Nude nuisance, eco-activist or just nutz?

June 13, 2005 12:35 AM

The Naked Rambler returns!The Naked Rambler is about to do it again, this time accompanied by a Naked Librarian. How eccentric do you have to be to generate a jail sentence rather than a smile?
posted by Duug (32 comments total)

How eccentric do you have to be to generate a jail sentence rather than a smile?

Present dissident.
posted by Balisong at 12:37 AM on June 13, 2005

Wasn't there a nude "critical mass" type of event the other day in England?

Er... on a slightly related note, I always get a chuckle out of nude crime.

I saw an episode of Cops once, where a rather tubby black man was walking stark bollocks naked thru his neighbourhood in the middle of the day. This made me laff.

I also saw about 8 cops follow him for a bit and decide the best course of action was to violently take him down. This made me sad.

(Tried to jump a tall wooden fence at one stage. Pretty sure he damaged his scrote. Ouch.)
posted by uncanny hengeman at 1:31 AM on June 13, 2005

Naked Bike Ride in London over the weekend...
posted by i_cola at 1:45 AM on June 13, 2005

It doesn't help that said tubby black man was high on PCP or some other social lubricant and was scaring the living shit out of everyone in the neighborhood.
posted by WebToy at 4:19 AM on June 13, 2005

How eccentric do you have to be...

What's so eccentric about being in you natural state while out in nature?
posted by ZenMasterThis at 5:02 AM on June 13, 2005

I bet he caused a heap of trouble for all concerned.
posted by Faint of Butt at 5:30 AM on June 13, 2005

What's so eccentric about being in you natural state while out in nature?

It is absolutely unbelievable the negative attitudes some people have toward naked humans. Mindboggling, really.
posted by dreamsign at 6:07 AM on June 13, 2005

Britain's image as a nation of eccentrics who take off their clothes the instant the clouds part

Who's the newswriter responsible for that gem? Ah, Julia Stewart. I didn't know they were giving away journalism degrees in boxes of fiddle faddle.
posted by nervousfritz at 6:15 AM on June 13, 2005

It is absolutely unbelievable the negative attitudes some people have toward naked humans.

Look at they byline, dude! These are naked English humans. Understand now?
posted by jonmc at 7:45 AM on June 13, 2005

The problem with this chap is that whenever he's interviewed, he doesn't come across as an eccentric campaigner for healthy attitudes toward the body, he comes across as a pervy weirdo who really, really likes wandering around with his cock out.

The movement for public nudism, if there is such a movement, needs a less creepy spokesnudist.
posted by jack_mo at 8:02 AM on June 13, 2005

Spokesnudists.
posted by ZenMasterThis at 8:16 AM on June 13, 2005

What's so eccentric about being in you natural state while out in nature?

Implying that all we are is bodies. Brains are also part of the 'natural' package and our brains make us wear clothing for various reasons. So what's more natural, failing to cloth the body or doing what our brains tell us to do.

In case it needs explaining our brains tell us, among other things, we need to mediate social interaction, in particular we need to be selective about who we share our sexuality with. Brain-enabled people would, for example, typically exclude children from the list of people we want to share with.
posted by scheptech at 8:28 AM on June 13, 2005

Man, I bet his nuts were spicy after that trip.
posted by spicynuts at 9:08 AM on June 13, 2005

In case it needs explaining our brains tell us, among other things, we need to mediate social interaction, in particular we need to be selective about who we share our sexuality with.

Nakedness is not all about sexuality. I can be (and have been) naked in public for hours without thinking of sex. It's just that most of the Western (and especially the Anglo-Saxon) world has big hang-ups about sex and confuses sex and nakedness.
posted by kika at 9:10 AM on June 13, 2005

Come on now. Is this really a Western thing? In how many Eastern countries is it socially acceptable to walk around in large public places in the nude?
posted by Stauf at 9:17 AM on June 13, 2005

Being naked doesn't have to involve sexuality. If the climate allows for it, I see no reason why people should have to wear clothes.
posted by ddf at 9:23 AM on June 13, 2005

In how many Eastern countries is it socially acceptable to walk around in large public places in the nude?

I think the Digambara Jains count as "socially acceptable," though as monks they may be a bit of a special case.
posted by Quinbus Flestrin at 9:33 AM on June 13, 2005

I'd hate to ride (or clean) the subway in your world, ddf.
posted by jonmc at 9:33 AM on June 13, 2005

I dunno, I don't have an issue with naked people. I was at a party in Austin this weekend where everyone at the party ended up naked in the swimming pool. There was no sexual tension or issues at all. It's not like there was pervy action in the pool...it's just a group of people who feel comfortable enough around each other that skin isn't an issue.

(Although, there was one person who could do shadow puppets with his manly bits...and that was REALLY funny.)
posted by dejah420 at 9:51 AM on June 13, 2005

Quinbus: Thanks for the link. That's actually pretty interesting. And, yeah, there's always exceptions. There are plenty of nudist colonies/resorts across the U.S., for example.
posted by Stauf at 9:58 AM on June 13, 2005

dejah420 : probably not as funny as the puppetry of the penis guys ...

What I found amusing about this article was that the dude was going to be accompanied by a librarian ... who wished to remain anonymous. Gonna be a bit tricky, I'd have thought...
posted by kaemaril at 9:58 AM on June 13, 2005

I was at a party in Austin this weekend where everyone at the party ended up naked in the swimming pool.

I never get invited to parties like this. But then again I never get invited to parties. But, in college I lived in a building full of rent-controlled oldsters. One lady was fond of walking the halls with her robe wide open with nothing underneath. Looked like an albino Yoda beaver shot.

That'll put anyone off nudity for a while.
posted by jonmc at 10:15 AM on June 13, 2005

it's just a group of people who feel comfortable enough around each other that skin isn't an issue

Fair enough within that limited context, we may assume these were all informed consenting adults, probably of reasonably similar ages, and armed with the choice of staying or leaving?

Some people will do anything for attention. I knew a guy once who would pour beer into a full ashtray, gulp it down butts and all, then say 'gone the way of the wild goose'...

Anyhow back in Austin (Texas presumably?) one imagines no kids were exposed to the puppetry? Anyone from Texas know the penalty for manipulating ones genitals in the presence of a minor?
posted by scheptech at 10:31 AM on June 13, 2005

When manipulating one's genitals is illegal, only criminals will manipulate their genitals ...

... I'll get me coat. :)
posted by kaemaril at 10:57 AM on June 13, 2005

Scheptech lots and lots of kids are exposed to nudity every day with no ill effects. It's amazing that needs to be explained.
posted by filchyboy at 11:18 AM on June 13, 2005

It's not nudity that harms kids: it's adult's stupidity about nudity that causes harm.
posted by five fresh fish at 12:04 PM on June 13, 2005

It doesn't help that said tubby black man was high on PCP or some other social lubricant and was scaring the living shit out of everyone in the neighborhood.

AFAICR, people were staring and pointing and giggling at the tubby black man. He wasn't scaring anyone.

Not saying I have any answers. Maybe it was always going to result in a beat down, no matter what the police tried?

One thing I would have done differently would be to not have a woman lead the charge.

Yep, that's right, you read it correctly. I don't know if it was just done for the cameras and it's not the norm, but some idiot decided a female cop was to apprehend him. Of course she was completely ineffectual, tubby tried to do the bolt over a wooden fence, and then the rest of the cops piled on.

It was quite a fracas.
posted by uncanny hengeman at 5:19 PM on June 13, 2005

For those espousing the naked=sexual connection, please report to the nearest Fark thread on public breastfeeding for a full brain scrub.

The movement for public nudism, if there is such a movement, needs a less creepy spokesnudist.

Unfortunate. Reminds me of my one visit to Wreck Beach. Multiple aged men wandering around with shirts on, but no pants or shorts. WTF?
posted by dreamsign at 1:00 PM on June 14, 2005

Come on now. Is this really a Western thing? In how many Eastern countries is it socially acceptable to walk around in large public places in the nude?

Well, I've been to many (non-Western) beaches that were "clothing optional" though no one would ever think to call them that. Families, what have you. No hang ups, so really no attention paid.

Though I have yet to learn how to chat up a completely naked woman.
posted by dreamsign at 1:02 PM on June 14, 2005

It's not about sex (or the old people phobia), it's about germs. How many of you have lived in dorms? Ever seen other people's laundry lying around with shitstains on the underwear? I sure have. People are nasty. On the beach? Sure, you're all getting in the water anyway (one reason I don't swim). But in general? No thanks.
posted by digitalis at 6:43 PM on June 14, 2005

People are nasty.

*gasp*

But not you, your poop comes out in perfumed gift-wrapped packages. Freud would have field day.
posted by jonmc at 7:49 PM on June 14, 2005

Does this help? One problem is who knows what the naked man's intentions are? Sure maybe he's thinking about football but maybe he's thinking about sex and since he's already taken what is commonly an important preparatory step towards peforming the latter, other people who can't read his mind, have a right to be concerned.
posted by scheptech at 9:15 PM on June 14, 2005