Slamone Talks Freedom! Liberte ou Peur for Francophiles.
Crank up the George Michael and party like a French revolutionary!
Bonjour, mes petites chouchous!
This month at le slam we will muse about Freedom et Fear. Some mighty powerful “F” words, right? This muse knows how to muse about liberté! Forget about États-Unis and the fete thrown on the 4th by the resident Homme/Enfant-in-Chief. So much drama about the low turnout for the planned Semiquincentennial bash and Vanilla Ice being the only name who didn’t drop out (does he have more than one song?) The scuzz in the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool serves as a symbol of this administration…contracted without congressional approval to cronies of our autocratic overlord; $16 million spent to end up with an algae-ridden eyesore.
As so many freedoms have been stripped away over the past few years, it hardly seems like a time for celebration. Reflect on that, America!
In France, we understand revolution. Ce sont les Français qui en ont fait une référence.
We celebrate Bastille Day on July 14th. La fête nationale is a celebration of the symbolic beginning of the French Revolution, the day many ordinary citizens fought back against the oppression of the ruling class. The monarchy was made up of the royal family, bishops, and other nobles who spent lavishly on themselves, leaving the everyman and everywoman to live in squalor. Sound familiar?
On July 14, 1789, the suffering French had had enough. They arrived at the Bastille, a medieval fortress that served as an upscale prison. The mob demanded the arms and ammunition inside of the Bastille, a structure that had come to represent the brutal rule of the Bourbon monarchy with its 100 foot walls and multiple towers. Two people climbed up one of the walls and cut the drawbridge, sending it crashing down and allowing the citizens to storm the fortress. Dozens perished at the hands of the king’s guards, but they made a hell of a statement. The revolution was ON.
The French celebrate in grand fashion every July 14th. No wrestling matches or has-been one hit wonders, they drink wine and dance and commemorate their rage against tyranny. No one attacks the police or poops on anyone’s desk. It’s très civilized.
The OG muse Simone had a thing or two to say about freedom in her day.
She made waves with thoughts like “To want to be free is also to want others to be free.” and “A freedom which is interested only in denying freedom must be denied.“ I bet she drank a few pops of scotch on Bastille Day in her time.
In that spirit, come join us at Wham! Bam! Thank You! Slam! on July 18th at 5 pm eastern, where we will tell stories of freedom and fear. In the spirit of those French revolutionaries that brought down the Bastille, our storytellers will delve into their rebellious natures and what freedom and fear means to them.
Come join us for an afternoon of independence, autonomy, and emancipation and the demons one must grapple with to attain that status of being free.
À bientôt! Vive la révolution!
The slam is on July 18 at 5PM ET on Zoom. To attend, buy a ticket or become a paid subscriber. And if you don’t have the cash right now, send Nan or Slamone a DM. We recommend DMing Nan, because if you DM Slamone, she may remember to let Nan know, but likely, not.