It was pouring rain when I left my home on Saturday.
Errands then to the movies with my girlfriends. We were going to see Long Shot. But as luck would have it we went instead to see POMs. What’s that? I can hear whispers through the ether “that doesn’t sound like a particularly thought provoking endeavor” “you seem to have lower standards when it comes to movies” “tsk. Tsk.” Or is that my inner critics (yes I have many) who pass creative judgement upon me?
The fact is, we all need to laugh, a lot. Unfortunately the movie, like its reviews, was not very amusing.
Face it. The past two + years are quite a truckload serious bullshit for this socially conscious human (would’ve said f-load…but I’m working on my daily dose of expletives). Many of my friends agree we need laughter whenever and as much as is possible.
There is something quite wonderful about having people one can call/text/email and say, how about some laughter?” What’s even better is when they say “Hell yeah!” And so this is exactly what we did…we went to the movies, then out to eat and talk about the issues facing us. I felt somewhat comforted knowing I am not alone in this creepy time of peril.
Now reality is what it is, and as i sit here in my comfortable rental, my puppies asleep by my side, silently awaiting me to put down the iPad and don my shoes and grab leashes, I know that said danger, though not far away is as omnipresent as i choose. This may be the issue of why many people are not taking seriously the threat of evil, which is not a good thing.
Don’t get me wrong (or do, your choice) I am perhaps just as willing to vacate the awful, blood pressure raising feeling of dread at the thought of women being jailed for miscarriage, children ripped from their parent’s arms. rape victims forced to birth the product of assault, mass incarceration at the benefit of greedy scoundrels, people of color being murdered by cops, students being shot in schools, houses of worship bombarded with bullets, medical bankruptcy, gerrymandering, election tampering, species extinction (us included), natural habitats destroyed, and yes, people being told where to poop. Did I forget anything? Probably, and so you may add or put in the order your most importance.
So where to begin? I know I don’t have all the answers, but feel somehow we must work outside of the box – to change the ill tide, to come at this horrific mess o’shit (there goes my expletive limit) with a different, more effective means, because honestly, postcards get pitched into the circular bin, emails get deleted, as do phone calls – if they get answered by a human at all. Marches of millions have momentary impact though they are indeed community empowering. The Handmaids are visually effective.
I cannot or will not forget these many issues facing us and I feel it is my duty to remind others as I remind myself that we must envision and work toward remedying this awfulness! Even with necessary laughter and cute puppy breaks.
Massive, selective boycotting, pulling the plug on advertisers who support faux news etc., may be a more viable answer since it is one thing to walk the talk but to shop your talk is much more powerful. In our consumer/capitalist society businesses don’t like to lose money-the bottom line IS everything. And time IS of the essence here.
I’m spending the rest of my day making art, puppytime and doing research. Will keep you posted.
In the meantime, if you’ve read thus far, put on your (god is this making me sound old) thinking cap, then send me a note of what your ideas might be,
Janet Bernson 