To feel sorry for the Naked Rambler.

[BlossomTang]

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-hampshire-33063397 in jail again for the same thing - it must be obvious to the authorities that there is a MH issue, but seems there is nothing they can/want to do. It's not like he is Russell Brand and does it for the attention!

On his first TV programme where he walked the length of Britain (with his then GF) naked he seemed fairly sane but the GF realised getting chased by the public or arrested was not worth the cause - but he cannot see this. Subsequent programmes did suggest MH issues - does he just yo-yo in and out of jail for the rest of his life?

I think it's probably more about a power issue than a psychotic or delusional issue. Fred West, Denis Nilsen and Jack the Ripper probably all had underlying mental health issues. An awful lot of rapists have underlying issues with power and control that I'm not 100% convinced are that far removed from this man's issues.

Sometimes an underlying psychological/psychiatric illness doesn't mean that it's okay just to let someone go, or that they should be put in a hospital if it's something like a personality disorder which isn't strictly an illness.

I wonder if all these liberal parents spouting the 'what is your problem with nakedness/human body' crap would be a bit put out, if their children's cub leader walked about naked...

Frankly the man has a pressing need to flash his willy at people who do not wish to see it, including random children out on the street. That is not a friendly way to get your jollies, it is antisocial and more.

Being arrested is better than repeatedly presenting ordinary people with situations where their children are being flashed at, with the consequences (for everyone concerned) that can entail.

I wouldn't like coming across a naked man, esp. in an isolated rural spot. I'd find it quite threatening because I'd assume it was a kind of flashing.

How come he gets arrested but the naked bike ride is on this weekend and all the naked cyclists dont?

I wonder if all these liberal parents spouting the 'what is your problem with nakedness/human body' crap would be a bit put out, if their children's cub leader walked about naked...

But I don't think we are saying that everyone should be naked. If he were a cub leader perhaps people's stances would be different, perhaps his motives would be different. But perhaps not.

I don't want to see a naked man or woman in the street and if I did, I would be surprised. I expect my children would be, too, and would ask about it. I certainly wouldn't be offended or concerned. It's not sexual or aimed at anyone in particular, it's incidental.

So he walked past a school at kicking-out time; I would think that is less bloody-mindedness and more that he doesn't see why it should be a problem – choosing to go another way would signify he did accept that his nakedness were inappropriate and offensive and his exact point, I believe, is that it is not.

If he wants to do whatever the fuck he likes without any thought to others, he needs to go and live on a deserted island. Choosing to live within a busy society means you need to adopt certain conventions when out and about.

If it is OK to walk past a school at kicking out time when naked, it is OK to be naked when some kind of children's leader or teacher. I honestly do not think anyone would really be happy with their child's teacher being naked.

Even if it's just walking past the school at turfing out time people need to remember that the law applies to everyone. It's all well and good saying he's harmless and so should be allowed, but if he is given the right to do it then so is everyone else.

I too read about his history.
Ho would pick up his own children from primary school, wait naked at the busy school gates with the other parents.

Poor kids.
Another time him and his wife had his PIL over for Sunday lunch. He was dressed when they arrived, but just before they started the meal he nippe to the loo and stripped off, rejoining him at the table.

It is threatening for many to come across a naked man in an isolated area. It is the mark of a loose cannon.

The real shocker is the way that something which is a minor offence or not an offence at all (being naked) has been turned into an imprisonable offence by the use of an ASBO.

I read an article about him yesterday which pointed out that for this minor/non-offence he has now spent more time in prison than a man would typically spend for raping a 12 year old girl. At vast public expense. It also made the comment that he's the only person in the UK who wants to ramble naked ... And the only person in the UK for whom it is illegal.

The whole thing makes the justice system look like a complete arse.

It isn't one single minor incidence of antisocial behaviour though is it?

No - but on each occasion he is being locked up for a single offence, and it is only possible to do that by using an ASBO, since what he is doing would not otherwise justify imprisonment.

The issue for me is that he is not being tried for "being naked in public" because if he was, it would probably be difficult to secure a conviction let alone a prison sentence. He's being imprisoned for behaviour that breaches an order that applies to only one person in the UK. A friend of mine recently published pics on her FB of a bunch of blokes cycling naked down the high street ... Cops in attendance, not a pair of handcuffs in sight ...

An asbo which I assume he was given for repeated antisocial behaviour.

There is a difference between an organised event and wandering around naked IMO.

Mistigirl makes a very good point.

Perhaps if we are offended we should just have a think. In other countries people get offended if a bit of a woman's ankle or hair is on display, in other cultures it is normal to be naked.

We need to think twice if our 'offence' over a man with no clothes leads to him being imprisoned. I think that is shameful and calls into question that this is a tolerant. rational, civilized country.

Out of interest what laws do people think he is breaking? You'd be surprised at how difficult it is to prosecute nakedness if there are no aggravating circumstances.

www.cps.gov.uk/legal/l_to_o/nudity_in_public/

He cant confirm to the law of the land therefore he pays the price. Just get a pair of pants on man and go home.
I do wonder what would happen if the police just ignored him and let him 'ramble' about naked would he get bored without the attention?
Surely he must love prison to just keep offending.
I also wonder if him being an ex marine has anything to do with it? PTSD or something?!
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I do in some part support his right to be naked, however he does cause alarm.

I live across the road where Luke Mitchell killed Jodie Jones. A deeply wooded area of native woodland, popular with dog walkers, but the thickness of the woods and low light can make it feel quite eerie.
If I was walking alone and happened across Gough I would feel for my safety.
If my teenage DD or 80 year old mother met him on a walk I know they would feel very afraid.
They have a right not to fell threatened. We rarely see naked people striding with a purpose- I have visited nudist beaches and found them lovely relaxed places and felt very safe.
It's about context.

If the police allow the Naked Rambler to carry on being naked in inappropriate places then how are they going to arrest the serious pervs who start out as flashers? A small minority of men do get sexual kicks out of flashing their willies at women and girls, and I wouldn't want them to be able to get away with it by saying 'it's only nudity, why is everyone so British about it?'.

Flashing is covered under sexual offences legislation (which would not be used to prosecute naturists).

The offence most likely to have been committed by the naked rambler would be "disorderly behaviour", which is not imprisonable. Hence the use of an ASBO to enable his imprisonment (breach of an ASBO is a criminal offence even if the behaviour itself is not criminal).

I'm not denying that this bloke is antisocial and his behaviour is very odd, but is putting him in prison for 8 years, at a cost to taxpayers that is probably by now approaching the £1 million mark, a sensible and proportionate response?

Admittedly this is all from an American website but I think this is relevant

"Why do men flash their genitals in public in the first place?
While there’s no definitive answer, Trent University psychology professor and sex researcher Terry Humphreys says attention seeking is at the core of this unsociable behaviour."

"The majority of the information researchers have on exhibitionism comes from men who are convicted of the crime. The going theory is these men lack social skills and exhibitionism starts early in life."

This sounds like it could be about the NR.

But it's actually talking about sex offenders.

'“Yes, they usually masturbate. Yes, they usually flash and they have an erection. But what they are getting off on is the shock or the disgust or that strong emotional reaction they get from others,” explains Dr. Humphreys.

He might not be madturbating but the NR seems to revel in the 'shock or the disgust or that strong emotional reaction'.

But there is no evidence that the NR experiences any sexual gratification from going naked, or that he poses any risk to women or children.

I don't think this is an easy question, especially as there are probably MH (PTSD?) issues in the mix. But it doesn't seem to me that throwing the full weight of the legal system at this guy, at great public expense, is a very appropriate way of dealing with it.

We let people cycle naked on demonstrations. If that's not illegal how can it be illegal to go for a walk without clothes (assuming no sexual offence is committed). The argument that it's OK if it's a one-off demonstration but not for the NR doesn't hold water. We don't let people break other laws when they go on demonstrations!

Of course he is an exhibitionist. Why do you think he keeps doing it in very inappropriate circumstances?
And if he wore some pants, he would be left alone.
He is not actually naked after all. But he refuses to cover his genitals.

The type of person who attends a naked cycle ride is also probably a narcissist who enjoys or doesn't care about being naked in public. Why are they not thrown into jail?

(Hint: because being naked in public is not illegal).

The first time he was sent to jail was not for naked rambling. It was for contempt of court because he refused to comply with the judges instructions to put clothes on in court.

The second time he was sent to jail was not for naked rambling. It was for stripping off on airplane mid flight and refusing to comply with crew instructions.