Apathy Rules

I have not felt compelled to write here for a while, as I tend to reserve this space for things which I feel strongly enough about to warrant recording in some way.

Well, now I have something.

When I started out on my exploration of D/s and the internet a few years ago I was very surprised to find how many people were totally unaware of the dangers of arranging one to one meetings with somebody they didn't know, except via a pc screen or phone. There is a way of at least adding some kind of safety net during this type of first meeting , known as a Safecall. The basic idea is that you pass the details of who and where you are meeting to a third party, and they stay in touch with you by phone, at pre arranged or even random times throughout the duration of said meeting. If at any time something is not quite right the third party is under instructions to take such action as they feel necessary to maintain your safety.

3 years ago I set up a little operation to offer safecalls to people. We did a few, but mostly to people we knew, and the idea never really took off, although everyone whom I spoke to said what a great service it was. Anyway, the website has been there all this time, still offering it's good advice to anyone who wanted to read it.

Recently we heard of a good friend who fell foul of a first meeting and ended up in hospital as a result. At the same time, a posting about another incident appeared in an MSN group where I am a member. I decided that I needed to spread the word about safety, specifically first meeting safety and safecalls. So, we redesigned the website, and I set out to begin raising people's awareness of safety issues within the D/s lifestyle again.

This week I have started this process by posting in some 10 MSN groups (including the one which had the post relating to the incident above) whose members total some 8500 supposedly committed and serious D/s lifestylers. I asked that each person who read the post, or looked at the safecall website should reply to my original posting in each group. It is now 48 hours later and I have to report the following: There have been about 15 replies. 9 in one group alone. In another group I was warned off about posting "scare stories" about personal safety as this might cause members to leave, or put them off of using the message boards. Another group decided to remove my post altogether with no explanation.

So, it appears that those who profess to be serious and concerned lifestylers couldn't give a flying f*** about safety. They would rather talk about more interesting things. What I don't quite understand is that they have totally missed the point. One reply suggested that we might scare off new lifestylers by talking about the dangers of first meetings. Frankly I would rather scare someone off than have their death on my conscience because I didnt give them the benefit of the knowledge I have, and help them to create at least a safer meeting than not say anything at all.

My perception of the (predominantly) UK D/s lifestyle participants has dropped considerably in the last forty eight hours. However I am recording these thoughts because I know there will be further episodes as i fully intend to pursue my campaign, and I make no apologies for that. I have decided that i am going to offer Safecall as a service again, this time at no cost (the original idea was to charge for it). I am researching the possibility of making Safecall a charity, on a not for profit basis, funded entirely by donations, and will be approaching such places as ISP's to ask for funding, and to set up a UK wide network of trained safecall Designates in the major cities, who have local knowledge, and access to such things as reputable taxi companies, and who can develop a rapport with local police too.

This is my vision, and I fully intend to see it through.

Watch This Space!!!