Mandy Palmer and me

I joke about trash 'cause it takes class to be enlightened!
I joke about sex because it's funny when you're frightened!

I've written a brief zine, called I Fought In A War, about my experiences with the military complex. This is a zine I'll only trade, rather than sell, because I'm picky about who gets to read it. At the start of it I put a brief warning: [this zine] is intensely personal and some bits were very hard to write. I should imagine they might also be hard to read. So that you have sufficient warning, this zine contains references to assault of all kinds (including sexual and physical), abuse of authority, violence, organised religion and military culture. I put the warning in because although the zine doesn't discuss any of these things in real depth it seemed like the decent, human thing to do. I've never had a bad reaction to anything I've read in a zine, but I've always appreciated people who put warnings in them so that I can ready myself or avoid them entirely if I'm having a bad day.

I've reread my own zine and the worst thing that happened was I felt slightly uncomfortable at some bits. Definitely nothing I couldn't handle. And then... Amanda fucking Palmer. Today I was listening to one of her songs on the bus. Actually listening to it rather than putting it on to dance around to while I tidy up. The two lines up there? Made me throw up. I started to panic, got off the bus, and threw up on the pavement. It didn't occur to me to just take off my headphones or stop the tape, which on reflection would have been a much more sensible course of action. It did, though, give me a renewed sense of respect for people who take the time to put warnings in their zines. It's such an easy thing to do, and if it stops someone having a panic attack or other bad reaction, totally worth it.