So I'm bouncing twixt blogs, noticing the same lack of posts for the day as has I, when I see a twitter a-flitter upon the curry's board. It sayeth:It was an odd one when after doin yrs of eco npo work I realized this green thing has nothing to do with saving the earth.
Not having any idea to what this references or from whence it's derived, but suspecting that curry is bitching bout the ecowarriors' failure to comprehend that which they espouse, the gears of opinion starts a twirling in my head. So here I goes...
The green thing has nothing to do with saving the earth, nor does any eco movement. My great green gripe is that, whether the mighty forces behind these slogans/messages/ideas are idiots or just bad marketers, the message is stupid. If they want to Save the Earth? That's simple - jim jones kool-aid. Planet has seen worse than us and seems to have come out of it fine, if a little burnt around the edges. It will be here long after we've taken our final bow. It will be here long after the last of the styrofoam and fallout and bronze statuary have slipped from its memory.
The real question/message/marketing slogan/idea? Save ourselves. Global warming, collapsing biodiversity, pollution, lack of fresh water, you name it; the planet could care less. We are the ones in trouble. Of course, we'll take a few species along with us - our generosity knows no bounds - but the big blue marble will shrug it off. The Dinos have a bigger space in the old album than we do, and probably a bit more mourning from Terra Firma than can be expected for us.
Not a proponent of the "Mother Earth" idea am I: the planet doesn't think. However, I do see it as a living organism. We just happen to be along for the ride and like any guest, if we don't play well with others we're gonna get kicked off. Parasites are we and if we mess around too much with the host, its immune system will kick our asses. Whether it's the summer house in the Hamptons suddenly knee deep in a bayou or Ebola hopping a flight to Denver, we are now a target. That's the message. It isn't Save the Planet; it isn't Us vs. Them; it's my way or the highway. The Earth and its minions are out of patience, so if you want to live, if you want your children to live, KNOCK IT OFF!
Sorry, just feeling pissy tonight about enviro-idiots who can't seem to get the message, let alone the concept, right.
Lest someone think I am referring to Curry when I rant and rave, fear not; he gets it and always has.
3 comments:
exactly. thank you. we're a scuff mark rubbing ourselves off.
Ah, I dunno -- some of this seems to be a matter of semantics. What planet-saving behaviors that people espouse are markedly different from human-saving ones? I mean, I get it -- the planet will last as long as the sun does, but our world almost certainly won't.
The far more daunting question to me is...who are we crapping when we talk about the car of the future? I've seen the future, and it's a lot more densely populated and integrated than today.
It was partly a rant about the whole movement's failure to motivate joe sixpack to do his share. There's a reason it's called "enlightened" self-interest. So far the "save the planet" slogan is a dismal failure; how bout save you ass? The perception of the radical enviro movement by the general public was that they believed the planet would be better off without us. That's not terribly encouraging of public support. How bout changing that up a little and getting rid of the smugness. If you let them know that their children's live are on the line, it's a much more direct approach and an ad with a cute child drowning one-ups the cute harp seal.
I realize I am being cynical, but I'm not being flip. The movement has never gotten it. Oh, and not a few of the them shouting Save the Planet really think they're saving the planet, as if anything other than stasis equals death, when of course, the opposite is the true.
The public has long perceived it as us vs the spotted owl or the caribou or the snail darter. That is the fault of the enviro movement. They can't seem to get the message out that it is cooperation not competition; that the choice isn't between saving few species or a fabulous, drive/build/eat all we want lifestyle. The choice is lifestyle or death by starvation, thirst, heatstroke, drowning, and a myriad of diseases. The movement also treats human actions as if they are unnatural, which is absurd. Hell, nuclear war is natural if we do it. Everything is natural. If a human being does it, makes it, or kills it, it's natural. Like the old Love and Rockets lyric, "You can not go against nature, because when you do, go against nature, that's part of nature too."
I just feel like an opportunity has been lost by not attacking the problems directly.
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