Don't Judge the Demarees Based Upon the Police Report

Trish Kinney has read the police report on the case of the Arizona parents arrested for taking nude photos of their kids, and she has all but convicted them in her column today, even though she has not seen the photos herself, and the parents were cleared of all charges.

DO NOT judge these people based solely on a clinical and biased police report. Any image featuring a nude image of a child can be made to sound perverted when written like a script for a porn shoot. For example:

The image shows a nude baby boy looking into the camera. His penis can be clearly seen. He has his right hand on a woman's bare right breast, and he is sucking on her nipple. The woman is looking at the naked little boy with an approving glance. See the image here.

Another example:

The little girl in the image appears to be about 4 or 5 years old. She is on a public beach wearing no top. She has a coy expression on her face and her buttocks are thrust out in a suggestive manner. Her buttocks are nearly fully exposed by a dog who has grabbed her bathing suit bottom. The dog's right ear appears to be tickling her naked flesh. A fully clothed little boy has his right hand placed on the little girl's bare left buttock. See the image here.

Another:

The image shows a young girl about the age of 8 or 9 holding a little boy who appears to be about 1 or 2 years old. Both children are completely nude in the outdoors. The girl appears to have her right hand on the little boy's nude buttocks. His penis is not exposed. Part of the little girl's vaginal area is visible. See the image here.

And one more:

The image shows a seated woman, who appears to be approximately 20 years of age. Her right hand is pulling open her top to expose her right breast and nipple to the nine young children who are surrounding her. Seven of the children are completely naked, one is wearing some sort of fur, and the last child is mostly concealed except for a head and nude arm. Two of the nude children are climbing on the woman in what appears to be an attempt to get closer to the exposed breast and nipple. One of those children has his or her legs spread apart. Two other children appear to be kissing and are in a sexually suggestive embrace. See the image here.

I think you get the point.

Is AANR Overstepping Its Bounds?

AANR Executive Director Erich Schuttauf in a blog post today addressed two hot button issues - the case of the nude coffee guy in Virginia, and the parents arrested for taking nude photos of their children in Arizona.

I’ll acknowledge that with most such cases, AANR faces a significant obstacle that must be overcome to respond to the news story properly: like all “merely mortal” readers, viewers, and listeners, we often do not have first-hand knowledge of the facts. Did the parents of the young girls take photos that came too close to the line? Did Mr. Coffee simply stumble around the kitchen preparing brew, or did he stand spread eagle in open doorways and a large plate glass picture window at 8:40 in the morning-and were mother and son taking only a small shortcut between two very public sidewalks from which one could have just as easily seen a purposeful display as has also been alleged?

Responding too quickly, without knowing all the facts for certain, brings peril if initial reports and assumptions turn out untrue. Yet the early innings of a story are usually the stage where our blood is boiling at its hottest. DAMN IT. If AANR knows about this it should be DOING something.

The media likes to hear us say “damn it.” “Damn it” makes us buy newspapers. “Damn it” keeps us listening over the commercial break.

I want all our members and clubs to be assured that AANR hears the frustration in your phone calls and e-mail messages. I cannot promise you that we will be goaded into premature action because doing so can all-too-easily detract from a reputation of providing a credible voice of reason for nude recreation.

But I do promise you that AANR will continue to track events, to take the extra time that it takes to research the facts, or find out what the jury determined so that we can continue providing reliable guidance. And that we WILL speak out in cases of clear injustice to nudists.

Yes, news stories like these have an affect on nudists and naturists because they are reflective of public perceptions and societal shifts, and they should be discussed openly and frankly by all concerned. This is why I write about strip club ordinances, child pornography, sexting and other issues involving the human body and sexuality, which are not directly related to nudism, but speak to trends and attitudes.

And I'm glad that the powers-that-be at AANR are also concerned about these issues, and keep track of laws and ordinances.

BUT (and you knew this "but" was coming), I think it's disastrous public relations for the Executive Director of The American Association for Nude Recreation directly linking his organization with potential crimes involving indecent exposure and child pornography. While it's perfectly OK for bloggers like me to raise these issues, or even for AANR members to discuss them in a forum, it's a huge mistake, in my opinion, for Mr. Schuttauf to take them on himself.

It's a good thing that AANR has not taken an official stand on these stories, but by even discussing them in an official capacity associates nude recreation with crimes involving nude people.

The public perception can only be that AANR is open to defending flashers and pornographers. Yes, when all the facts are known and the issues are found to have a direct bearing on nude recreation, issue a statement, but open speculation and "thinking out loud" is not wise. When contacted by the press about these sort of news stories, it's best to issue a "no comment" on the basis that there is no evidence that these people are practicing nudists, belong to any nudist organizations, or that their alleged crimes have any relationship at all to nude recreation.

[UPDATE: Clarification - when I recommend a "no comment", that's what it should be, just "no comment". The bases I described are reasons for keeping mum, not meant to be given out as part of the "no comment". Otherwise the "no comment" becomes a "comment." See my previous post on this issue, where spokesperson Carlyn Hawkins declined to comment on the specifics of the naked coffee guy case, but added some general defense of nudism in general. By making her "no comment" into a "comment", her words got into the news, and linked AANR with a guy arrested for indecent exposure.]

My guess is that members of the Naturist Action Committee cringed when they read Mr. Schuttauf''s public post, which devoted 15 paragraphs to these current news issues, while a post made on 10/24 about the San Onofre lawsuit defeat was only two paragraphs. There's plenty of work to be done on the public lands issue, and valuable time and resources should not be wasted in chasing down every hot button story that comes along. The NAC chooses its battles wisely.

In addition, there is no evidence that the story of Naked Coffee Guy or the one involving the parents in Arizona will result in any changes to any laws. If anything, the public appears to be far more sympathetic to the people arrested in these cases, and outraged that they would be charged with crimes over things we've always taken for granted. Chances are these already overblown cases will quietly go away on their own.

Again, I'm glad that AANR keeps up to date on current events involving nudity issues, but unless there is some direct affect on nude recreation, nudist rights, or changes to anti-nudity laws and ordinances, officers in the organization should avoid making unnecessary public comments, in my opinion. The general population is already confused enough with the merging of swinging and nudism at some clubs, and AANR needs to remain focused on promoting positive nudist family values, and not be distracted by every viral story that comes along.

"There was children nude"

Anthony and Lisa Demaree had their children taken away for a month in Arizona after a Wal-Mart employee called the police when she saw the couple's vacation photos, which included nude photos of their children. Although the Demarees were cleared of all charges, they filed lawsuits against Wal-Mart, the state of Arizona, the Attorney General, and the city of Peoria for punitive damages for defamation and outrage.

Now the Peoria police department has released an audiotape of a conversation between officers and Wal-Mart employee Lisa Cage in a bizarre attempt to further defame the Demarees.

"There was children nude, and I know that's normal at some point, you know, children in the bath tub, stuff like that, but this was beyond that, which is what brought my attention to it," she tells the officer.

Since the state already completely exonerated the Demarees, this seems to be some sort of lame attempt to sway public opinion prior to the trial. It's frightening that this one employee could not only be an arm of the law overseeing public censorship issues, but an expert witness as well.

UPDATE: Another story here, which has excerpts of conversations between the police and the Demarees.

"We take pictures of their little naked butts all the time. It's nothing," Anthony Demaree, the father, told police.

His wife, Lisa, was asked in a separate interview about naked shots of one of the girls.

"She's just a nudist," the mother responded. "We teach her all the time that she's going to live in a nudist colony. There's no like, pornographic, nothing..."

"I guess it could be perceived, I can see where it would be alarming to you guys if you're seeing all these naked pictures," she said. "But, I encourage you to contact anybody you want and ask them about us and our family."

The Daily Newds 11/25/08

• 52 year-old Kim Cattrall has posed nude for a photo based upon Titian's Diana and Actaeon as part of a campaign to raise money to purchase the original painting.
• A Florida night club has sued the city of Destin, claiming that city ordinances against nude dancing are in violation of the First Amendment.
• Alton Illinois is considering an ordinance change which would prohibit shirtless male bartenders.

  A federal court case is being interpreted to mean it is unconstitutional to specify which gender is prohibited to be topless in a nudity ordinance, and so the city wants to comply with that ruling, said Corporation Counselor Jim Schrempf.

• While Alton is considering a ban on male nipples, firefighters in Peoria are baring theirs to raise money for charity.
• Nigerian woman are threatening a nude protest over the insensitivity of an oil company.
• In discussing the outrage over a topless photo in a Cambridge undergrad magazine, a writer concludes that prudishness is a rite of passage for any educated person.
• The Righteous Mothers singing "Old Fat Naked Women for Peace" is pretty cool. "Knock it off or we'll take it off."

Tags: nudism, naturism, nudist, nudists, naturist, naturists, nudity, nudes, bare, au naturel, nude, naked