[greycella]

It's really too bad that this has gotten all the attention is has. The press A) encourages people to keep doing it and B) gives a totally false impression of what Brattleboro is about. Yes, being naked is allowed- but it doesn't happen very often save for a few select swimming holes. I live right downtown and I can assure you that 99.9 percent of folks keep their clothes on. I personally don't think being naked in public should be considered perverse- but I want to make it clear that it's not representative of Brattleboro on the whole.

[arel]

Good to read the naked truth.

[Dwatted Wabbit]

Haha.^^ So are there any updates on the state of Brattleboro? Did the city elders mandate loincloths? Vines to swing on?

[Suzet2262]

I dont think I could walk down a street naked, but I bet it would be fun to go swimming naked in one of the many swimming holes there. I am all about baring my freedom Haha...atleast while swimming.

[skytrekker]

Originally Posted by Suzet2262

I dont think I could walk down a street naked, but I bet it would be fun to go swimming naked in one of the many swimming holes there. I am all about baring my freedom Haha...atleast while swimming.

Well there is a nude swimming hole not far from the 'Bratt'

around Dummerston and Putney- very beautiful place- although the walk is tough-

Skinny dipping anyone?

[Suzet2262]

Originally Posted by skytrekker

Well there is a nude swimming hole not far from the 'Bratt'

around Dummerston and Putney- very beautiful place- although the walk is tough-

Skinny dipping anyone?

As hot as it has been here, I'd love too

[MRVphotog]

Vermont has alot of nudist colonies, there is a clothing optional swimming hole near me on Rt 100, probably has something to do with all the "free love" that was around the state in the 60's and they couldn't afford to leave.

[Dwatted Wabbit]

The latest nudes, I mean news: Fig leaf, please: Vermont town gets its fill of bare bottoms - Newsday.com (broken link)

I guess old coots and the naked street dancers are creating a stir.

[leggo]

Back to clothing optional


We had the old guy from Arizona walking up Main Street wearing his birthday suit and a "fannie" pack.

Wonder if he will be back wearing Mukluk boots and a red checked hunting cap


By BOB AUDETTE, Reformer Staff



Thursday, August 23
BRATTLEBORO -- Tuesday night's vote by the Selectboard to reject an anti-nudity ordinance hasn't ended the debate over whether people sans clothes can stroll the streets of Brattleboro.

Moderator cut: copyrights

[PatrioticReader]

Let's be "conservative" and conserve the status quo. Vermont has had no anti-nudity laws for, um, how many centuries has it been since man first walked that land? Bare in mind too, that the laws they push for go well beyond trying to control the ruse behavior of walking around downtown in the buff. The ordinance they have in mind, in place in a few other VT towns, restricts theater, art, women in white blouses who happen to get caught in rainstorms, women with low tops who might happen to bend over and reveal a glance of a nipple that looks just like any man's, and public breastfeeding.

Let's also not be fooled by the group that identifies itself as "conservative" who has been pushing for this useless and unnecessary law. Aren't they really radicals? Reactionaries? Authoritarian control freaks? Nut cases? All of the above?

Who are these extremists? Follow the names. They are the same who littered our landscape with "Take Back Vermont" signs a few years back. When these non-natives and mostly out-of-town-ers tried to exercise their control, the term "Burka promoting crusaders" described them pretty well. When they attempted the same in Whitingham, the selectboard provided the appropriate lecture that reminded the community that it had no means of costly policing and wouldn't afford one, ended by Ben Franklin himself who said, "Those who will give up liberty for security will have and deserve neither." And the very same, if you follow the names, after that fine chewing out, had the gall to complain about the "Nude Men of Brattleboro" and "Nude Women of Wilmington" calendars of the communities most prominent decked out in fig leaves as a way to raise money for charitable causes.

Hold on- it gets worse. When these lunatics don't get their own way, they play dirty. They will make a problem, real or perceived, until they get their own way. Rumor is that one of these crusaders was frequently seen sneaking around the woods in Wilmington seeking people who might urinate, defecate, or enjoy sex in the woods. When none were found, the location in question which was not far from a camp owned by the son-of-a-crusader was suddenly advertised as a sex cruising place. Condoms (unused) suddenly grew like weeds and were fertilized with KY jelly packets. Having nothing to photograph but these articles, a photo-display of these was presented at the polls and mailed to voters along with a few pictures of unknown, and presumably non-consenting adults.

Does this creation of a problem ring home in Brattleboro? I think we all can accept that, legal or not, every town in America has had a streaker of 6, or a random nut who forgets to dress before going to the store to buy the months grocery supply. If you never noticed, I suggest that odds are high that you didn't happen to be there that day- and no one made a public scene over a non-issue. Heck, it wasn't too many years ago when a group of Brattleboro women did in fact, try to create publicity in a downtown demonstration of topfree equality rights for women demonstration- but no one noticed and no one called in Bill O'Rielly to make a spectacle of our town.

So why the sudden and very few impolite naked people in Brat? The crusaders made a scene, protested the non issue of bored kids doing their "slow streaking" act on one of those rare hot days, got the attention of the Selectboard and the sensation of national news. Yes, they, the crusaders, built the scene, and the naked folks came to test that scene.

Our selectboard was wise to skirt this issue, to find a way to not create a new and permanent law. I hope they will act so wisely in the future if and when the issue comes to the table again. If "build it and they will come" holds true, "ignore them and they will go away" will work as well. If the town fathers simply respond the next time, with "Old business, covered last year, - next issue please" the community can return to our former state of freedom and nudity where any individual has the right to look the other way and any business has the right to establish it's own dress code.