We had an Anonymous user make a comment on the "Prison Strap" post of December 11. Thank you, Anonymous, for the important point you make: “This is the problem: there seem to be many men who long to take the lash but few who want to apply it.”
It takes as much emotional stamina to lay lashes on a man’s back, as it does physical stamina to endure the pain. Many of us would rather take the lash than deliver the blows because it is easier to endure pain oneself than to watch someone else suffer.
When you recognize this fact, you can easily understand what it takes to film the videos that we post on YouTube. Our Shirtless Muscle Dude might be tied up, helpless against the cruel lashes striking his back, but the Punisher has to have the emotional detachment to lay them on hard enough to raise welts—and (hopefully) force out cries of pain.
Both the Punisher and Punished must put aside their fear in order to complete a good old fashioned flogging. It is obvious that the man under lash must face the fear of pain, but many people don’t understand that the Punisher must put aside the fear of inflicting pain, which can be much harder than the endurance of physical pain.
In bygone times of military and prison floggings, officers could order virtually any man to flog any other man. What motivated the Punisher in those times was the fear of being seized up to endure his own punishment for disobedience: so he would lay on the lashes with full force. So, what can motivate a modern-day person to lay hard lashes on a man’s back? There are clearly some sadistic people that would have no qualms about this, but I believe these are very few and would be hard to find—and very hard to trust.
I think the key is for the Punisher to learn to balance the desire to inflict as much pain as possible without causing any real damage (i.e. no blood, no permanent scarring, etc). This requires a form of “conscious detachment”: being unmoved by the punished man’s cries, while ensuring that the painful experience is enjoyable—and does not become one of savage, unfeeling brutality.
For an inexperienced Punisher, it can take some time to gain confidence. The task of the Punished will be to give advice and guidance as the Punisher learns the limits—upper and lower—of the whip being used and of his own strength in wielding it.
