Pissing Contest

AANR has responded to the NAC Update of June 20.

This is not what I pay dues for. These so-called professional organizations, who profess to represent essentially the same nudist and naturist philosophies, are falling all over themselves to point fingers at each other over the ending of nude sunbathing at San Onofre Beach.

FACT: The California Department of Parks and Recreation completely blindsided the nudists at San Onofre by declaring the end of nude sunbathing due to an increased number of complaints concerning sexual activity. The NAC has proven that the complaints were overstated.

FACT: The Naturist Action Committee took the DPR to court and won. Even though the state won on appeal, San Onofre remained clothing optional for about a year and a half due to the litigation.

FACT: AANR decided that NAC's lawsuit would eventually fail, which it did, and hedged its bets on an appeasement policy with the DPR, instead of standing up for the rights of nudists at San Onofre, essentially throwing them under the bus.

FACT: AANR has a letter, and nothing more, from the DPR. In that letter, the DPR adds the word "remote" as a modification to the original Cahill policy, esentially banishing nude recreation from view on public parklands. Waving such a letter and claiming victory evokes the image of British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain proclaiming that his negotiations with Hitler had achieved "peace for our time."

Has AANR been played the fool by the DPR? Only time will tell, but with the victory in the higher court, it seems very unlikely that the DPR will allow any nudity zones in public parklands. The situation at San Onofre shows that the people running the Parks Department cannot be trusted.

Being on the winning side in a single battle does not always mean ultimate victory in the war.

I also believe that any further litigation by the NAC would be pointless, since the DPR can just change its policy anyway. This has always been about administrative procedure, basically just buying more time for San Onofre, and not a referendum on whether or not the DPR has the right to ban nudity.

Had AANR joined forces with the NAC and presented a much stronger front in this battle, the end result might well have been the same, but instead of bickering over who started what when, the two organizations could have been working together to make progress on other fronts.

I urge all dues-paying members of these organizations to urge them to stop the infighting and get back to business. The rights and interests of nudists and naturists are far more important than who wins a pissing contest.