Reply #21: It's fun. And your post inspired me to go back to look up some

[swag]

of some crazy shit was happening 10 to 15 years ago among Black and people like Jim Goad, Adam Parfrey, Jim Hogshire, etc. An old lunatic drinking buddy Steve who knew most of these guys (I only knew a couple of them) told me that Black once tried to set fire to the apartment building Steve lived in.

I have always wondered whether it was all an elaborate web of myths that these people had all conspired to contrive. Or whether they were just a bunch of crazy motherfuckers.

Example:

One altercation between Black and writer and alleged drug addict Jim Hogshire (author of the Loompanics book Opium For the Masses and the Feral House books Pills A Go-Go) resulted in Hogshire's arrest for possession of poppy pods with intent to manufacture opium. Black subsequently acknowledged that he had informed on Hogshire to the police, a claim that led to his alienation from some anarchist circles.

It is alleged that during the course of a dispute over religion (Hogshire proclaiming militant Islam), Mr. Hogshire aimed an M1 rifle at Mr. Black while blocking his exit. According to Black, Hogshire became incensed after Black "expound hermeneutics to Hogshire"<1>. Using Hogshire's wife as a human shield, Black maneuvered himself out of the house and escaped. Despite later accounts to the contrary, it was in fact Hogshire who first reported the incident to the police<2>. A month later, Black wrote a letter to the Seattle police claiming Hogshire was operating an illegal drug lab.<3> After news of this event became known, several bookstores, including Philadelphia's Wooden Shoe and Boston's Lucy Parsons Center stopped carrying Bob Black's books. Mike Hoy, owner and operater of Loompanics, sided with Hogshire and circulated a letter of support signed by himself and the ownership of Feral House. A legal defense fund was established and requests for donations were publicized by Loompanics.

Hogshire was indicted on the felony charge. Following his initial arrest bail was posted and Hogshire was released, after which he fled and was declared a fugitive. After a few months, his new lawyer negotiated his surrender and a guilty plea to a misdemeanor. The sentence was a fine, probation and community service. Hogshire and his wife later divorced and Hogshire (rumored to be addicted to heroin now) has not been heard from publicly since.

On another occasion, a member of the Church of the SubGenius, John Hagen-Brenner sent Black an "improvised explosive device consisting of an audio cassette holder wired with four cadium-type batteries, four flashbulbs, and five firecrackers" <4>, as described in the charging document filed in Federal District Court. According to Black, he thought the package looked suspicious, then on impulse "threw it against the wall. There was a flash (the flashcubes) and a puff of smoke but the firecrackers did not go off." <5> Black turned the device in to the police. Black believes this is because of criticism Black made of the Church, and he has repeatedly brought up the incident in his writings concerning the Church. Ivan Stang and other members of the Church have denied any involvement in this incident, and no one else was charged.

On a previous occasion a member of Processed World allegedly assaulted him by slamming his head against a sidewalk because he did not like Black's criticism of the publication. Black responded by suing him and represented himself in court. Police records show it was Black who was arrested for assault.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Black