So the theme of this months Beatroute is Pride. Just the other day I was conscious of potentially being insensitive to people. The horror of the Orlando shootings was fresh as I was looking to make myself a sarcastic meme about my sunny vs surly disposition. So instead of rainbows and kittens adorning the speech bubble of my caricature Facebook profile picture, I opted for sunshine and lollipops. I’m changing the way I think about expressing myself consciously. I find myself editing text and rethinking poster layouts for gigs. Something as simple as a personal meme stopped me in my tracks about how my sarcasm with an image of rainbows might upset people in the LGBTQ community after that horrific tragedy. Maybe I’m just sick of being trolled by outraged people who have misunderstood my online activity. Welcome to conscious thinking, sanity preserving, damage control expert, wendy13.
I’m sick of the high school style name calling dialogue that is draped like sludge on any internet platform. Have you ever heard the saying “The minute you start name calling in a disagreement, you’ve lost the argument”? There are words I’m tired of seeing used as insults. That Scottish twitter reaction to Trump’s comments on Brexit referendum was refreshing to me. What the fuck is a shitgibbon? North America has an immature, name calling mechanism inbred. All these homophobic and female degradation slurs can fuck right off. I’m trying really hard to remove ‘bitch’ from my vocabulary. I cringe when I hear people use it. I questioned a heavy duty activist I know about referring to a fine group of empowered women in a picture recently as ‘bad bitches’. Her answer was that she was reclaiming the word ‘bitch’. I thought why would you want to do that. That word is mostly used as a derogatory noun for denouncing a woman that isn’t subservient or compliant. According to the dictionary, the use for the word means a female canine, a difficult or unpleasant situation or a complaint. I don’t mind it used as a verb.
It’s hard to believe what we are seeing especially when it comes to Donald Trump being fucking celebrated for being a racist, xenophobic shitgibbon. These fear mongering, right wing Breitbart style embellished articles people are sharing these days make me think twice about that acquaintance. This Trump movement seems to be the bigot’s dangerous last stand. In 2016, people still think it’s okay to shun others because of skin color, sexual orientation or religion. Unbelievable. With North America’s educational opportunities you’d think you’d see our first world mentality step the fuck up. Instead, we seem to have had our brains blown out by archaic religious reasoning and brainwashing from glorified violence and general shitty attitudes in our entertainment media. Where the fuck has the pride in being a moral, compassionate, decent person gone?
Now let’s talk about band pride. This is my motivational rant for bands to dispel your lazy entitlement fantasies as an expectation that someone else is in charge of your hype. I message the booked acts. “Hey whatever band, here is an event and poster for the upcoming live gig. Can you please invite your minions”. Well I shit you not, I can go to that event over the next few days and am led to believe that not one person in any of the 3 or 4 bands I’ve asked to participate in this promotional endeavor has any friends. No one has been invited. Not even their moms are coming. If, as a band you don’t seem interested in having anyone know about your performance, why do you think others will give a shit? What good is me handing you internet ready blurbs that require a couple of clicks of the mouse, if you’re pissing it away. I only have so much reach. Get it together. A little effort brings recognition and results.
SUBCULTURE 