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Snapshots from Home: The Obscene McMansions of ‘thesda

UD‘s buddy Jon sends her this ‘thesdan dispatch:

[Bethesda resident] Paul Pickthorne [hosts bondage and discipline parties] … in the castlelike, 3,600-square-foot McMansion he rents… The cost: $20 for a basic ticket, $50 for VIP treatment.

… [His neighbors] convened a meeting in someone’s living room last week, then fired off indignant e-mails to county council member Roger Berliner (D), whose district includes their Merrimack Park subdivision.

“I share your sense of outrage that a sex club is operating in your lovely neighborhood,” Berliner wrote back. “I want you to know that my office has been advised that our County has moved aggressively to put an end to this blight on your community.”

The county moved all right. Pickthorne got a written warning from a zoning inspector Monday. But hold on. Suppose Pickthorne stops charging admission, as he says he might? Suppose he complies with the inspector and hosts all future BDSM gatherings as strictly noncommercial functions in accordance with Section 59-C-1.31? What then?

“Well,” says Berliner on the phone, hesitating. “Certainly one has to respect everyone’s constitutional rights.”

In other words, if no money changes hands, and the kinky people don’t cause a noise or traffic nuisance, the First Amendment would ring clear: Party on!…

Margaret Soltan, February 4, 2010 8:50PM
Posted in: snapshots from home

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11 Responses to “Snapshots from Home: The Obscene McMansions of ‘thesda”

  1. Dave Stone Says:

    The obscene McMansions of ‘Thesda
    Are the places to which flock the best o’
    DC’s S & M mavens
    To quench all their cravins
    Only if it’s a no-charge fiesta.

  2. Dave Stone Says:

    If spanking a bad girl’s your fun,
    Or caning your slaves one-by-one,
    We neighbors don’t mind,
    As we’re all quite refined.
    But park in the street and you’re done.

  3. Central Heating Manchetser Says:

    What exactly is included in the ‘vip Treatment’? …

  4. david foster Says:

    I would think that driving and parking in Bethesda would provide enough suffering for even the most dedicated masochist.

  5. Margaret Soltan Says:

    david: Funny!

  6. J. Fisher Says:

    Oh please. We all know that these “discipline” parties just find everyone sitting ’round a fire, reading Foucault. What’s the big deal?

  7. Thomas Says:

    Nicely done again Dave Stone. Quit the day job. Go with limericks full time!

  8. MattF Says:

    The ‘burbs are not so kinky–
    It’s a question of class, don’t you see
    In B-town you’ll thrive
    As long as you drive
    A BDSM SUV.

  9. Margaret Soltan Says:

    A BDSM SUV — pretty brilliant, MattF.

    And Dave – you are on the world’s longest limerick roll.

  10. dave.s. Says:

    “…unusually high percentage of lawyers. I don’t know why…”

  11. Margaret Soltan Says:

    Bound By Precedent — the steamy new film from Vivid.

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Dr. Bernard Carroll, known as the "conscience of psychiatry," contributed to various blogs, including Margaret Soltan's University Diaries, for which he sometimes wrote limericks under the name Adam.
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