Anyone can start an internet poll that allows comments. We have polls here all the time. It's more challenging to get lots of voters participating and making comments.
By some means we came across a poll asking, should displays of public nudity be allowed or banned? The poll had a good number of responses and about 75 percent said "allow them." You may wish to go cast your vote. The title of this post isn't directed at the yea's or number of them, though you would, we suspect, get different results in different forums.
What we take issue with are the comments made by the naysayers. These varied but there were two prominent themes: 1. If people want to be nude in private in a place for it that would be okay but it shouldn't ever be public; and 2. Children shouldn't be exposed to public nudity because they can't deal with it.
Problem is, we were involved in defending nudist rights against encroachment for years and can tell you this... Many of those same people professing that they wouldn't care about nudity as long as it's private would be the first to call a state lawmaker to say "Close down that place!" If they heard a private nudist club was opening in their town, or even within some place across the state.
This is especially true if we broach topic number 2. There are KIDS there? Pay no attention that the tykes have been raised to see nudism as normal... Or that they're in the safety of their parents' direct supervision. "That's just wrong, the place needs to go" they will say with a mere shrug when reminded that it was their folks who swore they had no problem with those who choose to be naked if it's in private.
And once you exclude kids? Well it's property values. Or the fictitious likelihood of crime waves that will be triggered by bare bottoms behind a fence. And you can bet the people who say"just keep it private" will not do anything to protect private property rights by joining ranks with nudists. Or maybe only once in a while.
To those who say " I don't care what you do in your private backyard, just..." forgive the Platypus team. It's not that we don't believe you. It's just that we don't think it's likely you're telling the truth.
One of my favorite opening statements in an article or comment is, "I'm not a prude, but...", and then they proceed to demonstrate exactly how prudish they are!
ReplyDeleteI wonder why it is that only prudes feel the need to preface their prudish statements with that disclaimer? To lend credibility to their often specious argument?
Of course, many don't and just go straight to the misinformation and illogical statements they came to share. In their way, they're more honest, at least!
Funny thing about accusations against nudists; ALL of the things they accuse us of are committed almost exclusively by Textiles. Crime, pedophilia, orgies, ogling bodies; those are Textile activities, not nudist/naturist.
Now, I'm not a Textile, but... Could CLOTHES be the cause? I mean, all those Textiles and all those offences to decency! ;-)