[pct-l] Re: Etna and Daniel Webster - NOT the rest of the story

[rogers at isi.edu (Craig Milo Rogers)]

On 05.01.31, yogi wrote:
> FYI, the short news article Craig posted to PCT-L is NOT "the rest of the
> story".  
> When I stayed at the Hiker Hut in 2003, Daniel told me the whole
...

> I'm disappointed that Craig chose to post this short article here on
> PCT-L, while stating that the "magic apparently got a little out of
> hand", and implying the worst about Daniel.  Don't believe everything
> you read.  Craig's little article is NOT "the rest of the story".
> Instead, it perpetuates the fabricated charges against Daniel.
>
> I have to wonder what was Craig's motivation for posting that article.
> Simply put, it was mean-spirited.

	My motivation was that, seeing Etna mentioned in PCT-L, I
wondered again what had happened to Daniel Webster and his trial.
I've thought about him from time to time, and I was hoping that he'd
been cleared of all charges.  I was especially hoping that he hadn't
been sent to jail or labeled a "sex offender".  I believe there were
messages on PCT-L, about a year ago, regarding Daniel's position on
the charges against him, and I didn't want to rehash (excuse the pun)
all those details.  So, I did some research, and forwarded a short
summary of the new information to PCT-L, thinking that there would be
others on the list who shared my concern.

	In my message, I tried to avoid adding my opinions on the
politics of the situation, although I allowed myself liberty in trying
to describe how the Hiker Hut of 2003 was a truly wonderful
experience.  Effusive descriptions of near-trail experiences are fit
matters for PCT-L, after all.

	I apologize for my "magic apparently got a little out of hand"
remark, as that trivializes a serious situation; I should have taken a
darker tone, I suppose.  Daniel has lost some of his freedom: his
civil liberties are curtailed for 3 years; he has surely suffered
personally and financially.  The fact that the hiking community has
lost a supporter, someone who offered trail magic in the best possible
way, is surely minor compared to the personal tragedy that Daniel has
suffered.

	It has never been clear to me whether Daniel was being
attacked because he was gay or because of the content that he
published in his newspaper: either of these attributes might have been
enough to attract hatred, I suppose.  It seemed likely, in the short
time I visited Etna, that Daniel was doing or saying something that,
although likely true, was being received poorly by some people in the
area, and I admired Daniel for his courage in doing so.

	Actually, Etna is a bit of a puzzle to me, because everyone I
interacted with in Etna treated me kindly and with respect; not like,
say, when I visited Germany a few years ago, where I experienced
anti-semitism up close and personal (which I otherwise can't recall
happening to me since grade school).

	I am relieved, for Daniel's sake, that the jury refused to
convict him of any of the sex-related charges; I think this reflects
well on the Siskiyou community.  I'm dissapointed (and even offended)
about the "contributing to the deliquincy of a minor by sharing dope"
conviction; the police reported finding marijuana in Daniel's
property, but that, alone, should be enough to support only a charge
of possession.  (On the other hand, I don't know the full scope of the
evidence presented in the trial.)  I'm also puzzled because my memory
of past news coverage was that the accuasations against Daniel
included giving a glass of wine to the 17-year old, and there's no
mention of that in the more recent reports.

	If you want my opinion, the sentence handed to Daniel was
grossly disproportionate to his actions.  I am open to further
discussions on this topic, but I am unconvinced that PCT-L is an
appropriate forum.

	Was the dope, that the police repoted finding in Daniel's
possession, perhaps planted evidence?  Has the Salmon River Marijuana
Growers Associations really come to assume a mafia-like presence in
the Scott Valley?  I don't know;  all I can do is cite references:

http://www.klamathbasincrisis.org/tributaries/tribsalmonrmari052604.htm
http://www.klamathbasincrisis.org/environmentalistswildlands/enviropottrade100104.htm
http://www.siskiyoudaily.com/articles/2004/05/03/news/news1.prt
http://www.freedom.org/prc/prc-digest/?i=volume04/108

	Frankly, I'm a little scared by the implications of some of
the content of these articles.

					Craig "Computer" Rogers