My friend and I have committed to march and rally in every protest for the next four years or until the Liar-in-Thief is impeached, whichever comes first. I am in charge of signs. She is in charge of dates. Although I appreciate her constant enthusiasm and motivation, she never gets the dates right. LOL! She always thinks there is a march when there isn't and when there is a march, she doesn't think there is. It's been a challenge. She gave me two days to get signs ready for the Science March. I had about a day to ponder and research for design ideas before I had to get busy.
Painting with acrylic paint is toxic, but this paint is durable, and most importantly, waterproof once it dries. The rain here is relentless so there is always a 99% it will rain during any given rally. For health reasons I vowed not to replenish my acrylics so the last of my twenty-year-old supply of acrylics has left me with some ugly colors, colors I never used to use and still would rather not. My early signs with the old paints were ghastly gross. My commitment to protest for the next four years was justification for buying a whole new palette of fresh acrylic paint! So joyous! But toxic nevertheless. These new colors seemed to be less smelly than the old stuff. This could be due to a better more modern formula? Or perhaps because they are newer? Or cheaper with less toxic chemicals? Or just wishful thinking. Good lord, I love to paint! And these bright colors are incredibly inspiring making my signage excessively verbose. I have a lot to say.
So I pondered...how do I feel about science? Science is responsible for inventing art supplies. Hooray for convenience. I love my television, computer, and car. We've made astounding progress in curbing pollution and protecting the environment over the last fifty years. I enjoy water quality except when the chemicals are poisoning me....hmmm.
I pondered through the night...didn't science create chemicals? Perfumes, colognes, pesticides, herbicides, formaldehyde, petrochemicals and car exhaust, water treatments, biological and chemical warfare...just to name a few without listing every chemical on the planet. It's good to have laundry detergent, but didn't science also make it stink?
I felt conflicted. Yeah, science has been good for society in so many ways, but science has also been very irresponsible. If someone gave me the option of giving up my television, car and computer if all perfumes would disappear off the face of the earth, I would make the trade in a heart beat. I considered not going to the protest. No one wants a negative naysayer marching along side of them. Some of those radicals might beat me up. My friend kept assuring me, "This is really about climate change and the environment. Concentrate on the goodness of science as a fact during a presidency determined to spread alternative facts."
The problem with chemical sensitivity is a majority of the population doesn't have a clue what it means. They don't know their perfumes are poisonous or their laundry detergent might cause asthmatic symptoms in innocent bystanders. Concentrating on the goodness is what everyone does and that only impedes public education. I had something to say. Could I say it without being too negative? Probably not. I tend to be negative as a default.
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| So. Incredibly. Bright. |
Notice the word "HAPPIER". That's my attempt at a positive spin. I am HAPPY, but I could be HAPPIER.
Only one person challenged me. She came up behind, "Excuse me! Excuse me! It's not science's fault, you know."
"Are you thinking chemicals weren't created with science?"
She stuttered, "Well, I don't think the chemical companies are the fault of science." [As if science is a person....]
"Chemical companies use science to create the poisons," I said as I flipped my sign over and pointed to the "Perfume is Poison" sentence. (I have a lot to say so I opt for double-sided signs!)
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| Flip side. I have the best signs! LOL! |
"Well, OK, but it's the greed of chemical companies that are at fault."
I pointed to the "People B4 Profits" sentence on my sign. I love a sign that speaks for itself. I hardly had to say a thing.
"Well, OK...."
We continued discussing perfumes. She said she didn't wear them but she did still buy some scented products. I nodded while she babbled waiting for a break so I could jump in.
"This is the purpose of my sign. It's not to holler about how horrible science is, but to create conversation. Science isn't perfect. In the wrong hands it has been disastrous. Most chemical companies care only for profits regardless of their products' ramifications on human health or the ecosystem. That's my point. And this is most definitely science, but perhaps not a side of science anyone wants to applaud. I'm glad you voiced your opinion so we could share. If others read my sign and it makes them wonder and think even without speaking their mind, I have succeeded."
We parted at that point. She was my only challenger. It was estimated there were about 5,000 people marching and many were snapping photos of my signs. I'm hoping they would show up on other websites and blogs and spread the word that Chemical Companies are Poisoning Us and Perfume IS Poison. It's all about communication.
As I'm standing at the rally listening to a speaker, someone with perfume got a little too close. Immediately I felt dizzy and nauseated. We moved. This is the risk of group gatherings. I wonder if they even read my sign. Or if they did read it and purposely moved closer? Perfume wearers tend to feel personally assaulted if you tell them they stink. No telling what they might do. That is the risk of disclosure, communication. It's a double-edged sword.
Next week is the Climate Change Protest!
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