Idiotarod 2017: Make America Fun Again
On Saturday January 28th, Idiots descended upon Brooklyn.
Armed with wit, booze, and decent pairs of socks, the competitors in the 13th annual Idiotarod ran from Brooklyn Bridge Park to Gowanus in hopes of glory and/or a one night stand.
The competitors are divided into teams which design and race their own themed shopping carts. This year, I helped out the "The Price Is Wrong, Bitch" a Price Is Right themed cart with working dollar wheel. Notable themes were Occupy Sesame Street, ACA (Affordable Candy Act), and a cart of a bull which pissed beer and excreted doughnuts with the aid of a hand.
Throughout the race there are various check points at bars. The trick of the race is to get to the checkpoints quickly and bribe the judges as you see fit in order to gain competitive advantage. This advantage can come in the form of getting the next checkpoint address early, special treatment during the awards ceremony, or beer.
After three check points, we are lead to a "secret" warehouse to party and ultimately destroy our carts. As always, there is a fun way of destroying everyone's hard work and, sticking to the theme of "Make America Fun again," this year was no exception.
Having the honor of eating the carts was a giant Donald Trump head with a compactor mouth.
As the night went on, we could momentarily forget about the new presidential term and the demonstrations at JFK by blasting music and demolishing a toilet on fire.
What happened after the awards were given out and the carts were flattened, was a celebration of like-minded weirdos. One of the many groups that could be marginalized in the coming years by an administration and support base that aims to keep a status quo bent on fragile masculinity. We did what we could in that moment, which was to tear apart any effigy of Trump in our sight and know that our creative voices can only be strengthened.
In that last hour of the celebration, I saw what I had only read and heard about during the Reagan years, a strong unifying force against the powers that be. Something not seen to the same degree under Democrat rule and only obscured through out the W Bush reign by nü-metal. It was a bright light to be a part of and gives me a positive outlook for the immediate future.