​That is not who we are

By Anonymous

As we all click click click on our computers or phones, protected by the shield of the illuminated screen, we find ourselves obsessively reading manifestos in favor of political, economical and societal change. Sometimes we even muster up the courage to post a statement ourselves. It satisfies us; we find ourselves full with the feeling of altruism.

This virtual reality has us convinced that we are each advocates for every social issue, every minority, every Constitutional right. But the sad truth is that the majority of us click “post” and that is where it ends. That is the hip, new version of activism.

The Arts Partnership ran a recent story promoting the performance of a local theatre troupe’s rendition of American Idiot. This show is a product of Green Day’s lead vocalists’ struggle with addiction. The local troupe is billed as a “social justice” theatre; and claims to only cast performers that sing, dance, act, and advocate. The article quotes the director’s words, “we need to stage this show right now. We have a heroin problem in Fargo-Moorhead. Our young people are hurting.”

After reading and re-reading this seemingly harmless promotion, I noticed the photo paired with the article: a group of young actors, covered in thick smoky makeup, dressed in mini-skirts and fishnets, and posed in a back alley. I stared at this photo and couldn’t help but think: that is not who we are.

There may very well be a style that is typically associated with this production, and perhaps that was the motivation behind the photo. But this, paired with the quotes, got me thinking; this seems familiar. Creating a company, selecting the name of a strong nationally renowned social justice organization from the 1970s, and charging the community $25.00 per ticket to come watch you sing about a relevant subject... Fine, that happens all the time. But to bill yourselves as activists and advocates for the addiction epidemic, simply for this process, is nothing short of disingenuous.

Advocates for change, need to actually advocate for change. Act Up Theatre’s director is correct in recognizing that our young people are hurting from the recent run of fatal heroin. But convincing young performers and community members that participating or watching a musical full of scantily clad college students is making tangible steps towards understanding and combating the issue of addiction, is like telling someone that if they post a paragraph on Facebook about how inspiring Bernie Sanders is, he will become President.

Addiction is not a disease that only afflicts young attractive people, hipsters who wear too much eyeliner. Addiction does not discriminate.

We are your neighbors. We are your children. Your parents. Your friends. We are your doctors, your lawyers, your veterinarians, your pastors and your waitresses. We are the girl in fishnets and a mini-skirt. We are the business professional in full suit. We are straight A students. We are your drop-outs. We are your professors. We are United States veterans. We are the biker gang. We are the farmers. We are black. We are white. We are gay. We are straight. We are 9-year old children and 90 year-old grandparents. We have weddings and we have funerals. We are the rock stars and we are the homeless. We win and we lose. We recover. Or we die. And we are dying by handfuls in this city.

We are dying in a city where addicts who want to voluntarily check into treatment centers are turned away daily. We are dying in a city where bartenders will serve us for free if we turn in our sobriety chips. We are dying in a city that shames the homeless, but will evict a domestic violence victim from a homeless shelter if they do not maintain perfect sobriety. We are dying in a city that opens a liquor store on every corner. We are dying in a city that promotes the staging of a musical based on our addiction, under the guise of activism. We are dying in a city that supports a theatre troupe profiting from our disease; “advocating” for us without ever meeting us.

In this city, my friends are dying. And their deaths have now been published as advertisement for a musical.

We are blessed to live in a community full of thriving artists who deserve to be supported. But as you pay almost as much as you would pay to see a Broadway production, and sit in a beautiful air-conditioned building. You will be in awe of the talent and spectacle. You will leave humming show tunes and perhaps even feeling a little bit like you participated in something important.

But I ask you to recognize that this is meaningful entertainment, and an important promotion of the arts, but not yet activism. I challenge you to take a tangible step towards re-aligning words with actions. If you have $25.00 and three hours to spare, you have a few options:

1. Go see a play.

2. Donate your time and money to one of the many local treatment centers.

3. Donate your time and money to the Gladys Ray shelter that provides detoxing addicts with access to a bed, roof, and hot meal.

4. Research and attend an Open recovery meeting in your community. Listen to the stories of recovering addicts who have only minutes of clean time, up to 50 plus years of clean time.

Your neighbors are dying in your city. And no amount of singing is going to improve this until addicts cease to be characters, and become people in the eyes of the community. I want to live in a world where when someone says “I am a recovering addict,” our view of them is forever shifted. Not tainted with shame, but rather with admiration.

“Grant us the serenity to accept the things we cannot change, the courage to change the things we can, and the wisdom to know the difference.”