The other night, I was woken up at about 1:30 AM by a couple fighting with each other. It was loud and angry and I listened for a few minutes for sounds of violence before drifting back to sleep. At about 3:00 AM, I was awakened by the same couple, still fighting. The male was yelling loudly and the tone of his voice frightened me. He sounded insane. I heard a a noise that I couldn’t tell the exact nature of, and he kept calling her a “cunt” over and over again. I decided that I needed to call 911. However, because it was across my courtyard, I had no idea what apartment these people were actually in. No clue which floor or even what the building number was. But I knew that I had to at least try to call the cops. At the very least, this was a domestic disturbance that was waking people up. At the most, someone’s life could have been in danger.
I called dispatch and the woman was really great and assured me that they would do what they could to find the apartment. I didn’t hear much more noise, so either the fight ended itself or the cops came. So many people hear things like I heard that night and just shrug it off as a couple having a fight, or think that it’s none of their business and that they have no place to get involved. But by calling 911, you have nothing to lose. The worst that happens is that it was just an argument, and the cops tell them to quiet down. The best that happens is that someone’s life is saved. Don’t neglect to call the cops because you don’t want to get involved; you don’t have to. You can place anonymous calls and no one will ever know who called in the domestic disturbance.
I wouldn’t have felt comfortable if I hadn’t made that call. I don’t know the outcome, but all I know is that I did what I could to possibly help someone that needed it. And you should never hesitate to do the same. As Screaming Violet tweeted at me last night when I first mentioned that I was considering making a 911 call:
“I’d still ring, too many times I’ve wished a neighbour would’ve called the cops when my ex was beating me up.”
There’s always a chance that someone else is hoping the exact same thing.
**Trigger warning for the following video.**
I hadn’t gotten a chance to write something for Domestic Violence Awareness Month, which was this month, so consider this my contribution.
I was out of town and missed posting for National Coming Out Day yesterday, but I wanted to post something anyway, whether it was late or not. I thought that this would be a good time to address a question that ASM asked me at the Calendar Party. She said, “You often mention that you identify as queer, but you always write about relationships with men, and most of your sexual encounters involve men, as well.”
I'm Britni, a snarky bitch and generally awesome person. I write about sex, love, and bullshit. If sex-positivity, discussions about BDSM and kink, queer issues, and topics that are completely inappropriate by society's standards make you uncomfortable, then this blog is not for you.
Good Vibes 
Dead On
While I’m off working and having a life boyfriend, I wanted to at least share something superawesome with you. Courtesy of Holly over at Pervocracy (that I’m hoping to finally be able to meet for drinks once she’s done having mono!), The People You Meet When You Write About Rape:
Standing ovation. And TRUFAX. See how many of these people you can pick out in the comments of the post that mentions their existence!
Comments, as always when I feature someone else’s writing, are closed. Her comments section is pretty bumpin’ already, but please direct any comments her way, anyway.