"Safe, Sane and Consensual" is tired and overused.
Being a slave is not equivalent to becoming brainless.
I've never been one for towing the line and allowing rudeness to reign unquestioned. Authority must _earn_ my respect.
On Dominants:
Dominants shouldn't give themselves titles. I think titles should be bestowed
on them by their subs as a sign of personal, _earned_ respect.
Presumption is rude. I'm not going to submit to someone just because he says
he's a Dom and knows I'm a sub.
On responsibility:
When, and if, I give myself to a BDSM relationship, I will remain
responsible....no matter what happens....for the decision that put me there
in the first place. I am responsible for choosing who that Master is with great
care. I am responsible for educating myself thoroughly about the dangers and
benefits of the decision. I am responsible for accepting the consequences of
my decision. And I will always be responsible to myself and to my Master to
behave with the honour and integrity worthy of my position.
On idealizing any community:
....great as ideals but I think it's helpful to remember
that everyone is human too. Being pagan doesn't exempt one from short tempers,
short sightedness, one-true-wayism, bitching, jealousy...any of the negatives.
More so.....when I say 'I am Goddess' in circle or in simple affirmation...it
means that the Goddess does PMS, gets bloated and bitchy too. This is not, for
me, a religion of white light and fluffy bunnies where we all get along just
'cause we share a common belief system.
It's a spiritual philosophy that challenges us to make -connections- with each
other in full awareness of personality differences, to learn and grow from each
other and all of life around us. Sometimes the Goddess uses the cosmic equivalent
of a 2x4 to bring the lesson home. That might suck, but it's part of life as
well.
I'm not saying we should ignore or support the negatives...just that we should
accept their occasional appearance as a fact of life, and have compassion for
the folks (including ourselves) who still need to demonstrate them.
On protecting the Newbies:
Last time I checked, Newbies are still adults and perfectly capable of taking
care of themselves.
Okay, I obviously have too much free time on my hands today so I'm off on a
rant. What exactly are we protecting the Newbies from? And how did we who are
no longer newbies learn if everyone protected us when we were? What gives us
the right to protect the Newbies from learning whatever it is they need to learn
to gain experience? Who are we to judge what experiences they need and what
they don't?
There's a fine line between sharing our experiences in the hopes that someone
will learn from them without repeating the same mistakes and patronizingly protecting
people from what they need to learn.
If I was still a newbie...I'd say 'thank you for the advice, I will consider
it, but please recognize that I am an adult and I prefer to learn for myself.
Please don't try to protect me from the ghosts of _your_ mind. '
On slave names/identities:
I am Karen. It's been fun, this search for an identity that I wasn't born with,
but the truth is....I am who I am, I was born this way, and I like me or accept
me. I don't need a slave name to 'box' an identity into. Being slave is just
another part of who I am and it flows in and out of every day life. If you want
to find my submission, you've got to earn it. There are no easy triggers.
On a certain section of road in K-W:
Wait in line! It's not that bad, really. And it doesn't irritate the fuck out
of other drivers. I know it's a really bad exit off the #7 unto the #8, but
deal with it. Cutting in line is simply rude.