At some point in your axe throwing life, it’ll happen. Probably multiple times, really: your axe venue will start burning down. And while it’s important to allow yourself the grief and frustration of having your axe venue ignite, especially after you specifically tried to stop that sort of thing happening. So, if you notice your axe venue is starting to go up, first take a minute to breathe, and feel your feelings.
But, you know, don’t breathe in the smoke from the fire. That’d be hella bad.
Tip number one for when your axe venue is burning: don't give up if you can help.
Now, you may be tempted to just give up on your axe house. And I get it – for some people in our community, giving up and just finding a different axe house might be a good bet. But for a lot of us, that simply isn’t an option. So instead of walking away from the blaze, consider how you can help put out that fire – or at least contain the fire enough that some of the axe house will make it through long enough for the flame to die. After all, rebuilding is a bit easier if the whole building doesn’t get torched.
But what does helping look like? Are there organizations that specialize in putting out fires? Fire Departments, even? The answer is yes: this isn’t a new thing – your axe house has burned itself down so many times.
So before you go and create the “Badger Fire Department #1” firefighting group, do a little bit of research and find the organizations trained for this moment. While they may have dozens of years’ experience in fighting axe house fires, they almost always can use new, energized volunteers. By finding the people who are already doing the work (fighting fires at axe houses), you don’t waste energy trying to recreate something that already exists.
Tip number two for when your axe venue is burning: protect the people who need the most help.
If you know someone is more at risk because of axe venue combustion, it’s very important you de-center yourself and focus on how to best support them. An axe venue burning is dangerous for everyone – the people in the venue, the people in the buildings around the venue – but that danger isn’t equal. There are some folx for whom a burning venue is a larger, more precarious situation. So as a member of this community, it’s invaluable to look out and support those people.
Help can mean driving those people to other axe venues or giving them a place to stay when their own homes were too close to the fire to be safe. It can mean speaking up for them when the same people who were stoked about your axe venue burning start getting excited about, maybe, starting a few more fires. Or standing up for the most threatened people in yoru axe-throwing community when those "pro-fire" people start blaming the fire on others.
No matter what the specific ask is, it’s important to remember that we’re all dealing with this burning axe venue, but some of us have more to lose if the whole ding dang place goes up.
Tip number three for when your axe venue is burning: don't let despair decide your future.
Finally, and this is a tough one: don’t despair. At least, don’t despair so much that you stop yourself from doing anything else. This isn’t some bullshit “be positive” suggestion – it’s very, very practical.
That fire? That one burning up your axe venue? It really wants you to despair. It’s depending on it. Because despair makes people easy to push around. It makes for good kindling.
And if you’re gonna burn, friend, it should be you, not some dumb axe-venue fire, that decides how bright the flame will be.
So while it’s totally understandable to be upset and feel like everything is up in ash (because of the venue fire, I mean), don’t let despair dictate what you’re doing during the axe venue fire. Because if we decide to do nothing and just watch the boards burn up, well then, dear reader, there won’t be anything at all left to repair once the fire is done.
Tip number four for when your axe venue is burning: remember, you aren't alone.
It's easy to feel like you're facing this fire alone. After all, the axe venue is your home, in a way. And you may feel like with the axe venue going up in flames around you, that you're isolated. But you're not.
The community you made and are a part of is still all around you. The people you love and who love you back are shoulder-to-shoulder with you. Do not be afraid to ask for help. Don't be afraid to say "I'm scared, and I need someone to talk to about it." Your league, your axe friends - they all exist whether your axe venue is on fire or not. Lean on them, and let them lean on you.
Feeling alone is what the fire wants. And you aren't at all obligated to give the fire what it wants, dear reader.
I hope these quick 4 tips are useful for anyone who's dealing with an axe venue on fire right now. I know it's scary - I'm scared, too. But I also know we've been dealing with this fire for a long, long time. And we're getting very good at fighting back when the flames get close.
Thank you. I needed this.