SPOKANE, Wash. — Members of the Spokane DIY punk scene are reluctantly preparing to help local women who will lose access to vital healthcare services, following Brett Kavanaugh’s appointment to the Supreme Court last month, exhausted sources confirmed.
“This whole thing is obviously fucked… although, I’m seeing that people are capable of more than they realize,” said Twig Rapazzio, who grows most of her own food in a co-op vegetable garden. “I guess I didn’t think we’d ever have to… you know, take over actual doctor stuff. But on the plus side, I have a bunch of pumpkins for practicing surgery.”
Local zine creator Raven Wilk, confident in the community’s ability to come together in such an uncertain time, echoed Rapazzio’s sentiment.
“Well, we’ve all been booking shows for years, so scheduling stuff shouldn’t be too hard. And my friend Jess just started apprenticing at a piercing shop, so she can probably steal us a ton of rubber gloves and stuff,” said Wilk. “Back when I bought a button press, I thought I’d just make ironic Urkel pins for my friends — but I guess it’s time to find out what this baby can really do.”
“Really, though, everyone is capable of helping others,” Wilk added. “I mean, is a zine a medical degree? No. But they both require a lot of late nights to finish, and take an enormous amount of dedication.”
Some scene members, however, admitted they are frustrated by the recent changes.
“They say they’re all about [DIY healthcare], but I think it’s all talk, no action,” said local drummer Peter Corwan. “I’ve offered to do those swab-things for years, but none of those girls ever returned a single text.”
Despite the adversity, however, Rapazzio remains hopeful.
“At our last house show, we raised almost $200. I don’t know if that’s going to be enough to offer comprehensive healthcare services to the women of Spokane, but we did just get a new silkscreen press. Maybe we rig that for mammograms,” Rapazzio said. “Sure, a bunch of women walking around with ‘Food Not Bombs this Sunday, 2 p.m. FREE’ screen-printed on their tits isn’t ideal, but it’s better than nothing.”
“I guess, in a lot of ways we’re lucky,” Rapazzio added. “No one knows the back alleys around here like us.”
Photo by Jay Roc.