Politics and quicksand

[MuddyEddie]

I'd had this thought bouncing around in my head for some time now. Not sure why I never posted it here before, as this seems like a great place to see what others have to say about it!

It's quite obvious that the political climate of the United States is changing. I won't discuss my opinion of the changes, or whether I feel that it is a good thing or a bad thing. But it's quite obvious that we are becoming a more "liberal" (for lack of a more politically neutral word) country. People are becoming more open to various sorts of alternative type of entertainment and lifestyles.

So how will this change the way that those of us who have dived into the quicksand fetish will "relate" to these changes? What I mean is; Should we do more to bring our ideas into the mainstream?

I know that it's well beyond the means of most, if not all, of us to start any sort of political movement that would increase public awareness of our "hobby". But I like to imagine what it would be like if we could someone open up the eyes of others. I know that there are many other people out there that have wallowed in anonymity because they think that their fetish is somehow not natural. And I know that thought is not an original one, and has been debated many times before.

Still, I somehow feel that the times are becoming ripe for a more open acceptance of our lifestyle. What say ye?

Eddie

[Aiko]

I don't live in the US (never been there in fact), so I can't really tell how liberal people there have become. If one were to measure the level of acceptance of fetishes in general by the number of people who have publicly admitted to any of them, then AFAIK at least on this side of the big pond that number would be zero. Maybe the number is higher in the US. I don't know.

My advice is to let the bondage folks and muddy fetish people go first and follow in their trail.

[tempman]

People becoming liberal is a very, very good thing. It's when silly morals (that is to say silly-morals, I'm not implying that morals are silly) are lifted and we progress. For example - stem cell research, more open minded peers, optional euthanasia and more personal freedom and safeties are gained. I spent some time in the US and I wasn't happy with what I saw, but they are a relatively new country still.
Conservatism should only occur once we're at a pinnacle of civilisation when there is something to conserve.

So from that I'd imagine that in a few years it will be more acceptable in the US. It's not so hidden in the UK. TV channels have aired documentaries about WAM people (I vaguely remember Pippa being involved in the filming of one), even Jonathan Creek had a quicksand fetish scene.

[Aiko]

It's not so hidden in the UK. TV channels have aired documentaries about WAM people (I vaguely remember Pippa being involved in the filming of one), even Jonathan Creek had a quicksand fetish scene.

I don't even know the show, but I got curious and just looked up that episode (http://www.jonathancreek.net/season3episode5.asp):

... Maddy says it's like a guy she once went out with. He got turned on by quicksand. He actually asked her if she'd get into a tub of ready break (a breakfast cereal - bit like porridge) fully clothed! ...

Really surprised me a little.

I wonder how a documentary about the quicksand fetish and our producers would be received by the public. If such a documentary is ever made, I hope they make it clear, that we don't put ourselves (or the models filmed) in actual danger of drowning.

[Mynock]

The current political atmosphere here is a little .....tense....shall we say?
Personally I'm a fence sitter as far as alternative lifestyles go, which I sometimes think is weird considering I have what pretty much anyone would call an alternative lifestyle.
I believe everyone has the right to stick whatever into whomever, whereever (or whatever) they please, but I also think what you do in the bedroom should stay in the bedroom and not be broadcasted to the entire world just to get attention.
I don't make any attempt to hide my fetish, but I also don't, like, walk up to the guys at the watercooler at work and say "Hey, so I was out at the quarry banging my girlfriend in this 30ft deep mud hole....."
Then again.....that would be an absolutely epic conversation starter.

[Nessie]

Not sure I can take laying out my political views in detail on a quicksand forum, but...gotta admit...

While I haven't got a gay bone in my body,I simply can't get comfortable with any political philosophy that does not, without reservation or qualms of any kind, accept homosexuality on an equal basis with heterosexuality.

That is because people who can't handle a normal ordinary nice neighborly gay couple living next door certainly won't be very happy when they get a load of ME.

Here's a test I came up with for moral principles.

Imagine that the whole, entire world followed a certain moral to the letter. Without necessarily believing in it, and without necessarily agreeing with it, and not even necessarily even wanting to do it...just...if we all were made to do it, like a law, and we really did do it.

Will the world be a better place than it is now?

(Like, just imagine! Nobody ever rapes, murders, or robs others...wow, you'd never have to lock a door or worry about walking down a street...you could even, gasp!...give a ride to a hitchhiker! The world would be a wonderful place!)

Or will the world suck more than it does now?

Most traditional "morals" regarding consensual sexual behavior appear to me to fall into the second category. Nobody's getting hurt when the moral is broken, but other people butt in to try to enforce it anyway.

Nessie

[Robert]

What we need to do is to send the Conservative Right TV and talk show hosts a few DVD's then they would make sure it got all over talk radio and TV. Another leftist conspiracy threat to apple pie and the world!!!

Robert

[Nessie]

What we need to do is to send the Conservative Right TV and talk show hosts a few DVD's then they would make sure it got all over talk radio and TV. Another leftist conspiracy threat to apple pie and the world!!!

Robert

Oh, my...that could do the trick.

If you sent a PRP DVD to, say, a comedian, that comedian would make a joke out of it. And if you sent it to mainstream news, if it got noticed at all, it'd be treated quite lightly.

But send it to some of THOSE guys and they might go off like rockets. They'll be serious about it, too.

Nessie

[nachtjaeger]

This is a real problem in this country. One political faction claims to be for personal freedom, but wants the Government to be the National Nanny- which means all kinds of stupid rules like no swimming when the lifeguard is off duty, and all sorts of "it's for your own good" laws and regulations.
The other political faction claims to be for personal freedom- so long as you live within the bounds of Judeo-Christian morality (as imposed by civil law.)
We need a third option- something like the sort of future Robert Heinlein wrote about. As he put it, "All just laws are based on the principle of 'Women and children first.' Anything else is excess baggage which can- indeed, must- be jettisoned in an emergency." Trying to hold a society together with laws is like trying to hold on to a wet bar of soap. Too loose a grip, and it falls. Too tight, and it slips out of your grasp. This is especially true of a nation of 300 million rebels, freethinkers, dreamers and malcontents like the United States.
My dream is for the general principle of "Don't ask, don't tell" to be replaced by "Don't give a flying f**k." Our Constitution could consist of just two acronyms- MYOB and TANSTAAFL. That's 'Mind Your Own Business' and 'There Ain't No Such Thing As A Free Lunch.'

[nachtjaeger]

Hey! Global warming is bad enough. When the heads of those hosts explode, do you have any idea how much hot air and gas will be released?

Mmmm. . . warm apple pie. . .

What we need to do is to send the Conservative Right TV and talk show hosts a few DVD's then they would make sure it got all over talk radio and TV. Another leftist conspiracy threat to apple pie and the world!!!

Robert