Politics Lite for CA: Battling a genetic disorder

Comparitively speaking to the big picture politics ie the presidential race, the politics of massage is small beans to those who are NOT into the giving and receiving of touch. The mainstream is oblivious to the battles being fought over who can touch them, for income, and how much, for that privilege, it will cost.

It is politics lite because a position on the issue is a no brainer. One would think because the solution is so obvious there would be no problem getting there. As luck would have it, it is not easy because the problem is genetics. Check out this Scientific American piece.

If I had known my problem was genetic, I would have made an effort to get the problem under control sooner. Voting, taking sides, stating and holding a position in the political arena or, for that matter, any other arena, has always been easy for me. People know where I stand.

There are very few arenas I take very seriously even in the big picture of politics. I will normally argue my position but when push comes to shove, I will surrender and do what I was going to do anyway. My real hackles are rarely raised but when they are, welllll, those that knew The Rub or have witnessed some of my anti-Amta/licensing ravings have a pretty good idea. Sorry folks, it's in the genes.

Of course, the opposite side of this genetic disorder coin is the not voting, not taking sides and not taking and holding a position. That seems to be the condition prevalent in our trade. With this post, I am asking you to fight your genetic disorder and take a position supporting the licensing of touch in CA.

Carl Brown, on the bodywork_politics list wrote in response to my calling for the licensing of touch, "My first impression was you went over to the dark side. Then I noticed that you said "licensing of touch". I presume that it would not require the massage licensing requirements that have nothing to do with consumer protection and is irrelevant to many forms of touch based therapy."

That's right, Carl... I ask you and all those touching people in California to take a look at some preliminary thoughts at http://massage.meetup.com/307/about/ and consider joining... The $10 fee is to start a fund to hire a lobbyist to serve the interests of providers and receivers of touch. If there is enough interest a nonprofit could be established.

Jennifer, another poster to the politics list wrote, "I have always felt that licensing of clinically applied touch was necessary... now more estoteric or metaphysical touch that has nothing to do with anything physically clinical (but that would be more energetic or spiritual) is another story... but anything that falls into a realm of clinical physical touch does, IMHO, need to be licensed."

Unfortunately that is not going to happen. There is only one solution for the most powerful and monied organization fighting for licensing. Everybody providing touch is lumped together no matter what their intent. It's time for a change. It really is time for us doing the work to have a union of sorts to protect us from unnecessary governance and expensive and insulting requirements to practice.

Answer: $397,254.30 Stay tuned for the question