I am here tonight with Bimba Bortulaqua. Bimba is leading the league in tire slashes this year. We thought we would catch up to him to get some words about his rather awesome technique.
Can you tell us exactly how long you have been slashing tires?
I’m not going to lie, it was one of those popular decisions. I’m not going to say I was the most sensitive guy or the biggest activist. But one day it just became very clear to me that if I really wanted to do some good for the planet, for the environment and even for the peace and well-being of my community, removing the ability of people to drive private automobiles seems to be a pretty good start for everybody.
What do you say that there is a technique to tire slashing?
Oh 100% for sure. You can’t just go over there and say Oh, I have a sharp object here so that’s pretty much the end of your car. You got to get your shoulder into it. I’m not saying that you have to understand leverage to the point that you’re an athlete or anything like that. You don’t have to be. But you do need to put a little oomph into it. You have to want it. It’s not that you are holding a knife and then there is this tire. You have to get it through your mind that this knife is going into that tire. That’s the only way to get it done for sure.
So you’re saying that you have to be a big strong man to get the job done?
No no no, quite the contrary. You don’t have to be belligerent about this at all. There is as much subtlety to this art as there is to any art. And believe me, there are those who truly enjoy the deliciousness of it all.
But aren’t you worried about property damage?
Property? Property? Are you saying that cars are property but my environment is not? Do we count air pollution and sound pollution and the physical abuse that comes along with people to insulated to understand that they are people anymore as being free to travel across borders at will? Do I have to breathe toxic fumes on my property? If we are talking about ownership, I say but that’s what this whole thing is about. As long as this guy thinks he’s worth everything and nothing else counts, I say this is Newton. This is the blowback. Every action has a reaction and nature hates a vacuum. I see a tire with no knife in it and I can’t help completing the picture.
So what you’re saying is that you don’t see yourself as an outlaw but as a hero.
No, no, no. The last thing anyone wants is to be seen as a hero. The last thing anyone wants is to be seen. This is more about community involvement. This is more like making sure that everybody is on the same level and speaking the same language. That’s the most important thing. None of this is about violence or making a show of anything. We just can’t stand the world with cars in it so we stop them. I don’t know if I can say it more plainly than that.
So how do you feel the team will do this year? Do you think there’s a chance for the championship?
It’s hard to say. There are a lot of statistics out there and a lot of people who are hungry for numbers. The competition between Urban centers sometimes gets stiff and you end up working a little harder than you thought you would. But at the end of the day, the entire tire slashing community is really more about being in the moment and understanding that sometimes our actions have absolutely pleasurable results for so many people that it’s hard not to do it. I mean, if you had the ability to make 10 people happy in an action that takes really about 10 seconds to do, would you do it? And if you knew you were guaranteeing happiness, wouldn’t you just keep doing that again and again just because it felt so good?
So in the end, your opinion is that human beings are built for sport and community.
I couldn’t agree more. Sometimes we make jokes about the sexual nature of putting knives in tires. And it is a sexual act if you believe that human interaction is about aggression. But an amazing thing happens when you actually get out of your car and start negotiating the world on your own power. You do begin to feel a part of humanity again. You do begin to regain some sense of normalcy. It is very healing act and perhaps these things are best represented sexually. Sexual health is health and if you can get your knife to be at the right place at the right time, well, in my entire career I’ve never had a single tire protest. Not one. And after they was done and all relaxed and all, they just slept peacefully with no complaint whatsoever. I say this is a clear enough sign that we are doing the right thing.
And what about the future? Will you continue?
It’s an interesting question. Although the auto business has generally taken over the planet and the results of this are everywhere to be seen, it is technically a finite number. Of course we need global help for this but we are talking about a lot of cars but yet it is a finite number. However, you might not have to think about this as a tire by tire deal. Sometimes people get the point that tires are getting slashed and they just stop driving their cars. To be perfectly honest with you, I’m tired of spraining my wrist when I screw up. I’d be just as happy if they just weren’t in the world anymore. Then I could spend my time on much more interesting things than killing cars.
For the Utopian! This is Philippa Icanbreatheunderwater reporting
