They Beat It Out of Him

[2322]

New York may be a cosmopolitan city, but not everyone who lives in the area is. Reading this article made me something close to furious because it illustrates the open intolerance for those who engage in leathersex.

Once again, the morality police are concerning themselves with what two consenting adults do in private. The subject of this story, Richard Benjamin, has been made to feel like a pervert and an object of public ridicule by a public newspaper.

If anyone should be ashamed, besides The Post editors, it's the management of Nutcracker Suite which allowed their employee to violate a prime rule of bondage and that's never to leave alone anyone in suspension. Dr. Benjamin nearly died because of their negligence and he's lucky for that. While he and his wife may feel his conduct constituted infidelity, it's important to note that many times scenes like these do not result in sexual contact.

The biochemistry of BDSM is complex but it is real. In some states of mind, the body releases natural opioids and endorphins. The isolation from suspension causes sensory deprivation, allowing the body to focus on the chemical cascade, and mentally transporting the person being suspended into altered states of consciousness. Sex may, or may not, be involved; the high being satisfactory in itself.

I think it sad and ridiculous that this man is being crucified for engaging in what is actually a normal and healthy activity (when it is performed properly).

Headline: They Beat It Out Of Me

February 13, 2008 -- The kinky college professor who was almost strangled during an S&M session at a Midtown club told The Post yesterday he's deeply ashamed and is finally through with the double life he's lived since he was kid.

"I don't want this to spoil my marriage," said Robert Benjamin, 67, still disoriented from the three days he spent in a coma but sitting upright in a chair in his room at St. Vincent's Hospital.


"I don't want my wife to leave me, but I have to tell her the truth," he said. "I'm going to share everything with her. I think my family will forgive me,"
Benjamin said he's desperately trying to break his addiction.


"It's like when you crave a turkey," he said. "You eat it and you eat it and you eat it, but you still want it. But now I've had enough. I don't want turkey anymore. I'm full."


His life was saved last Friday by a dominatrix at the Nutcracker Suite on East 33rd Street, who was assigned to check on him after her colleague left him with a dog collar around his neck and a leather mask over his face, suspended a few inches off the floor.


She realized his foot was turning blue because one of his high heels had slipped off.


"I don't want to go to the clubs anymore," Benjamin said.
"I'm trying to learn to control myself and my emotions. I've seen doctors to help me," he said, adding that he's been unable to control his desires "from very early on in my life."


Benjamin managed to keep his shameful secret from his wife, his two kids, who are now adults, and the students he taught at Montreal's Vanier College until his recent retirement.


He never indulged his "dirty habit" in Montreal, where he fooled relatives, neighbors and colleagues into thinking he was a respectable family man who enjoyed outdoor activities.


Benjamin would make regular trips to New York where he'd stay at a "Y" and spend his time indoors.


He'd tell his family he was cross-country skiing upstate, then visiting the city "to take photographs" and eat pizza at his favorite Italian restaurants in Brooklyn.


"My biggest fear has always been that someone would find out. That's why I come to New York and never do this in Montreal," he said.


Hours later, Benjamin's wife, Lynn, arrived at the hospital from Canada, but declined to comment.


Benjamin, who came out of a coma Monday and is still recovering from his ordeal, struggled to remember numbers and dates, but guessed he's been married for "30 years or more."


He does not remember putting on the handcuffs, nipple clamps, dog collar, high-heel shoes or hood, vowing "I'm going to seek professional help to get over this dirty habit.


"The doctors told me I was passed out, but now I'm awake. They saved me, they gave me the confidence that I will be OK."


Benjamin attributes his recovery to his excellent physical health.
"I'm in really good shape," he said. "I bike, I ski, I take care of myself."
He vowed never again to risk his life during his retirement, saying he's relaxing, enjoying his time and "doing all the things I never had the chance to do.


"Now that I've almost died, I can't see myself going back to S&M," he said. "If you gave me $100,000 to spend there, I wouldn't. I'm not crazy."
Taki Noriko, the dominatrix who trussed up Benjamin and left him alone - as he'd requested - was relieved to hear of his recovery.


"Thank you," she said, with a long sigh. "Thank you very much for telling me." -New York Post

 

[Gillette]

"Thank you for telling me."????

A guy left in her care nearly dies and she can't be bothered to check for herself. What a cunt.

 

[Principessa]

Taki Nariko (the dom) is the one who should be strung up and left for dead! I know very little about the world of BDSM; but isn't a major component to have someone else there with you to add to your pleasure and excitement? Why did she leave? How the hell long was she gone for his foot to turn blue?!?

I don't think he's a freak; but I do think it's tragic that his marriage may end because some stupid chit fucked up.

 

[DC_DEEP]

Ah, leave it to the famous tabloid NYP to frame it in the manner they did. Go back and re-read it, and notice how they phrased various sentences.

The "dominatrix" Taki Noriko, who left him unattended is the one who should be crucified, humiliated, and hung out to dry. She failed utterly and miserably in her role. I'm glad they published her name, and I hope that anyone who meets her in a BdSm context recognizes her and spits in her face.

This is one of the reasons that I keep on advising anyone curious about bondage or other similar activities seek out experienced guidance. Curiosity and a piece of rope can turn a harmless activity into a dangerous one.

 

[MASSIVEPKGO_CHUCK]

Gotta love New York's finest for convoluting everything.

 

[Bbucko]

This is one of the reasons that I keep on advising anyone curious about bondage or other similar activities seek out experienced guidance. Curiosity and a piece of rope can turn a harmless activity into a dangerous one.

This is worthy of repeating: SMBD play is nothing that should be left to amateurs.

But really, Jason: Are you really that surprised that a reactionary rag like The Post would be so twisted in its reporting of this incident?

 

[Lex]

As Bbucko and DC point out: Education is KEY (as it is in all things).

Also--the Post can suck my left nut.

Kthanks!

 

[2322]

I am a bit surprised with The Post. Not at all shocked mind you, just surprised.