You got people like this around you? Country is full of them now! People walking around all day long, every minute of the day —worried about EVERYTHING! Worried about the air, worried about the water, worried about the soil. Worried about insecticides, pesticides, food additives, carcinogens; worried about radon gas; worried about asbestos. Worried about saving endangered species.
Let me tell you about endangered species, all right? Saving endangered species is just one more arrogant attempt by humans to control Nature! It’s arrogant meddling! It’s what got us into trouble in the first place! Doesn’t anybody understand that? Interfering with Nature! Over 90 percent.. over… way over 90 percent of all the species that have ever lived —EVER LIVED— on this planet are gone. Whissshht! They are extinct!
We didn’t kill them all. They just… disappeared! That’s what Nature does! They disappear these days at the rate of 25 a day, and I mean regardless of our behavior. Irrespective of how we act on this planet, 25 species that were here today, will be gone tomorrow! Let them go… gracefully! Leave Nature alone! Haven’t we done enough?
We’re so self-important. So self-important! Everybody’s going to save something now. «Save the trees; save the bees; save the whales; save those snails.» And the greatest arrogance of all, «Save the planet.» WHAT? Are these fucking people kidding me? Save the planet? We don’t even know how to take care of ourselves yet. We haven’t learned how to care for one another, we’re gonna save the fucking planet.
I’m getting tired of that shit. Tired of that shit. Tired! I’m tired of fucking Earth Day! I’m tired of these self-righteous environmentalists; these white, bourgeois liberals who think the only thing wrong with this country is there aren’t enough bicycle paths. People trying to make the world safe for their Volvos. Besides, environmentalists don’t give a shit about the planet. They don’t care about the planet. Not in the abstract they don’t. Not in the abstract they don’t. You know what they’re interested in? A clean place to live. Their own habitat. They’re worried that some day in the future, they might be personally inconvenienced. Narrow, unenlightened self-interest doesn’t impress me.
Besides, there is nothing wrong with the planet. Nothing wrong with the planet. The planet is fine. The PEOPLE are fucked. Difference. Difference! The planet is fine. Compared to the people, the planet is doing great. Been here four and a half billion years. Did you ever think about the arithmetic? The planet has been here four and a half billion years. We’ve been here, what? A hundred thousand? Maybe two hundred thousand? And we’ve only been engaged in heavy industry for a little over two hundred years. Two hundred years versus four and a half billion. And we have the CONCEIT to think that somehow we’re a threat? That somehow we’re gonna put in jeopardy this beautiful little blue-green ball that’s just a-floatin’ around the sun?
The planet has been through a lot worse than us. Been through all kinds of things worse than us. Been through earthquakes, volcanoes, plate tectonics, continental drift, solar flares, sun spots, magnetic storms, the magnetic reversal of the poles; hundreds of thousands of years of bombardment by comets and asteroids and meteors; worlwide floods, tidal waves, worldwide fires, erosion, cosmic rays, recurring ice ages… And we think some plastic bags, and some aluminum cans are going to make a difference? The planet… the planet… the planet isn’t going anywhere. WE ARE!
We’re going away. Pack your shit, folks. We’re going away. And we won’t leave much of a trace, either. Thank God for that. Maybe a little styrofoam. Maybe. A little styrofoam. The planet will be here and we’ll be long gone. Just another failed mutation. Just another closed-end biological mistake. An evolutionary cul-de-sac. The planet will shake us off like a bad case of fleas. A surface nuisance.
You wanna know how the planet is doing? Ask those people at Pompeii, who are frozen into position from volcanic ash, «How the planet’s doing?» You wanna know if the planet’s all right, ask those people in Mexico City or Armenia or a hundred other places buried under thousands of tons of earthquake rubble, if they feel like a threat to the planet this week. Or how about those people in Kilowaia, Hawaii, who built their homes right next to an active volcano, and then wonder why they have lava in the living room.
The planet will be here for a long, long —LONG— time after we’re gone, and it will heal itself; it will cleanse itself, because that’s what it does. It’s a self-correcting system. The air and the water will recover; the earth will be renewed; and, if it’s true that plastic is not degradable, well, the planet will simply incorporate plastic into a new pardigm: the Earth plus plastic! The Earth doesn’t share our prejudice towards plastic. Plastic came out of the Earth. The Earth probably sees plastic as just another one of its children.
Could be the only reason the Earth allowed us to be spawned from it in the first place. It wanted plastic for itself. Didn’t know how to make it. Needed us. Could be the answer to our age-old philosophical question, «Why are we here?» «Plastic! Assholes.»
So! So, the plastic is here, our job is done, we can be phased out now. And I think that it has started already, don’t you? I think, to be fair, the planet probably sees us as a mild threat. Something to be dealt with. And I am sure the planet will defend itself in the manner of a large organism, like a beehive or an ant colony, and muster a defense. I am sure the planet will think of something. What would you do if you were the planet trying to defend against this pesky, troublesome species? «Let’s see… What might… Hmm.. Viruses! Viruses might be good. They seem vulnerable to viruses. And, uh…viruses are tricky, always mutating and forming new strains whenever a vaccine is developed. Perhaps, this first virus could be one that compromises the immune system of these creatures. Perhaps a human immunodeficiency virus, making them vulnerable to all sorts of other diseases and infections that might come along. And maybe it could be spread sexually, making them a little reluctant to engage in the act of reproduction.»
Well, that’s a poetic note. And it’s a start. And I can dream, can’t I? See I don’t worry about the little things: bees, trees, whales, snails. I think we’re part of a greater wisdom than we will ever understand. A higher order. Call it what you want. Know what I call it? The Big Electron.» The Big Electron…whoooa. Whoooa. Whoooa. It doesn’t punish; it doesn’t reward; it doesn’t judge at all. It just is. And so are we. For a little while.
Thanks for being here with me for a little while tonight!
In the “Diula” language in Mali, the term « dugutigui » (chief of the village), literally translated, means: «owner of the village»; «dugu» means village and «tigui», owner. Probably the term is the result of the contraction of «dugu kuntigui» (literally: chief of the village).
That made a lot of sense you know!
It really is our monumental conceit that makes us believe we can save everything! We should first learn how to balance our books 🙂
The problem with ecology, as well as many other standards of modern society, is that it has become an exaggeration and is detached from reality. In other words, outside interests have manipulated it from the real purpose for what these movements arose in first instance. This is coupled with the increasingly limited ability of people to think critically.
An obvious example are the protests against mining. A lot of people, that use in their everyday life up to 95% of objects, including their home and clothes, which come directly or indirectly from the extraction of minerals and oil, say No Mining. Well, this is not ecology, this is hypocrisy and lack of solidarity. Hypocrisy because you can not say no mining with a cell phone in the hand (100% mining product), and lack of solidarity provided you’re not willing to give up all the comforts of modern life, the heating in winter for example, so actually the authentic message should be: No Mining … in my yard. In other words: do the holes in others people land, because I don’t plan giving away my comforts!
Ecology is a branch of science with two components: the human being and nature. Their interaction. In fact, if human beings do not exist, wouldn’t be necessary ecology. But today’s society, in part, has become absurdly fundamentalist on these issues, and has forgotten the human side of it, going so far to the case that, for some, the death of a whale is more important than the death of a hundred thousand people.
Ecology should allow the development of human activity, and control, scientifically, that this development is sustainable. It is not going out to scream and make trouble. It’s about thinking how to do things as well as possible, with minimal impact.
I am not against sustainable development and social justice. I am against the hypocrites, manageable, unsympathetic and uninformed.
I’ll drink to that. «Sustainable» seems to be the hot ticket catchphrase these days. What some may not realize is that «sustainable» in, oh let’s say Death Valley, isn’t the same as «sustainable» in New York City.
The true tragedy is that there’s no more «West» to go to when we’re sick of hearing what we need to give up for the greater good because someone somewhere might be offended that a white person got rich. Hard to be a pioneer when so-called environmentalists outlaw the frontier.
And for that, I’ll close my soapbox. Thanks Fay for sharing this post, And thanks Damantigui. It made my morning.
To make your morning is the ultimate reason of this blog.
On every side, and at every hour of the day, we came up against the relentless limitations of pioneer life. We are at the forefront of an offensive, and therefore had to blaze our own trail. We need to be the most optimistic person!
Cheers to that!
First thank you for featuring me in your invaluable blog “I Want To Be a Writer”, even when I don’t want to be a writer. Not because I don’t like writing, I like it, but ‘cause I write for myself, to personally examine a number of preconceptions that I believe deserve a second opinion. To my surprise, most of my post, which seemed controversial to me at the time to write them, enjoy wide acceptance, which brings me to a couple of conclusions. One may be that most people who read my blog are very intelligent people, with a high capacity for analysis and criticism. Or, that most people who read my blog, do not actually read it, just the post’s titles. Either way, for me it is quite satisfying, because as I said before, I write mainly for my own enjoyment, and nothing is further from my intention than to try to convince anyone.
Re, rampage writing: Anyone who undertakes a massacre with less than 500 rounds is limiting himself. Personally, I would take 1,000 rounds. Yes, it will be heavy, especially if you carry it all on your person. But hey, nobody ever said that rampaging were easy.
Please forgive my lapses, where “rounds” please read “words”
The psychopathic part of Dugutigui. Thanks again!
Damantigui's Blog 
«The Earth probably sees plastic as just another one of its children.» — Hehehehehehehehee!!!
Love it! Bravo!
🙂
You and George Carlin make a lively pair! I’ll be featuring you on my blog on Nov. 16th.
Well these are two honors, pairing with Carlin and appearing in your blog. You make my day …
Cheers!!
That made a lot of sense you know!
It really is our monumental conceit that makes us believe we can save everything! We should first learn how to balance our books 🙂
The problem with ecology, as well as many other standards of modern society, is that it has become an exaggeration and is detached from reality. In other words, outside interests have manipulated it from the real purpose for what these movements arose in first instance. This is coupled with the increasingly limited ability of people to think critically.
An obvious example are the protests against mining. A lot of people, that use in their everyday life up to 95% of objects, including their home and clothes, which come directly or indirectly from the extraction of minerals and oil, say No Mining. Well, this is not ecology, this is hypocrisy and lack of solidarity. Hypocrisy because you can not say no mining with a cell phone in the hand (100% mining product), and lack of solidarity provided you’re not willing to give up all the comforts of modern life, the heating in winter for example, so actually the authentic message should be: No Mining … in my yard. In other words: do the holes in others people land, because I don’t plan giving away my comforts!
Ecology is a branch of science with two components: the human being and nature. Their interaction. In fact, if human beings do not exist, wouldn’t be necessary ecology. But today’s society, in part, has become absurdly fundamentalist on these issues, and has forgotten the human side of it, going so far to the case that, for some, the death of a whale is more important than the death of a hundred thousand people.
Ecology should allow the development of human activity, and control, scientifically, that this development is sustainable. It is not going out to scream and make trouble. It’s about thinking how to do things as well as possible, with minimal impact.
I am not against sustainable development and social justice. I am against the hypocrites, manageable, unsympathetic and uninformed.
I’ll drink to that. «Sustainable» seems to be the hot ticket catchphrase these days. What some may not realize is that «sustainable» in, oh let’s say Death Valley, isn’t the same as «sustainable» in New York City.
The true tragedy is that there’s no more «West» to go to when we’re sick of hearing what we need to give up for the greater good because someone somewhere might be offended that a white person got rich. Hard to be a pioneer when so-called environmentalists outlaw the frontier.
And for that, I’ll close my soapbox. Thanks Fay for sharing this post, And thanks Damantigui. It made my morning.
To make your morning is the ultimate reason of this blog.
On every side, and at every hour of the day, we came up against the relentless limitations of pioneer life. We are at the forefront of an offensive, and therefore had to blaze our own trail. We need to be the most optimistic person!
Cheers to that!
Yes, you and George Carlin… 😀
Loved your post D.!!! 😉
Pingback: Rampage Writing–Taking a Stand for Your Opinion « Fay Moore: I Want To Be a Writer
First thank you for featuring me in your invaluable blog “I Want To Be a Writer”, even when I don’t want to be a writer. Not because I don’t like writing, I like it, but ‘cause I write for myself, to personally examine a number of preconceptions that I believe deserve a second opinion. To my surprise, most of my post, which seemed controversial to me at the time to write them, enjoy wide acceptance, which brings me to a couple of conclusions. One may be that most people who read my blog are very intelligent people, with a high capacity for analysis and criticism. Or, that most people who read my blog, do not actually read it, just the post’s titles. Either way, for me it is quite satisfying, because as I said before, I write mainly for my own enjoyment, and nothing is further from my intention than to try to convince anyone.
Re, rampage writing: Anyone who undertakes a massacre with less than 500 rounds is limiting himself. Personally, I would take 1,000 rounds. Yes, it will be heavy, especially if you carry it all on your person. But hey, nobody ever said that rampaging were easy.
Please forgive my lapses, where “rounds” please read “words”
The psychopathic part of Dugutigui. Thanks again!