Naked man arrested for causing 'an alarm'

[Davin]

Police say a man wearing shoes, socks, backpack and nothing else has been arrested near a Beaverton middle school.

The man told police he was just walking around Wednesday morning and didn't believe his nudity was a problem

Read more: http://www.azcentral.com/offbeat/art...#ixzz25eXBc0Ax

[richinoregon]

Police say a man wearing shoes, socks, backpack and nothing else has been arrested near a Beaverton middle school.

The man told police he was just walking around Wednesday morning and didn't believe his nudity was a problem

Read more: http://www.azcentral.com/offbeat/art...#ixzz25eXBc0Ax

Odd, that didn't even make the local news here. (Beaverton is a suburb of PDX) Of course the 10,000+ people in the WNBR here didn't get a mention in the news either.

[nudeM]

Anytime you are nude around any school, you are just asking to get reported. Bad judgement on his part.

[eagle59]

My favorite line in the article was: "Five Oaks Middle School was locked as a safety precaution." things that make you go Hummmm.

[NudePete]

Interesting, It was the reaction of the neighbourhood and authorities that caused the disorder, not the naked person himself. Priorities are all screwed up here.

[ohioriver]

My curiosity made me want to look into this story more, so I did a Google search and came across this story on the website on the Portland Tribune http://vvvvvv.portlandtribune.com/pt...-middle-school

That story gives much the same story that is found in the Arizona paper, but it does provides a more local connection since the incident happened in Beaverton, Oregon... so I thought it made sense to check out an Oregon newspaper.

Anyway, my real information came from below in the comments section from a name listed a "Russel Mania". I was skeptical because of the last name of "Mania" although it seems that could have been created as something just for fun in creating the Facebook page. When I went to the Facebook book, it shows the page was created in April of 2010. It also indicates the current profile photo was put there in June of 2010. It does appear to be a younger version of the photo that's on the Portland Tribune and Arizona newspaper websites. Also, I noted that "Russel" in "Russel Mania" has just one "l"... not two as what appears on both the Portland and Arizona newspaper websites. When I did a Google search for "Russel Persons" I did find a listing for Russel Persons in Beaverton, Oregon, the location of the nude walk. So, I'm thinking the newspapers errored with the "double l" at the end of Mr. Person's first name.

Now, that I feel somewhat assured of the validity of source of the comments, I'll let others read for themselves.

Here's what was stated in the Russel Mania comment: Hey It's Russel. I was walking down to my buddies house on 173rd to get my duffel Bag. I had been homeless for a couple weeks, my clothes were giving me a rash and it was quite hot out that morning. I walked on the other side of the street both ways so as to not get close to the school. I did not have weapons, I did not ever have an erection, and I did not stop or ask anyone of any age or gender for anything sexual. I was leaving from 173rd/cornellish to 185th/baseline making sure to cross through a neighborhood to avoid the school once I saw busses coming (btw I didn't realize it was the first day of scholl til later). I apologize to those in the community who were uncomfortable with this, but literally I was walking A to B simply without clothes on. I didn't even think this was against the law, being we hold naked bike races etc. Obviously it was a big deal to a lot of people, therefore I won't do it again. So sorry for offending people for being myself in the most non-threatening way possible. I think people freaked out because I was male, and somewhat near a school (never close to or on property). I am not trying to prove any points, and I do feel bad for worrying people (mostly parents I suspect) I am living back with my dad now and taking care of things, but I am surprised at how my naked natural self is against the law, and scares so many people. Ultimately I learned and taught many lessons from this, (sad ones mostly) and I probably will have to pay the price for it. That's life.

The comments seem legit and make sense to me. I could see how someone in Oregon might think nudity is OK in Oregon, particularly since as he said they do have naked bike rides in the state. Basically, it seems Mr. Persons may not be a nudist but he also thinks it isn't a big deal. And, honestly, in a ideal world, that's the way I think it should be. If I was ever in a situation when my clothes were giving me a rash, I too would just want to go naked. Heck, I'd prefer to just go naked if I didn't have a rash. But, irregardless, in an ideal world nudity wouldn't be a big deal. There are times when being nude makes the most sense... hey, Mr. Persons definitely could have been smarter about it, but I wish I could have the mindset that he had that day... that he thought it was OK to be nude and he didn't want wear clothes, so he just walked down the street naked. Of course, I don't have that mindset. In particular, because I live in Indiana, I know people would freak if I walked naked down the street... But, for just one time, I'd love have that feeling that I could walk down the street naked and it wouldn't matter. Mr. Persons now realizes that's a feeling he shouldn't have, and for all of us I really think it's unfortunate. Maybe one day people will realize that there are times when being naked makes the most sense, and maybe one day people won't care.... But not expecting it in my lifetime.

[Naturist Mark]

What I want to know is if the nudity of this Russel person, er ... Russel Persons (singular), has killed and injured as many people as Stephen Gough's nudity in Scotland? I mean, Gough's nudity is a proven deadly menace, and we can't let that kind of mayhem happen in Oregon. I commend the public safety forces for their procognitive pre-emption of future nudity induced casualties.

[tiger79]

If you look at his route on Google Earth, he wasn't just wandering around in the middle of nowhere, this is a busy, heavily populated area. The guy is either stupid or deranged. And antics like this give naturism a bad name.

[unpocodecafe]

Stupid? deranged? These are harsh words. I thought nudists were friendly and accepting people.

[Naturist Mark]

If you look at his route on Google Earth, he wasn't just wandering around in the middle of nowhere, this is a busy, heavily populated area.

I KNOW, his casual nudity could have caused a massacre!