Who has ever written a letter to someone without the intention of ever giving it to them? How many of you also burned that letter? Felt nice, I bet, purging all those negative emotions. I’ve done this a lot. Burned a lot of pictures, too. Watched the glossy paper bubble up and split open as it was reduced to ash. Fire can symbolize a lot of things—passion, rebirth, destruction, purification—and combined with the cathartic act of writing, it’s all the more satisfying. Hey.science is giving anyone the chance to vent about what a metaphorical dumpster fire 2020 has been by putting their rants, feelings, and whatever else into a literal dumpster fire.
The instructions are simple. According to the website:
- Send an email to dumpsterfire@hey.com with whatever you want to torch. Use plain text or an image attachment. PG-13 rules apply.
- Watch on the live feed as your message is created, conveyed, and then dropped into the rolling flames.
- Experience catharsis.
Since the entire thing is livestreamed for anyone to see, the host is definitely strict about the PG-13 rule. No cursing or graphic images. If it’s something you’d never say or show in front of your sweet grandmother, best think of a different way to express what you want—which will be hard, I know. This is 2020 we’re talking about. Over a million dead from covid-19. A president who refuses to accept the election results. Devastating hurricanes, flooding, and wildfires. Police brutality. And that’s only the beginning! If I clench my jaw any harder I might break my teeth.
There are so many things I want to say to our government, to people I have cut out of my life, to those who have deeply hurt the people I care about the most—but, my god, is it going to feel good watching those things drift down a conveyor belt to where they belong: the fiery dumpster pits of hell!