I am well on my way to being a grumpy old man. I shake my head at new fashion trends, new music genres and whatever it is that passes for a haircut these days. When I see a scrawny little shit in a metal-core shirt and skinny jeans, I just wonder what would REALLY happen if I gave him a wedgie. But, at the 2007 Warped Tour is when I began to notice something; amongst the pseudo-carnies peddling $9 burritos and $4 Gatorade, there were booths, tents and even Truth.com’s bright orange bus, each hawking merchandise that didn’t support a band nor the venue, but rather a non-profit organization.
When I went to my first concerts, I didn’t even know what a non-profit WAS. I knew that I could get someone to buy me beer, I would rock out, maybe buy a shirt and go get Macho Nachos at Del Taco and call it good. Alas, I am older and wiser now. I can buy my own beer, I rock out, maybe buy some merch and get Thai food. Now when I see sponsorships of artists, it’s not just by instrument companies, but by organizations like To Write Love on Her Arms or PETA’s less-insane & youth-orientated counterpart, PETA2.
I immediately dismissed the organizations as fashionable fads, to be consumed by the masses of reverse-mullets and excessive mascara. But while mulling it over I began to think that even if the pasty dipshits were wearing a TWLOHA shirt without knowing what it supported, at least they were doing SOMETHING. The organization hawking the merch still gets the money, to use as they see fit to meet their objectives.
I wondered what made the staffs behind these organizations tick. Was it that they wanted to make money or were they simply doing something, ANYTHING to get their voice heard?
I had a chance to abuse my contacts into getting a chat with some peeps in the know, and the more they had to say, the more I stopped wanting to give wedgies and wanted to possibly toss around some high fives. Well, maybe one.
First up is Jamie Tworkowski, founder of To Write Love on Her Arms. Celebrating their four-year anniversary this year, TWLOHA started as a very personal interaction with Twor…err… Jamie’s friend & self-injury. Besides just helping his friend fight off depression, Jamie founded TWLOHA with the vision of “presenting hope and finding help for people struggling with depression, addiction, self-injury and suicide.“ With Switchfoot and Anberlin rocking the shirts, it wasn’t hard to get the word out.
With exposure from bands, a variety of social media sites, frickin’ Hot Topic and booths at concert festivals around the country, TWLOHA is able to entice those who couldn’t give two shits about them. Jamie (Seriously, I can’t write his last name without yelling “MIKE WAZOWSKI!,” which was waking my roommate) says that sometimes the hope shines through.
“I don’t try to sell it or push it on people. I don’t think it’s my job to try to convince people that TWLOHA is good or important. To me, the evidence is pretty compelling and the heart of the matter is people. I’ve met people who say ‘Your website saved my life.’ I’ve had people hand me their last razor blade, saying things like ‘I don’t want to hurt myself anymore’ or ‘I’m getting help now and TWLOHA helped me to take that step.’”
With so many non-profits, many of which are marketed with million-dollar campaigns (Project:Red, Salvation Army, American Cancer Society, etc), I wondered if TWLOHA felt that they were scrambling for their peace of the proverbial pie.
“No, I don’t feel that way. We have great friends at other non-profits like Invisible Children and Charity: Water and we believe in the work they’re doing. We’re just trying to do great work, to communicate and create events that are compelling and encouraging. A lot of non-profits are set up where it feels like they’re constantly asking for something, maybe asking for money. I want TWLOHA to feel like we exist to give, not to take.”
He brings up a good point, a LOT of non-profits, much like our current presidential administration if you ever signed up for their email list, continually ask for money, making it feel like a chore rather than something positive and useful. While Mike Wazowski’s work is satisfying, he gives this as the most personal tale he’s encountered yet as to the effect of TWLOHA:
“I met a guy named Chris at a Rocket Summer show in England a couple years ago. He had one of our shirts on and I asked him why. We talked and he shared that he had just lost his best friend to suicide, and that best friend turned out to be a girl that was pregnant with his child. He talked about going to counseling and that it was something that was helping him a great deal. That conversation has stayed with me. It was a reminder of the pain that some people live with and there was a sense of privilege not in pretending to have answers for Chris but for getting to meet him in his questions. And it meant a lot to know that he was finding hope and encouragement in TWLOHA. “
While Jamie tries to help those who just don’t know how to help themselves, there are those who attempt to help those who can’t help themselves. No, not gluttons, animals. Delving into PETA2 was a bit of a challenge for me, as I think that PETA itself makes bonehead decisions that seem to be created simply to piss on logic and defy meaning and purpose. But, ultimately, as much as I disagree with their tactics over at PETA proper, PETA2 hasn’t done anything but pass out cutesie stickers and gimme some grief over my steak chilli cheese fries, which aren’t good for me anyways.
I got the chance to get some insight from PETA2 Special Projects Coordinator Megan Rondeau as to what helps them bring awareness to a generation whom I thought to be as apathetic as humanely possible.
Rondeau explained that since just about everyone likes animals, aside from eating them, they have a leg up. But, she says, it doesn’t hurt to have some star power behind you:
“That’s part of the reason why we work with bands and athletes. People who might not be familiar with PETA2 see the lead singer of their favorite band or the skateboarder they’ve looked up to for years speaking out against the fur industry’s practice of skinning animals alive on fur farms, and it grabs their attention and becomes more personal. “
It doesn’t hurt that they have musicians from Alkaline Trio to Ziggy Marley and celebrities from Alyssa Milano to Wilmer Valderrama. I don’t know whether to condone or complain about their unashamed use of sex to sell their cause. I mean, seriously, Alyssa Milano in vegetables? COME ON!
Through their use of the bands and celebs that kids look up to (hell, even I would listen to Tim from Rise Against talk to me about this shit), PETA2 has developed a hell of a web presence, and don’t tell me you don’t know about that “cutesie sticker” I mentioned earlier. While PETA2 may not have the same cred that their pappy PETA does, Rondeau’s idea behind charity market share is significantly different than TWLOHA.
“When you’re involved in any sort of activism—especially if you’re raising awareness about things that people don’t always like to hear about, like factory farming—you sometimes have to put up a fight to get your point across. That’s part of the reason why PETA is known for engaging in such over-the-top stunts. They may seem ridiculous or even piss people off on occasion, but they’re more or less guaranteed to get people talking about animal rights, and at the end of the day, that’s the goal.“
So, is that the goal, then? To get people to talk about it? Or is Tworkowski’s goal, to get people to be active the correct answer? I don’t know, I’m not going to pretend I’m clever enough to answer that. What do you think?
At the end of the day, no matter how shitty their clothing or taste in music, I gotta give it up to the kids for caring about SOMETHING. Even if they just see it as a fad, it’s far more helpful than a goddamned Pet Rock.
-Jonathan “The Emperor” Yost