VINDICATED
The recent ruling by the State Appeals Court overturning my 2007 disorderly conduct conviction in Provincetown is nothing short of rare vindication (see "P-town's Not-So-Secret Vice," editorial, October 5, 2007). People need to know that they cannot be arrested, beaten, and prosecuted for saying something the police find objectionable in a private back yard (whether it was said or, in my case, it was not). This is illegal. It is unconstitutional, and should never happen to you or someone you love. That the Provincetown Police Department and district attorney of the Cape and Islands saw it any other way makes a mockery of our entire judicial system. I knew early on that the fight would have to be brought to Boston, where the law is actually followed. Unfortunately, it took a lot of resources, time, and sleepless nights to hold the Provincetown PD and other officials accountable for their actions. For now, I will wear the remaining resisting-arrest charge as a badge of honor. I did not do any such thing, but to have that overturned in this state seems impossible. The police are protected beyond reason, which dirties the badges of cops who are decent and honest. I tried to do the right thing. Thank you for your kind support during this long struggle.
Barry Scott
Boston
COUNTER 'ATTACK'
I have been on the fringe of the Penny Arcade "dickwolves" controversy, and I found a lot of the bluster as pointless, because I understood fully what the original comic was trying to say. In this vein, I feel your article "When Dickwolves Attack" (March 4) comes off as a hatchet job, with a smattering of sour grapes and a twist of insincerity.
Instead of providing valid context and citing references, this article picks at the scab that was forming over this issue. I'm hoping that the controversy actually and finally fizzles out after this, and everyone who is genuinely offended comes to understand that rescue quests are actually rather creepy and deserve whatever mockery they get. In the meantime, I await the coming Penny Arcade demographic that is "hungry for rape material."
Tom Leidy
San Francisco
Related:
Responses to the Dickwolves Debacle, The Phoenix's Greatest Hits of 2011, Occupy Cape Cod is showing the kids that experience pays off, More 
- Responses to the Dickwolves Debacle
Your article " When Dickwolves Attack " (March 4) was great — really well written, and you explain the significance of everything very well. I wasn't much of a Penny Arcade fan, so it was easy for me to forget the vast scope of their influence, for example.
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We have to admit it: we're a little bit awesome. It's true.
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I've seen the future of Occupy. It was wearing sensible beige walking shoes, boots of the non-combat variety, and, in some cases, sweater vests and pressed button-downs.
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When you've got the Kennedys and the Koch brothers on the same side of an issue, it's hard to know what to think.
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A few years ago, documentarian Kirby Dick read an article about rape among the troops and was shocked to see that no one had made a movie on the subject.
- Turning feminist theory into a visceral rape deterrent
In Africa, your vagina can get spikes for $2. No longer just a revenge dream, this device — called Rape-aXe — was actually distributed for free last year at the World Cup in South Africa.
- A woman takes charge and learns the art of the best defense
When the first attacker grabbed my wrist; I hammer-fisted his forearm and issued a sweep-kick to his groin.
- Leveling the playing field
A few observations on Dena Riegel's " Striking Back: Turning Feminist Theory Into a Visceral Rape Deterrent " (April 29).
- The 13th Annual Provincetown International Film Festival
Henry Thoreau said of the song of the wood thrush: "Whenever a man hears it, it is a new world and a free country, and the gates of heaven are not shut. . . . " For some reason, Provincetown is full of these birds — appropriately so, given the avowed intent of the Provincetown International Film Festival to present liberated "filmmaking on the edge."
- Pingree advocates for raped veterans, gets results
The Department of Veterans' Affairs is taking steps to ensure that military sexual-assault and rape survivors have less of a hard time getting the benefits they deserve, according to US Representative Chellie Pingree, who represents Southern Maine in Washington, DC.
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