Good Trouble

 As far back as I can remember, People called me many things, a handful, outspoken, rambunctious, inquisitive. All of these names had some affect on my future behavior. Many people who become stagehands (ie theatrical technicians) have spent their life trying to bend the limits of various rules and social "norms". Not necessarily because we want to, but because creatives almost always test limits, check out what is going on in the bowels as well as center stage. Monitoring and taking delight in the subtle contributions we can make to the whole performance. Because we literally hide giant things in plain sight, we also learn a lot about perception. When I was a younger man, there was a "groundbreaking" study that found eye-witness testimony is often unreliable and extremely subjective. It seems the often, we see what we want to see. Looking at each moment as a challenge, every rule as an opportunity to express a creative sidling up to limits, makes life more bearable for those who are often made to follow regimented protocols each night, day after day, often for years on end.

Good Trouble lets you stand out amongst your peers. Quick wit, paired with deft hands on the levers and knobs of the industry's tools can make or break whether you get called back or not. When you help express an emotion, or are the cue for the audiences response, it is extremely heady. My first pro-peace action was handing out literature about the Vietnam War and talking to Green Bay citizens Downtown, by Prange's about how important it was to bring the soldiers home. I got in some Good trouble when I announced to the children of my neighborhood, at age four or five, that calling Fat Mary, Fat Mary was mean and that they needed to call her by her real name. I didn't realize how good the trouble was for many, many years. I knew that part of that girl was hurting, but I wasn't sure what it was, but her name could have been it. Sadly when she said, "What's wrong with that? It's what my Mom and Dad call me." my blood ran cold and I remember running home almost as if I was outside my body, hovering over myself.

Other times I got in good trouble, my voice quaked with emotion, when I spoke. I have held many a protest sign and walked many miles to call attention to crucial issues that have been put on hold for decades. When we lost the fight against the Rocky Flats nuclear reprocessing facility, whose radioactive plume can be seen here:

Even though we organized and gave dozens of presentations about what the potential risks were, we never really took our work to the Good Trouble level.

This top image shows the radioactive plume that left the site and continues to spread, nearly fifty years later. Just a reminder, these images are post seven-billion dollar Superfund clean up. The bottom map is from 2005 but, not to worry, the half life of plutonium is only 24,000 years. This second map was created from soil sampling, so the surface is contaminated and some decision-makers are pushing to develop even closer to the site than has already been done, moving more people into closer proximity to an invisible threat to their health.  

I have long felt the need to share more about my experiences, if anyone has questions about my experiences in Denver, or what I knew about Rocky Flats in the mid-Seventies, I would be happy to share more. If you are one of the people who saw the presentation, or are continuing to protest for healthier and more efficient technologies than the nuclear fallacy of fossil free energy, let me know, I would love to continue to have open discussions. Getting in Good Trouble requires that we continue to do what we can to spread truth instead of lies!