We need to take on the paedos, that’s for sure. They're a cancer. Just like the Romans rejected Greek culture because of all the disgusting child fiddling that went on, we need to avoid that happening again.

              I want kids to be able to say they're gay. I suppose, when I come down to it, that’s the key. And I want that to mean as little as a kid saying his favourite football team. I want the world not to assume anyone is straight.

              I want people not to use words like faggot and queer. I want the word gay to become obsolete.

              James and Zach will follow me, sure. They have nothing better to do. But they don't seem remotely concerned. The guys we came with bailed as soon as they saw Greenwich Village. The other guys we brought with us from New York just came along because they have no friends. And even those sad bastards couldn't hack it. The priest killed himself and the slave and master have left for home. I think they only came because they thought we might join in with them.

              I think we need to get out of Boston. I can't take Nick with us, I wouldn't be able to explain his presence. I'll leave him some money and gamble on his untrusting nature that he won't go to the police.

              I toyed with the idea of using him, and some of the street kid friends he says he has, to set up a website. You know, a kind of porn site. It would be totally illegal. But a great way to catch people. I toyed with the idea, and so have the FBI. They have sites that warn people they are looking at illegal material, and if they keep going they get enough information to track them down. But they have to keep warning people, otherwise its entrapment, so surely the paedos are onto that. I was thinking of having a similar site, and keeping the records of those who log-on.

              I had myself fairly convinced that there would be nothing wrong with this, seeing as it’s what Nick and his his friends get up to anyway. I even started thinking of the logistics of it. Yes, I seem to be going quite mad. Maybe.

              Will email from wherever we end up next.

86.
We're in Buffalo. It’s just the three of us now. Heard from the guys back in New York, they seem to be having a ball. Don't think they intend following through on the plan at all.

              I'm glad we're here though, just the three of us. Needed time to think.

              I've been thinking about the code. And when I got to thinking, I was wondering if I've been looking at this all wrong. It could be that there is more sexualities out there than we previously imagined. We all just assume that there's gay and straight and bi. And the argument is always about the lines and limits of bi and where they begin and end. But what if there are subdivisions in gays?

              I know this sounds like crazy talk. Homophobia from a gay guy. But that’s not it. What if we all are a shade of grey, we're all bi and we've broken down that scale to have gay on one end and straight on the other. So, it’s not crazy to think you can further subdivide gay down too. It’s just a new scale. On the one end you have the transsexual and the other end of the scale you have the architect, the family man who's always secretly been in love with another guy. They might be as different in their sexualities as the gay man is to the straight man to begin with.

              Looking for gay rights for all gays, just draws attention to those on the extremes. The drag queens, the transsexuals. And that doesn't help matters. We need to be fighting for the married architect. We need to give him some outlet. Is this dangerous talk? I'm not attacking the drag queens. I just wonder if gay culture is beginning to defeat itself. That’s the whole point of donating the sperm in the first place, gay liberation has been too successful. Anyway, there is enough support for the guys who are out. I need to concentrate my energy somewhere where it’s effective.