Politics and Poppers

Topic created by Nitritespecialist
on Thu, 18 Mar 2021 at 13:09

Nitritespecialist said on Thu, 18 Mar 2021 at 13:09...

I was just reminded by a professional gay man, part of academia, that the popper cause is too tainted with unsavory controversy for contemporary gay activists to ever consider it. This is because political gay activists are primarily interested in having gay people becoming more and more absorbed into the mainstream culture.

So....inferior poppers will survive unchallenged - for the foreseeable future.

Hazer said on Thu, 18 Mar 2021 at 17:38...

Indeed. Poppers are very much part of the "gay ghetto" era to some. It is an interesting point. You can see why LGBT thinking might go this way, but the ghetto mentality exists stronger than ever now on Grindr (and all those app things) and not in atmospheric bath houses, dive bars, or glitter ball discos. I mourn the passing of these venues, they are now sanitized erstaz versions of the original.

Here is a quote from Barry Adam author of The Global Emergence of Gay and Lesbian Politics:

"Every social movement must choose at some point what to retain and what to reject out of its past. What traits are the results of oppression and what are healthy and authentic?"

But the question remains: assimilation into mainstream culture requires dropping "unsavoury" aspects like poppers? It is clear that the primary formulas are safe, enjoyable, and historically part of gay history. In my opinion they predate the "poppers explosion" of the late 1960s in the USA. Previously it was suggested they were known about (in regard to sexual pleasure) as early as the late 1930s.

Nitritespecialist said on Thu, 18 Mar 2021 at 20:11...

@Hazer....as with anything political, issues are not primarily driven by pure and consistent logic. While the LEFT is obsessed with not "stigmatizing" certain minority groups, they are not obsessed with fully legalizing recreational amyl nitrite, a chemical rife with controversy and involving "sodomy". Poppers have never enjoyed the pervasiveness of THC outside the gay culture. So while poppers have stayed in the shadows, recreational THC is now becoming legal, more widespread and accepted, despite USP grade n-amyl nitrite being less inherently dangerous than smoking weed.

Hazer said on Tue, 23 Mar 2021 at 14:59...

the LEFT

This term encompasses a very wide political spectrum. What do you mean by this exactly? The advances in LGBT rights have not come from the traditional RIGHT. Or do you look at this from a libertarian prospective?

I agree with your point about pot. A gateway to potential psychological disorders in later life. But as you imply perhaps: an easier issue for mainstream political thought to embrace, without the stigma of a sexual practice that many choose to ignore. I recall one gay activist who would regularly raise the anal issue in interviews, much to the chagrin of many left-leaning journalists who sought his opinion.

Nitritespecialist said on Tue, 23 Mar 2021 at 17:58...

@Hazer...I mention the liberals/progressives because they are the ones most likely to champion legalizing amyl nitrite USP, BUT I think they would not because of the stigma. A younger gay professional, part of Academia, clued me in on the political realities that currently exist.

Hazer said on Fri, 26 Mar 2021 at 09:36...

I am interested to know what he said; in a general sense as well as with specific reference to the poppers controversy. I read recently that the United Kingdom is "minded" to relax all restrictions on poppers; that Australia has instituted new liberal policies. The impression I get is that there is no consensus, the science is confusing, and the political direction polarized. Canada, New Zealand, and perhaps other nations I am unaware of, have banned poppers completely, but others, perhaps led by the French example, have taken the opposite approach.

I understand that the Australian policy shift was heavily influenced by gay activists, because initially they were proposing a complete ban.

Nitritespecialist said on Sat, 27 Mar 2021 at 17:27...

@Hazer....he said poppers is not a cause gay activists are interested in because they are trying so hard to fit into the mainstream. Outside of bath houses, I get the sense that poppers are frowned upon, even if it's the only chemical one does. I think there's definitely a negative stigma there. There's the taint of AIDS and now the taint of CHEMsex, with meth so prevalent. Poppers are toxic irritants, made much worse by the fact that there is no USP grade n-amyl nitrite available for recreation. Made in home labs, you are risking inhaling toxic impurities when buying poppers anywhere. I have made thousands of small popper brews for myself over 10 years...and I have been my own worst guinea pig. There are so many impurities and toxic properties possible in home made poppers. It's been a long learning curve with minimal good information online. In fact, I would say all the popper preps online and on Youtube are wrong, except for H. Blitz. I just started focusing on his prep method with very very promising results. The amyl I am making now seems amazing without any toxic effects.