this has been a long time coming, and i have no idea how it's going to come out. but in the true sense of a rant, i'm going to wing it.
first of all, i'm going to open with what i shouldn't, as i know this is just going to turn off/alienate half of you.
fuck you. fuck you all, and fuck your lifestyles. you're killing this planet, every single person who's sitting there reading this. so yeah. fuck you.
this is me, and my uncontained sense of rage. i'm sitting here reading adbusters, and it cements my feelings that have been brewing, however much they seemed stagnant, for about as long as it's been since i posted about this stuff.
there are two aspects to this rant, one of which has to be dealt with first. ... first and foremost, is the type of person i'd like to refer to as... "consumerism's bitch." this is the type of person who is happy buying things. you all know one of these people, and honestly, if you're reading this, you probably are one. don't be offended, you just fit in with about 90% of america. give or take, i can't say for sure.
these are the people who support capitalism. these are the people who like to buy new clothes. these are the people who like the new mustang. the people who are so excited to get a new cell phone. a new computer. these are the people who support stores like ralph's, where it's convenient. who like to shop at the farmer's market because of the "atmosphere." who see no real problem shopping at wal-mart. the people who want their clothes to match, and like buying shoes, and enjoy watching tv. ... i trust now how you can see how this is 90%, if not more, of us, as a country.
these are the people who are content with life in the united states of america, no, the world.
fuck you.
fuck you, because you are ruining the planet for everyone else, and you don't even know it. because you are supporting a gigantic, "fuck-the-planet" attitude, because you're too God-damned content with the way it works to even think about the true costs of your actions. you drive your car to work. to the movies. to go home for the holidays. man, you think. gas is expensive. that really sucks. then, maybe if you're better than the average joe in terms of general awareness, you might even think, well, it's a good thing i drive this _______ that gets decent gas mileage. or almost as good, you might think, geez, too bad this _______ doesn't get very good gas mileage. and then, even the better of those two thinks the same thing, but not because of cost, but because they think, well shit, we don't have much oil to go around. kinda sucks that i drive this ________ that guzzles at ___ miles a gallon. ... i trust you can see how the "car syndrome" is a "fuck-the-planet" idea. if not, i'll get to it later.
this, obiously, is one aspect. where do you buy your food? why do you buy it from where you buy it from? everyone shops at ralph's in westwood, it's the cheapest, and it's the most convenient. to sum up: you buy food that comes from ALL over the country, when you could get nearly EVERYTHING you need at a local farmer's market. sure, it may even be more expensive, but look at the plus side. when you give your money away, when you trade your money for a necessity of life, you're giving it to the bloody person who GREW THE FOOD. you're not giving it to a corporation who hires trucks to ship your food from states thousands and thousands of miles away, when everything could be grown in the state you live in. you're not giving it to a corporation who's in it for profits, and paying people's salaries, and who's never-ending quest to cut costs might or might not lead to allowing food to come from illegal labor sources (who says slavery's dead, anyway?). ... you're giving it to a farmer who grew the food. who sat their with his or her hands, and worked the soil, and put time and care and, (!!!) heaven forbid, actual love into the product you will consume. or at the very least their family members or close friends.
this, obviously, is just another single aspect. you are a "consumerism's bitch" (clearly i love this term too much) if you partake in this system. and you're fucking over the planet, and writing this, i'll give you a general idea why, if it hasn't already crossed your mind.
nearly as bad, in my mind, is what i like to consider just about everyone else i haven't mentioned. this probably includes me, too, at least the aspects of "me" that weren't included in the previous part.
so yeah, you agree with what i wrote up there. good for you. what have you done? or, are you like the majority of the minority of those who care, and think, "well, i just... i just need my car."
so you agree with what i wrote. materialism is bad, you agree. so what do you do to lessen the impact? i mean, other than buying gifts for friends and family for christmas. because, i mean, hey. it's christmas.
it's so easy to be in the mind-set, "yes, everything is wrong." or even easier, "yes, there are some problems." but it's a whole other thing altogether to actually DO something about it.
adbusters uses the example of global warming, so i'll use it again, because it so perfectly illustrates the point. ... NEWS FLASH: global warming is real. it's very realy. in fact, we've raised the global temperature an entire DEGREE in the past ___ years (i'll give you a hint: it's not very many), soley due to our actions and pollutions. doesn't seem like much? think about it in terms like this: it had to be enough energy to the "system" that is "earth" to raise the temperature, of EVERY PLACE YOU CAN IMAGINE on this planet, one degree. raise one degree in antartica. in cuba. in russia. in england. at the ocean. behind the niagra falls. in los angeles. ... yes, everywhere.
and this global warming, it may or may not have something to do with the fact that in the past __ years (again, how many? hm. does it really matter?), we've (as a planet, mind you, we do still share the planet with OTHER forms of life) lost enough species of life to rival losses from each of earth's five massive extinctions before "humans." to see if the gravity of this has fully set in, i'll attempt a metaphor.
approximately 64 million years ago, a gigantic meteor struck the earth. this meteor really wasn't that big. but its chain of effect managed to wipe out all of the cretacean period's dinosaurs. and these weren't the measly allosaurs or diplodoci or stegosauri or brontosauri, we're talking the big heavyweights: the tyranosaurs, the triceratops, the brachiosauri. this meteor wiped out, and changed the entire face of the earth. get it? this "meteor," all alone in it's "actions" (hey, everything was fine before the meteor came) managed to wipe out many different "species" all across the board.
if you need it spelled out, the meteor is *actually* us. ... (why am i attempting to interject humor when i'm pissed?) ... let's bring back the original point.
WE'RE KILLING THE PLANET. if you don't yet know how, you're retarded, i'm sorry. we drive cars. we buy products made in factories, we pillage and rape and burn and fuck the earth in every way possible, because... ... well, because why? i shan't digress too much.
not only do we ruin the earth, but it's currently a system where we seem to fight amongst ourselves as to who gets it faster? i don't care what you believe, but if you can't see the connection between iraq being very "oil rich," america being very "oil dependent," and america starting a war with iraq based on knowingly "faulty intelligence" and "lies about terrorist connection," you are... ... well, congratulations. you're american. fuck you.
i'll try and refocus now. attention second group of people, the knowing, and the borderline apathetic, and the lazy: fuck you. you're just as bad. you know there's a problem. you know global warming is real. you know that mega-corporations like sony and aol (yes, aol owns the WB, really) and disney and GM and etc. are in it for the almighty buck. and you know that all this material shit we surround ourselves with doesn't matter.
but you drive your bloody car. but you buy their products. but you remained dialed in, and that outfit is so cute. but you still buy your vegetables from ralphs. and you eat meat. honestly, i can't believe some of you still eat meat.
you are no better than the paris hiltons, and jessica simpsons, and the joe shmoes i talked about first. 'inaction' is just as bad as 'wrong action.' in this situation, if you are not a part of the solution, you are inequivocably part of the problem. this is why our situation is so bad. because the hole we have dug is so deep, nobody can get out without a herculean effort. culture surrounds us, and we are CONSTANTLY bombarded by it. advertising knows no boundaries and you will most direly be taken advantage of if you for a second doubt its impact and power. (fun fact of the paragraph: 75% of 8-12 year-old americans want to be rich.) you are surrounded by culture. if you aren't making a massive effort to not be part of the system, you are.
technically, this is the end of my rant. however, a few last things, for clarification that would be lost if this was simply in the post accompanying the update.
this is by far my longest rant. and as time goes on, my mind moves farther and farther away from the societal boundaries of "normal." ... i have no doubts that this rant will alienate many. i'm ok with this. i really am. we're fucked, guys. honestly. we're so boned. we're running out of oil. we're killing wildlife, whales, and even the water. we're too pre-occupied with the OC and american idol to get pissed about shit-head presidents who lie and start wars. we're raising the temperature of the world, but we're too busy thinking about what type of drink to get at starbucks to care at the moment.
it's true, i'm pissed. i'm still pissed, even after "getting it out of my system." this really may turn some of you off, but i don't care. someone said to me recently, "i'll never be angry enough to save the world." this, coupled with the many times i've been told that i get too angry, too passionate in the wrong way about this stuff, leads me to retort with a rage lyric: "anger is a gift."
this rant exists because... ... because someone will read this, and they will change. they'll change a little. they'll go from not caring to caring, or from caring to doing something about it, and that's progress.
fuck you, by the way. fuck all of you, since i haven't said it for a good 6 or 7 paragraphs. i'm still pissed at you. i should also mention that it's not just you. technically, it's me too. i'm also guilty. however this isn't the issue at hand. turning around saying, "well you're no different, jackass," does nothing, and is something you should just take up with me, if you've got issues with it.
just... wake up. please. i implore you. i beg of you. we're capable of salvaging the mess. but don't pull that crap where you read it and go, yeah, i can dig it, i see what you mean. and then forget about it when you go to starbucks. when you go to ralph's. when you buy a friend a birthday gift.
gandhi said, "you must be the change you wish to see in the world." ... nobody's gonna keep you accountable. it's certainly not going to be easy. but God... it's right.
wake up.
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