Published December 1, 2024

Many years ago in my hometown, there was a midnight showing of “Rocky Horror Picture Show” at the mall cinema. Word had gotten out that this was a movie where you could throw stuff. A bunch of punks showed up to do just that.

They threw full, wet rolls of toilet paper. Hard. On a flat line. Whatever passed for confetti, rice and toast in their minds, it stung. I know because it hit me.

A friend and I knew the staff and offered to help by standing off to the side near the front row and keeping an eye out for violence. A glass beer bottle sailed just past us and shattered on the wall a few feet away.

The manager eventually called police, who tried to restore order, a neat trick during a midnight showing of “Rocky Horror.” One teen fired a wet roll of toilet paper at an officer and hit him in the back, possibly the worst decision of the night.

I was embarrassed that this was happening in my hometown, but I can’t say I was surprised.

Here we go again

From 2017-2021, I thought about that night a lot. People, handpicked for the job, broke stuff, our stuff, this country’s stuff, for four years. On Jan. 6, 2021, it was obvious word had gotten out that there was a government building where people were invited and encouraged to escalate things. To throw things, bust windows, steal, defecate in legislative spaces and do whatever they wanted to do. Maybe even help prevent a smooth transfer of power. An insurrection. Punks.

I was embarrassed that this was happening in my country.

We’ve reached December 2024, which means we are about to embark upon four more years of destruction. I am on the list of targets — twice. I’m a journalist and a transgender woman. The looming threat is a big part of why I am on leave from work and barely functioning right now.

The Wild Woman Rising calendar always speaks to me, but I wonder now if this will be enough. I fear it won’t be. We have fewer guardrails than in 2021.

The calendar says:

COURT THE INVISIBLE

Your guides may not be visible, but that doesn’t mean they are not real. Reach for them now. Through dreamwork, active imagination, trance, or meditation, invite your guides to appear to you.

No matter how solitary your current moment is, you are not alone. You never have been. When we reach for the unseen support around us and trust its presence in our lives, Wild Woman rises.

All out of words

I’ve listened to George Winston’s “December” album already, and I’m sure it will be my familiar companion throughout the month, like an old friend. That’s why I chose it for the collage this time.

I don’t know what else to say, except maybe these words from someone else.

♥

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