“A Kidwelly man accidentally hanged himself to death while taking part in a bizarre sex act. Damian Batley, a former Asda cashier, filmed himself on his mobile phone as he hanged himself, an inquest has heard. Constable Ian Ayres, from Carmarthen CID, said Mr Batley was found naked hanging from his bedroom door by a family member on February 1. The police were called and when they arrived at the scene, they found video footage on his mobile phone. Deputy coroner Pauline Mainwaring recorded the verdict of accidental death from hanging at the inquest, heard in Llanelli on February 28. She added: ‘There is no evidence to suggest suicide.’ She confirmed there were no suspicious circumstances and nobody else was involved.” — This Is South Wales (UK)

It is tempting to blame the victim in cases like this. “What a retard,” you might think. “Killing himself for nothing more than a wank…” But if you’ve ever been contacted — as PervScan has — by the family members of a person who’s done something like this, it’s hard to retain an attitude of mockery. You quickly feel like the protagonist of Nathanael West’s excellent novel Miss Lonelyhearts, in which a guy takes a job writing the lonely hearts column for a newspaper. At first it’s a lark. But then he realizes — and has to come to terms with — the fact that each of the sad letters he receives comes from a real person experiencing real misery. It’s tough to remain insensitive to that, unless you’re a sociopath.

So condolences to Mr. Batley’s family. It’s too damn bad he had to die. Not long ago, PervScan suggested that anyone interested in a dangerous form of sexuality should consider practicing something comparable to the Buddy System in swimming. Do you want to experiment with asphyxiation? For God’s sake, don’t do it by yourself. Get yourself a Kink Buddy in case something goes wrong. Mr. Batley sure wishes he’d had one. And in this day and age — when there is an internet community for every outlandish perversion or fetish — there’s no excuse not to get one. A Kink Buddy could save your life. And even if he need not do that, it might just be fun to share your thing with him anyway.

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