RECREATIONAL OUTRAGE

It’s quite difficult to hail a taxi when you are covered in blood.

Not impossible, thanks largely to the introduction of UBER for adding a level of tense desperation to the existing chauffeurs on the market, but it is still quite difficult. The reason I know this to be true is that just over two months ago it was presented to me as my quickest way out of a shitty situation. I stood on the curb with my thumb dangling into the road and my face split and dripping.

Less than half an hour prior to this I had been comfortably sat at a bar in Newtown, where a friend and I were taking part in the act of playful buffoonery. We had been out all night and it wasn’t only our spirits that were high. While sitting by ourselves sharing stories and a jug we were joined by two women and engaged in a conversation that lead to the use of the word ‘cunt’.

Never before in history has it been easier for the opinions of every man and woman to be heard. The Internet has given a voice to everyone who feels they have something important to say, and the one thing we all have in common is a feeling that what we have to say is of importance. Our differences in opinion are a large contributor to why we as a species have arrived at the station we find ourselves today. Scattered throughout history as far back as we can retrace are countless examples of conflict and resolution. Variations in belief born from differing life experience which collide and reshape to paint the portrait of our nearby future.

An example of this is. I highly enjoy the word cunt. I feel it is my right to use it freely in sentences such as: “Joe Rogan is a sick cunt”, “Veganism is for dumb cunts” or simply “Fuck yeah, cunt!” I am aware that any of these sentiments are only as true to me as they may be equally false to someone else. Not only do I accept this, I also encourage a persons right to believe it. It was this very disagreement that spurred our two table guests to become offended and leave our company. Perhaps foolishly spurred on by the remaining embers of an MDMA fire in my belly, I set out to attempt to apologies. For even though our opinions may differ we should still be capable of coming together in a mutual respect on the basic principle of us being all human …Right? Recreational Outrage is a condition affecting many in our chaotic modern society in which an individual is able to give themselves a little pat on the back for expressing an opinion they feel to be of great significance. Most commonly this opinion will be a fairly naive take on an existing popular belief. A simple regurgitation of a socially accepted concept that often has far more levels of complexity than can be dealt with by a diagnosis of 1 x serving of uneducated idealistic political correctness.

We left the bar, accepting the difference in opinion of our recent encounter and moving on, still in good spirits. I heard shouting behind me and turned to see the boyfriends of our opinion victims following us down the street. There’s nothing that kills a good time quite like being leapt upon in the street by angry bearded men intent on the blind vindication of their woman’s bruised ego. The irony of ‘feminists’ sending their boyfriends to defend their wounded sense of self-importance is not lost on me. However I respect their right to embrace such a foolish attitude.

There has never been a better time to be alive than right here and now. We are in the midst of an extremely interesting stage in the development of human civilisation. An open dialogue is important. Frustration should never elevate to the level of violence towards another person, however I have been on both sides of this exchange in the past. It is the conversation that is most important now, I feel. You may not. That’s ok. I’ll be hitting the road for the ‘Recreational Outrage’ tour at the following dates if anyone wants to talk about it. JUNE 22 – BEACH BURRITO – FORTITUDE VALLEY

JUNE 24 – BEACH BURRITO – WESTEND

JUNE 25 – BEACH BURRITO – COOLANGATTA

JULY 1 – THE LOFT – CHEVERON ISLAND

JULY 4 – SONNYS HOUSE OF BLUES – BRISBANE CBD

JULY 8 – FORESHORE MARKET – PORT MACQUARIE

JULY 8 – THE PIER - PORT MACQUARIE

JULY 9 – URUNGA RIVERSIDE MARET – URUNGA RIVER

JULY 12 – YAMBA FARMER MARKET - YAMBA

JULY 15 – EUMUNDI MARKET - EUMUNDI