johny
10-23-2006, 10:25 AM
Brattleboro faces a naked truth
Julian Borger in Washington
Tuesday September 5, 2006
The Guardian
Brattleboro, Vermont, is a laid-back sort of town, chiefly known hitherto for its apples and maple syrup, but the limits of its liberal good nature are being tested by the local youth and their collective decision to go naked.
A group of teenagers and twentysomethings have been spending the summer days taking their clothes off and loitering nude in a car park in the heart of the town of 12,000 nestled among rolling hills.
The phenomenon seems to have started as a whim in mid-August, provoking one resident, Theresa Toney, to take action. "I'm against it. I'm offended," Ms Toney told the Brattleboro Reformer. "I go downtown to do business and I don't want this shoved down my throat. We have rights too."
The state of Vermont has nothing to say on the issue of nudity, leaving individual municipalities to decide. But Ms Toney decided the time had come for an anti-nudity bylaw.
The prospect of a ban brought Brattleboro's freedom-loving youth out naked into the car park, optimistically known as the Harmony Lot.
The local merchants are not sure what to make of it all. Some believe it will bring tourists into town. Others fear it will drive them away.
As one local official told the Associated Press, Vermont's changing weather is likely to resolve the issue. "As soon as winter comes, there won't be a story any more," the official said.
Julian Borger in Washington
Tuesday September 5, 2006
The Guardian
Brattleboro, Vermont, is a laid-back sort of town, chiefly known hitherto for its apples and maple syrup, but the limits of its liberal good nature are being tested by the local youth and their collective decision to go naked.
A group of teenagers and twentysomethings have been spending the summer days taking their clothes off and loitering nude in a car park in the heart of the town of 12,000 nestled among rolling hills.
The phenomenon seems to have started as a whim in mid-August, provoking one resident, Theresa Toney, to take action. "I'm against it. I'm offended," Ms Toney told the Brattleboro Reformer. "I go downtown to do business and I don't want this shoved down my throat. We have rights too."
The state of Vermont has nothing to say on the issue of nudity, leaving individual municipalities to decide. But Ms Toney decided the time had come for an anti-nudity bylaw.
The prospect of a ban brought Brattleboro's freedom-loving youth out naked into the car park, optimistically known as the Harmony Lot.
The local merchants are not sure what to make of it all. Some believe it will bring tourists into town. Others fear it will drive them away.
As one local official told the Associated Press, Vermont's changing weather is likely to resolve the issue. "As soon as winter comes, there won't be a story any more," the official said.