Beautiful Trouble

Beautiful Trouble

Adult nonfiction
"'Human salvation,' Dr. Martin Luther King argued, 'lies in the
hands of the creatively maladjusted,' and recent [2012] events are
proving him as prescient as ever. As the recent wave of global revolt
has swept through Iceland, Bahrain, Spain, Greece, Chile, the United
States, and elsewhere, the tools at activists' disposal, the terrain
of struggle, and the victories that suddenly seem possible are quickly
evolving. The realization is rippling through the ranks that, if
deployed thoughtfully, our pranks, stunts, flash mobs, and encampments
can bring about real shifts in the balance of power. In short, large
numbers of people have seen that creative action gets the goods--and
have begun to act accordingly. Art, it turns out, really does enrich
activism, making it more compelling and sustainable."
Things sure have gone downhill since the optimistic introduction
(quoted above) to Andrew Boyd's Beautiful Trouble: A Toolbox For
Revolution. The one percent are living large at the expense of all
the rest of us. Encouraged by the current White House resident, the
hate groups are coming out of the woodwork. The questioning of
science is imperilling every species on this planet.
That is why we need this amazing book more than ever!
Being an activist in 2018 can feel very discouraging. We rush
from one crisis to the next. Distractions such as presidential tweets
divert people's focus from evils to ephimera. We seem to be preaching
to the choir. And there are never enough live bodies to get the work
done. Never mind money...
Sound familiar?
Reading Beautiful Trouble is like drinking ice cold water after
a slog through the desert. It encourages us to really look at what
we're doing, question assumptions, and try new and exciting projects.
We can be inspired by the achievements of over eighty organizations
and other entities. Whether you skim, search for specifics, or read
the book cover to cover, if you're anything like me, you'll be
invigorated and ready to take on the world...or at least a little part
of it. The book is divided into four sections.
Tactics are strategies and ways to make them work and avoid
potential pitfalls. Creative petition delivery, for example, can wed
online and offline activism. If done creatively enough, it can
capture press attention. When Avaaz petitioned the World Health
Organization to investigate and regulate factory farms they were able
to set up 200 cardboard pigs, each representing 1,000 signatures, in
front of their headquarters.
Principles are the insights gleaned through work in the field.
My favorite is, "Take leadership from the most impacted." The people
who have the most at stake know the problem and possible solutions
most intimately. We must go into a situation as listening allies, not
arrogant saviors.
Theories are the big picture ideas that provide insight into the
world and how to change it. The concept of environmental justice
looks at how industry wastes are usually dumped on poor and minority
communities.
"What is at work here is not only racism, but a widespread and
devastating ethic that witholds compassion from the environment and
denies the humanity of ninety-nine percent of the world's people,
treating them as resources to be exploited at best, or as entirely
external to the economic calculations at worst."
Read the book and act on it.
"Millions around the world have awoken not just to the need to
take action to reverse deepening inequality and ecological
devastation, but to our own creative power to do so. You have in your
hands a distillation of ideas gained from those on the front lines of
creative activism. But these ideas are nothing until they are acted
upon. We look forward to seeing what you do with them."
On a personal note, this is one of the most special days of the year
for me: Joey cat's 15th birthday. As I write this I hear him playing
with kittenish energy. You'd never guess he's a seriously older cat.
It's a bit of a miracle that he's still here, in the game, healthy and
happy, because of medical problems he was born with. Twice he's had
to have very serious surgeries. Every day my little friend is with me
is doubly precious for his being there.
A great big shout out goes out to my birthday cat, the gang at Veazie
Vet, my husband who buys the cat food and litter and paid for the
surgeries and plays with Joey, my children who grew up with him, and
my friends who are his friends.
jules hathaway



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