Petitions

By Jack Rinella

for Issue number 18
Sunday, April 20, 2003

Slave number two-to-be (Doug, though I have previously called him Dave) is about to complete a week’s visit with Patrick and me as an introduction to what it’s like living as my slave. Since all of us have enjoyed his being here I have asked him to write me a petition to enter into service to me.

Petitions of one sort or another have been a part of our community for a long time: Pro Dommes, clubs, contact groups, and cruising men have used them for years, in various ways.

Simply put, a petition is a means for an applicant to put his or her desire to enter into a relationship with someone on paper. The piece of paper and the ink have no real value or power in themselves, but rendering one’s thoughts on paper helps to clarify them.

Written thoughts are also more permanent so that their intent isn’t forgotten. The very act of committing the details to paper gives all concerned a chance to grapple with their meaning, implications, and expectations so all parties have a better understanding of what the prospective relationship entails.

In this context, at a minimum a good petition contains the request to join, a declaration to participate according to the “rules” of the organization or group, and usually the signatures of the applicant and those sponsoring him or her.

Most social organizations have some such procedure and we might be wise to look at them vis-à-vis our own kinky groupings. A petition to join the Masons, for instance, includes personal information about the applicant and the signatures of three Masons who are sponsoring him. Once received, the petition is turned over to a committee of three who “investigate” the applicant, usually by visiting him in his home and interviewing him.

Once this "committee" returns a favorable report, the full membership then votes on accepting the applicant into the initiation process.

Let’s look at this more closely.

First the petition contains necessary personal information to both know the individual, i.e., name, address, etc. and to verify that he meets the conditions of membership.

Secondly it contains the names of three sponsors who can vouch for the applicant and recommend his acceptance into the group. The sponsors are not allowed to be on the visiting committee, thus insuring a fairer evaluation on the committee’s part. The vote taken by the full membership must be unanimous. In other organizations a simple majority suffices.

Notice, too, that a vote to admit does not make the applicant a full member. It only allows him to begin the initiation process. Masons have three degrees through which an applicant progresses, with the idea that each degree imparts more knowledge of the group to the applicant. In the meantime the applicant is observed to insure that he is "worthy" to continue in the process.

Sound remote? The Chicago Hellfire Club (CHC), with more than thirty years ’ experience in membership recruitment has a very similar process.

Guests are invited by full or associate members to their parties. This is how members get to know potential applicants. Only after attendance at several parties may a guest ask to join by filling in a petition.

Here, too, three CHC members (at least one full member and two associates) must recommend the guest for associate status. Upon majority vote of the full members, the guest becomes an associate, with rights and duties, but no vote. After having associate status for a more than a year, an associate may, if he lives within 70 miles of Chicago, apply for full membership, though not all do so.

Such a system, either Masonic or kinky, is intended to both teach and test the applicant to ensure a right fit between man and members. An interesting side note about CHC membership, similar to a condition that Black Rose in Washington, D.C. has, is that full members must live in proximity to the group, insuring the new member’s ability to participate fully. Full membership brings both rights and responsibilities.

Patrick’s "petition" to me some seven years ago was in the form of a letter. He told me about himself and why he wanted to become my slave was included as well. I used such information to frame a contract between us, reflecting our desires for what we each wanted in the relationship.

Not only does the writing help clarify our desires, but the process is deliberately slowed in order to allow for mutual evaluation. Not everyone, after all, is suited for participation in every relationship.

Even if the applicant is well-suited to join, there needs be a time for education, or more properly, acculturation to the customs and mores of the group. We are seeking here that the new members learn to conform to the group, not that the group be forced to conform to the new member.

I can still remember, at least vaguely, my first application to join a kinky group. I saw a classified ad to join Interchain, a Gay Leatherman’s contact group. I sent for an application which included a very full questionnaire. Upon returning it I then had to meet a current member who would then recommend that my name be put into the quarterly directory of members.

The process echoed the practice of the rough sex crowd from the fifties: you were included because you were recommended. The secret to joining was to find and befriend someone in the know, who would then introduce you to others, who would get to know you and eventually, you hoped, begin to include you. No one walked in and took over; no one was assumed to be ready for inclusion unless he (or she) was first evaluated.

Many professional Dominatrixes have a similar process, requiring letters of application and a personal meeting before anything else transpires with their clients.

In every case it is a matter of protecting the group (even groups of one) from those who would adversely affect it.

Inappropriate behavior on the part of a guest, for instance, leads to correction or an end to invitations. It is as simple as that but the system works to insure the group continues unaffected and unharmed, while growing with the addition of new members who learn and carry on the culture of the organization.

Notice too that new members are observed. Actions speak louder than words and few assumptions are made about new candidates. While strangers are welcomed and have a relative easy entrance, full acceptance into the group comes only after trial and training. Rushing untested and relatively new people into positions of leadership ought to be frowned upon.

So now the process, albeit much less formal, will continues with Doug.

Stay tuned.