Don Meisen
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This article is part of 'The Legends Project'
As part of the "Legends Project", Don Meisen has been recognized as an BDSM Icon |
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- AN OLDTIMER REMEMBERS
-- Don Meisen: The Man Who Knew the Benevolent Autocrat
By Uncle Abdul
Curious thing tradition. It's there, but nobody really knows the whos, hows, whys, and wherefores.
Take for-ing-sting'st something that each of us gets as part of our orientation package. It's an interesting and well-wordsmithed monograph by Don Miesen. Apart from the monograph sometimes being used for puppy paper, there's a brief question that flickers in each of our consciousness, to wit, "Who the hell is this Don Miesen?"
Concern yourself no longer for Don is the man who knew the Benevolent Autocrat. What do you mean, "...so what."
In my day--when T-Rex wore fishnet stockings and thigh-high boots--Don was still very much alive and still a moral if not a political force in Janus. He seemed to enjoy his status of Dutch Uncle with a ready bag of witticisms and right on advice. But it hadn't been too many years before that when the mere mention of his name would result in bulging neck veins, raised eyebrows, and firmly set jaws. Don had been and still was a verbal warrior. He had opinions that he strongly held and argued for them with his fullest Passion, and, frankly, also with a touch of class. Don you see was extremely well-read. He was conversant with such esoteric philosophers as Hagel and others, and such references would sometimes appear in his writings and arguments.
Much to perhaps either my loss or relief, I missed his 'hell-raising' days. My first contact with him was having my orientation at one of his earlier residences. His chief benefit to the community in those days was he was an erudite spokesperson for SM activity. He was one of the few people who was out enough to speak before groups and college classes.
His personal persuasion was man-to-man sex with a D/S, SM, whatever ...ahem... kink. And in program meetings and other such venues he would skillfully incorporate his own personal experiences for illustration. He would also neatly fold in stories about the 'Benevolent Autocrat.'
Now for years, many thought Don himself was the Benevolent Autocrat, but it wasn't until the early 90's when he revealed Autocrat's real name. But in Don's capable presentation skills, his retelling of the Autocrat's exploits put what could be called a 'homey touch' on the point being made to make it easier for the listener to get the point. Humm, earthiness, and Hagel, quite a potent combination. That was Don's unique style, and he used it well--often with long-lasting consequences.
There are two present-day, prominent traditions in Janus that are the direct result of Don Miesen. The one I've already talked about--the orientation monograph. The other is the tradition that no one can hold the offices of Coordinator and Business Meeting Moderator at the same time. We can say that the first reflects his Dutch Uncle days and the second is a 'tribute' to his 'bulging neck vein' days. And this dichotomy is in and of itself a unique feature of many of Janus' movers and shakers.
Don earned his place in the Janus collective memory. There were others such as before him, after him, and among some of YOU reading this article now. That's one of the beauties of this organization--the continuum of traditions that bind the present day with what had gone before. Don's presence is certainly still felt today--even if, sometimes, only by full-bladdered puppies.
In future columns, we'll take a look at other Janus traditions. Till then...
- We have become children again and learned how to play.
- Ecstasy skates the glittering seas of Passion,
- Speeding on the thinnest edge of fantasy and madness...faster!...faster!
- Laughing, exhausted, we stop.
- What strange place is this?
- What strange shapes?
- Oh! Now I see. We are home.
Dedicated with deepest affection to The Benevolent Autocrat.
- -- Copyright Don Miesen, 1981.
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