Last Thoughts.
After re-reading through this thread, it's more than obvious that those of us with strong opinions aren't about to have them altered. That's fine, because the bottom line is that Redmage, Aquafeline and others like myself are free to continue doing what we enjoy whether our less inclined aquaintances approve or not, while those who have no interest don't need to. Choices are a lovely perk of adulthood
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For the record, as Aquafeline noted, permanent damage is where the 'line' is drawn for even the edgiest of edgeplayers. Simply put, if it wouldn't heal and would impede from further activity it isn't done. Eating someone pretty much ensures they can't play anymore.
Now then. When I read over the comments of Drew and others, I realized that we're actually on the same page overall. Frankly I find true sadists to be absolutely reprehensible creatures, just as Drew does. All we really disagree on is what makes someone a
true sadist, the kind that shouldn't be around other people. That's because too many of my friends whom I love, whom I have trusted with my life and would trust with my children's lives in a heartbeat, some of the most caring and tender people I know, would qualify as that truly vile type of sadist by the definition some here would use. Never mind the fact that these are people who have lives to be proud of as spouses and loving parents, work hard and are valued parts of their communities. The fact that they like to consensually flog/whip/brand/whatever is all that some folks would see, and label them based only on that aspect of their personalities. That's a shame, and highly unfair. There's much more to them than that. Just as there's much more to me than the fact that I like be a stern Mistress or a naughty Girl Scout every now and then
. Does that make me amoral and unfit to make my own decisions? Indeed, according to some. The rest of my life-fully competent wife, mother, businesswoman, etc, are cheerfully overlooked. Such shallow dismissal is rampant and should be beneath the intelligence of the posters here.
And I think that's been my main issue, the narrow scope of what I've read and the inexperience of those writing. There are too many people who've had something negative say with little to no first-hand exposure to the players and community about which they're so horrified. How one can finger wag so vehemently with so few facts on so complex an issue is...disheartening to say the least.
When you're a part of this and have been for years, when you actually *know* people who practice these activities, when it's not just some horrible sounding hypothetical situation but a real part of your life, it's hard to understand the nay-sayers. They don't see, or choose to ignore, how amazing and fulfilled the folks they're discussing feel after their play, very similar to the runner's high that athletes and deep-tissue massage fans describe. They don't observe them living full and quite rational, happy lives that are only enhanced by the satisfaction both tops and bottoms get from their alternative activities. When you actually see and listen and learn, you realize that what they do may be extreme by your standards, but fine for them. And you shrug and go have your own kind of fun, which someone somewhere is labeling reprehensible right now-because there's always someone less kinky than you, trust me
😛
Meanwhile, though I disagree with several here on what constitutes abuse, let me say that it's wonderful that there are people like Drew and Johnny who will defend women who actually
need defending. Such men are honorable and valuable parts of society, and women like Susannah are lucky to have them around. On that I think we all agree.
Bella
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