Re: The Who Mailing List Digest V10 #13

[James Sethian <sethian@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Who Friends: This is what I have sent to my friends, asking what is 
going on:

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This is a mess, and one of Townshend's own making. The facts are that 
Townshend has been arrested for giving his credit card to a site that peddles 
child pornography. The police records seem to indicate that he went to that 
site once, and that's that. Being arrested in the UK is not the same as 
being arrested in the US - namely, one gets arrested without being charged. 
The police went to his home last night as well as his 
business, he went to the police station, and he was released on bail. This is 
what happens in the UK before one is even arrested or charged.

By all accounts (the police as well as townshend's and his supporters), 
once Townshend's credit card and name surfaced, he asked the police to 
come to his house, search and confisicate his computers, to show that there
was no child pornography. 

The background is complicated. Townshend has operated a web site of his
own (rock and roll, clips of performances, rantings, diaries during the 
last tour, etc.); as web sites go, it's pretty sophisticated
(www.petetownshend.co.uk). I remember reading on it about a year ago
(Who fans have checked - it was January 2002) a long (five page) rant about
child pornography, the dangers of the internet, etc. I have heard him
rant angrily about the same thing. He has spent a lot of energy, both 
indidivually and as a member of the Who, performing benefits for Marysville 
Academy in Chicago - a center for dealing with victims of child abuse, etc. 
And he's been a vocal spokesperson for defending children against abuse, 
especially through the internet, etc. All of this is well-documented by many 
sources. The claim that he visited a child pornography web site to see what 
was there and to do research for his upcoming book is not idiotic 
(though using his credit card certainly was).

What's also most probably true, is that Townshend was abused as a child. 
He has been claiming this for a long time (of course, he also claimed to 
have invented the internet, wore ladies underwear on stage, etc....)
Those of us who have paid attention over the years realize that 90% of what he 
says is just loony - either made up to irritate people, or designed to outrage
people. He's got a large streak of just wanting to provoke people - smashing
instruments certainly contained that) The theme of Tommy, written when he 
was in his early 20's, is child abuse and parental neglect, followed by
autism in response to that abuse, followed by a messianic like need to be 
adored to make it up for Tommy's internal emptiness, followed by
abandonment by all who once adored him. Most people doubt Townshend had any 
handle at all on where that stuff was coming from inside him when he wrote it.
Child abuse has been a prevalent theme in much of the later stuff as well.

It is certainly possible that Townshend is extraordinarily conflicted about
all this - having been abused, he may well be perversely drawn to exploring
it to get into that mind set. If he is really a pedophile, it seems unlikely
that he would have friends of 40 years (such as Roger Daltrey), a wife
with whom he had two children, and a new girlfriend, 
all of whom profess to knowing  nothing about it. That's no proof - but 
unlikely. It's also hard to believe that a 57 year old man has not once been 
touched by this scandal before - especially such a public figure as Townshend. 
My guess is that he has been truly scarred by child abuse in his past, hence 
both the noble and honorable goal of campaigning against it, contributing 
money and time against it, etc., and also been obsessed with learning about 
it. My guess is that he's not attracted to children, but, instead, 
obsessed with understanding that world in an attempt to understand himself.
Like many people that have been badly abused when young, they often 
internalize it, and I would guess he is profoundly ashamed that he can't shake 
its role in his life.  


Of course, I might well be completely wrong - but that's today's thinking.
Probably a longer response than you wanted, no?


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