Stop Using Consent Models to Escape Your Ethical Duties

This is not RACK:

I’m a risk-aware skydiver. I know diving out of planes is potentially hazardous, so I don’t have to check my gear before jumping. Being risk-aware is enough. It’s not that I’m lazy. I’ve assessed the hazards thoroughly. I know, for instance, that one in 100, 000 skydivers dies while jumping. This knowledge makes the ground a lot softer to land on at speeds of 120 miles an hour. In fact, merely knowing the statistics will render my body entirely shatterproof.

I have assessed skydiving hazards in great detail. I know all the ways things might go awry. Do I avoid those mistakes? No. Merely knowing they exist makes me risk-aware and thus an ethical jumper.

There are 98, 000 successful dives in every 100, 000, and I gain the benefit of those stats even if I don’t dive with a parachute. What? This logic is impenetrable. The acronym says risk AWARE, not risk RESPONSIBLE.

This is not PRICK:

I’m sort of a pilot. I mean kind of. I inherited my uncle’s Cessna and have learned how to get it in the air. This is, of course, an excellent opportunity for profits, so I've started selling trips to tourists. I’ll admit it’s a risk for them. I've patched up some holes with tuna cans and margarine. Is it irresponsible? Sure, but it’s not my job to worry about my passengers’ risks. I’m PRICK. I believe in personal responsibility, so assessing risk is their job. If they haven’t checked my credentials and we all land up in a tree canopy, it’ll be because they weren’t responsible.

BDSM has more consent models than I even know what to do with, but these two stick in my craw the most. Too many people use them as excuses instead of guidelines. I’m RACK myself, so I’m not criticising the model. I’m criticising the fact that people are using it to cop out of their ethical duties.

Yes, I did say duties. If you don’t like the word, you’re reading the wrong Fetlifian. It’s best to slink off to K&P to find a less annoying writer. ‘Round here, we Karen through consent as though whining will achieve something.

Getting back to the topic at hand, a hammer is an excellent tool unless you use it to do brain surgery. Consent models are excellent tools unless you use them to shrug off your DUTIES. <shudder> RACK doesn’t mean risk awareness is enough. It means learn the damned risks and how to mitigate them. That second part is rather important.

By the same token, PRICK is not a gotcha to use after your inexperience hurts your bottom (I’m PRICK, dahling. You should have been more careful about playing with someone who hangs bottoms from the neck.” PRICK doesn’t mean it's okay to use your beginner skills to choke out your girlfriend without a safe signal. PRICK doesn’t mean performing brain surgery with a hammer, then telling the patient they should have been more responsible about choosing a brain surgeon. PRICK doesn’t mean “I don’t give a fuck and besides, you knew I was an asshole.”

There are two or more players in a kink scene. PRICK requires personal responsibility of ALL of you, not just those who AREN’T you. Stop using consent models to escape your ethical duties.

Yes, duties.