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Kinkfest and the Met (56)

This post is on the West Central London (WC) topics page and the BDSM Events web board.

9 Aug 05, 6:20 PM
kethry
UK(LE), 8 yrs

Thunder_12 wrote:
Apparently one of her neighbours had recognised her in a soft core porn video, knew she was a candidate in a forthcoming round of local elections, and told the paper (A year ago I realised that in fact politics and BDSM don't mix and withdrew from my first love, politics, for that reason).

personally i'd rather have a local councillor with a lot of life experience and a nice rounded view of local life, who has been there, lived it rough, than someone from outside who has no idea of how the majority of the people in the area live, and no idea of how to relate to them unless they fit within their own narrow sphere. But that's me.. i do think the brits can be terribly prudish when it comes to the morals of those in public life.

Thunder_12 wrote:
The most worrying aspect of the story is that the local newspaper then contacted her local Council (who housed her and her young child) saying that she was using her home for immoral purposes and asked if she should be allowed to live there (her home in fact never even featured in the video)

For weeks she then also lived in the fear that she and her child might be evicted until the Councilr said that she had done nothing wrong and was not in breach of her tenancy agreement.

Personally i think newpapers should be banned from doing something like that.. *shrugs*.. i can't see it happening anytime soon though.

thanks for the reply!

kethry{BP}/ke'chara{BP} xx

9 Aug 05, 6:28 PM
LadyRed
UK, 9 yrs

Yep... more or less what I was trying to say but your so more eloquent than I am kethry

kethry wrote:

LadyRed wrote:
Funny but there are more police officers into BDSM than people realise... also its getting more well known that social workers (even though they try to keep it quiet) and Solicitors etc are also into BDSM and fetish.

Yes there are, LR, but i think what many people maybe don't think about (especially those with careers that aren't affected by BDSM) is this:

what a policeman (solicitor, socialworker, tinker, tailor, spy) does in the privacy of his/her own bedroom is one thing - what is quite different is being on the wider scene, advertising oneself on websites, going to parties, etc. etc. this brings one into contact with many many other people, some of whose motives may be less than pure, and in this way, things can and do happen and names/websites/photos can be found that cause problems for the policeman (solicitor, etc.). Thats even without the problem of being outed by other vengeful people, as Master Lawrence found out the hard way.

Until the whole question of whether what someone does in their private life can be held to affect their career or whether their private life is sacrosanct (a question that i think is at the heart of the Lawrence case), even when widely publicised on the net, i think those who have careers such as the police, the law, social work, etc. are going to have to be careful.

Yes, the attitudes of the police & the judiciary are changing, slowly, as they begin to understand who and what we are, and who and what we are not, which is a great thing. But lets remember those who still have to worry about their personal and professional worlds colliding, and do what we can to support them, at least till the question above is resolved.. and those people can have the same freedoms that many of the rest of us do.

kethry{BP}/ke'chara{BP}

"Standing up and being counted is the 1st step in the right direction" Quote by Red for more years than she can remember

9 Aug 05, 6:50 PM
kethry
UK(LE), 8 yrs

LadyRed wrote:
Yep... more or less what I was trying to say but your so more eloquent than I am kethry

awwwwww shucks *blushes*.. thanks!

kethry{BP}/ke'chara{BP} xx

9 Aug 05, 7:05 PM
Damara
7 yrs

the main problem as i see it concerning the law and being "out " if you work in it, is the media. if for instance you were a police officer and were working on a high profile case, it would be very easy to discredit your evidence if you were found to partake in these activity's?

not at all fair i have to add, but we all know how the media works?

*goverment health warning* this person is a serial flirter!!

10 Aug 05, 12:54 PM
madkat
UK, 11 yrs

Diablere wrote:
the main problem as i see it concerning the law and being "out " if you work in it, is the media. if for instance you were a police officer and were working on a high profile case, it would be very easy to discredit your evidence if you were found to partake in these activity's?

not at all fair i have to add, but we all know how the media works?

And this is what Laurence has been fighting for - the freedom to be 'out' whoever you are and whatever line of work you're in without fear of being sacked for it.

"He's not a male sub, he's madkat."

Edited 10 Aug 05, 1:00 PM by madkat

10 Aug 05, 1:29 PM
demolitionred
6 yrs

madkat wrote:
And this is what Laurence has been fighting for - the freedom to be 'out' whoever you are and whatever line of work you're in without fear of being sacked for it.

Also perceptions about what readers are interested in hasn't shifted since the last radical overhaul with the advent of changes at the Sun in the 70s.

That said, these personal interest /scandal stories are the mainstay of papers because people buy them.

I have spent time with a number of Paparazzi. They write the stories cos sales go up on the days they do.

So while the Sun recognises that the majority of people fantasise about BDSM related sex scenes on a centre page, it exposes celebrities who play such games on page 1.

Its not losing your job that most people fear from being outed, its the being outed itself.

But if you don't care and have told the people you care about, the media has no hold.

Certain professions have to be cautious -- which hopefully Laurence's case will address.

And there are certain activities (e.g. stealing from your boss by using the internet at work, photographing play that leaves more than transient and trifling marks,) which you should avoid, but we're not really in the shadows half as much as we were.

With Laurence's case and the Spanner Trusts' plans, hopefully our only concern will be how to engage in safe practice and to have fulfilling relationships...

'Don't mind me. My default setting is empathy'