Group therapy in a blog.
Love on a Leash
You know how closed-minded people can be? Like when you and your girlfriend get on a bus and the drive tosses you off just because you have your girlfriend on a leash and she says that she’s your pet? I know, right?
From London comes this heartbreaking story of attempted transportation gone wild enough for a collar and leash.
Tasha Maltby, 19, told British newspapers she was the “pet” of her 25-year-old fiance Dani Graves. Pictures showed her dressed in black Gothic-style clothing with silver buckles on a silver chain — which the driver of a bus from the firm Arriva took exception to. She told the Daily Mail newspaper Wednesday she was thrown off and told: “We don’t let freaks and dogs like you on.”
For the record, I oppose the oppression of people just because they wear black. But beyond that, this young woman remains insistent that this is a personal choice, and in so doing transitions from simile (“I am like his pet,” which might have been slightly more palatable) to metaphor (“I am his pet,” which is slightly more, um, unusual).
“I am a pet,” she told the Daily Mail. “I generally act animal-like and I lead a really easy life. I don’t cook or clean and I don’t go anywhere without Dani. It might seem strange but it makes us both happy. It’s my culture and my choice. It isn’t hurting anyone.”
Ah yes, but can she get the paper from the driveway? And is this pet potty trained? I kind of want to know as much as I don’t want to know.
I’m usually enormously sympathetic to most alt. lifestyles, but this is a bit much and does present a clear safety issue for public transport. It’s not the job of the driver to sort out issues of consent & legality when presented with people on leashes. If he/she/it is not a service animal and Not required for the health & safety of a handicapped owner/companion then they really should not normally be expected to be greeted with open arms & warm understanding from either the passengers or the managers of said transport. It’s a gimmick & a game, and perhaps even an evolving ‘lifestyle’, so that’s fine. Leave it to your private quarters & selves though. Outside we can assume that anyone being lead on a leash is not doing so of their own accord, and their ‘master’ may be in violation of several state & Federal laws (in the US) if the ‘pet’ or person being led is over the age of a child. It’s as simple as that. And pretty damn silly all around too. Who can keep this up for long? And if you can, just how sick is that? (Yes, we can cite examples, but this typically does not turn out all that well).
Oh for the days when gentle Gramps might refer to his long married spouse as his ‘pet’, and mean it in the most affectionate yet utterly harmless way. Perhaps this is about the same, just with hardware to prove some point. We can assume all the best of the situation, but still be very wary & disconcerted to see this type of behavior coming down the street, for any manner of good reasons.
Honestly Esther, where do you find such things? There’s a feed for such, right? Cheers & Good Luck, ‘VJ’
as someone who favors Goth music and fashion, i’ve seen a lot of people who think of themselves as “pets.” and no, i’m not one of them. i may wear black, but i’m not insane. but yes, i do wonder if she’s potty trained and if she’s allowed to sleep on the sofa and eat people food.
Me, I frankly don’t care much about any of those things, if it’s all somehow consensual. When it ‘frightens the horses’ that’s when I get concerned. Lots of people have hidden kinks. It’s when this part of your life starts to ‘cannibalize’ your ‘every day life’ and our Collective ‘work a day’ world, that’s when I grow concerned. We don’t need to be exposed to it, and there’s really little or no reason for anyone to insist that we should. Cheers & Good Luck, ‘VJ’