Not long ago I reinstituted public furring at the Black Pearl Inn. It was a decision that I came to after a great deal of thought and one upon which I placed certain limitations.

I remembered well the day that KNIGHTRANGER came into Kassar Camp and said that He would no longer allow such displays. His insight was that we were behaving like a group of sex-crazed orgyists whose idea of Gor was hump hump hump and nothing else. I remember feeling a flush of embarrassment and anger because I knew Myself to be one of the very active "humpers," but I also knew that He was correct in his assessment.

Many people came to Kassar and it was not uncommon for guests to be treated to the sight of two more slaves in different parts of the camp working away on the genitals of more than more Master. It was overwhelming our sense of what Gor should be about.

I digress, but it was that thought that went through My mind and also the thoughts of My Brothers who, by and large, seemed somewhat indifferent to the decision. There was no impassioned outcry of "hooray" from they.

The Free Woman, however, had been monolithic in their response when I had spoken privately to them. They had begged that I not do such a thing. But I did it.

After having done it, My FW, Verna posted a message on the boards suggesting that there would be much work to do at Port Kar's main room and that at certain times it would be advisable for a proper FW to be there rather than at the Inn.

Her Sisters rallied to Her support and some went a bit too far. One such Sister went to the Inn and made of display of disgust while only slaves were present, claiming that she could not soil her fingertips by touching anything that was used at the Inn and such like comments.

The action of the two FWs show the correctness and incorrectness of response. Verna was giving good advice as an FW advisor. A FW who engages in the obvious voyeurism of watching furring may be considered to be acting in a manner that finds her deserving of a kolar.

However, an FW who expresses disgust for a such a decision might be considered to be criticizing the man who made such a call and find herself spread wide in nadu with steel about her neck.

A second complaint that I get from some FWs with some consistency is that the slaves don't treat Me as well as if I were a Man. I stare at them with uncomprehending eyes, waiting for the question of "Why should they?" to dawn on them.

When I finally explain that slaves are expected to show respect for all Frees but that FWs haven't the right to expect to be shown the same servitude as a Man, many become offended. They find it almost impossible to get their minds around the concept that they are to be afforded "equal rights" on Gor.

I believe this to be a cultural misunderstanding as we master the rp of Gor. It is so very hard not to bring the cultural prejudices of Urth along with Us. The experience of so many of those who were taken back to Gor on Voyages of Acquisition display the difficulty in countless detail.

Finally, many of you may know that I have been involved in a series of conflicts over the last few weeks. One such fray was at Olni. The "Tatrix" (although I did think that name was only to be applied to Tharna) proclaimed that she would not allow a kill based on speed posts. She proclaimed it loudly in the room and later in print. I cannot help but wonder if she thought it necessary to check the rules of GC on "Kills" before she made a fool of herself doubly.

For such an obvious ineptness, most Gorean Men would dessert her leadership and have her follow them on a chained leash. But I know that such a suggestion would seem completely foreign to her. Here again, it is the cultural difficulty of which I speak.

Free Women are in a difficult position, there is no doubt about that. They must maintain elegant balance while traversing a fine line. Ignorance and a overblown self importance do not seem to be particularly good tools for them to carry.