Friday, April 21, 2006
Hummers, Earth Day, and the Middle Finger
If I were a great intellectual like Bill O'Reilly or Rush Limbaugh, and if I could use my influence on the masses to make just one single change to our society, it would deal with the trinity in my title.
I'd like to see Earth Day taken out of the equation, with beautiful liberals flipping the bird to Humvee drivers everywhere, everyday. Earth Day, where we supposedly sit back and ponder the meaning of life and the spirit of giving, seems esp. ap propos.
Heres my two reasons:
1. They are excessive, the very top of the pyramid scheme where people supposedly will respect you cuz you got lots of money and big stuff. I remember watching a T.V. special on the Humvee (actually just a damn ad for the thing included into the nightly newscast - you know how that crap works) where the saleman sitting the the passenger seat explained how 'people just give you a bit more respect at intersections when you're in one of these. . .' Well, nuts to you buddy. You want to feel powerful? Start going to the gymn. Or learn a second language, cuz I hear knowledge is power. . .
B. It's still the fucking oil, stupid. The Hummer has to be the least efficient machine on the road today. When will people start to realize that oil is a limited commodity? Even if you don't believe that at some point our species will have reached the end of our stash - party over - one has to be able to grasp the fact that we can only extract so much out of the ground with our current technology and infrastructre. Thus we consider it a commodity, and it has a fluctuating market price. Sure, Mr. Humvee Driver might be able to pay any amount for gasoline, but that does not mean that burning it like you stole it is a moral choice. Anybody remember those bumper stickers that implied driving your SUV alone was like car pooling with Osama?
Our nation's most radical enemies are funded with oil money. Our dependance on oil guides a foreign policy where we support repressive regimes with guns and money to insure 'stability' of oil production. Even our own fucking president has told us that we are 'addicted to oil.' To stretch that metaphor, Humvee drivers are those guys who can put a string up one nostril and pull it out the other. When we tear through oil reserves the price goes up to something like $70 a barrel. Poorer country cannot afford to import any oil at that rate, so fuel that runs their transportation infrastructre, the gas they put into an ambulance, becomes scarce. Thus it becomes even more difficult for them to put together a working economy and lift the majority of the planet's population out of poverty.
Some folks don't believe this is their problem or responsibility. Some of us feel that once you understand systems and develop a soul, you begin to take responsibilty for the world you inhabit. Humvee drivers are in the vanguard of the group that wants to piss away Mother Earth's greatest treasure, the incredibly cheap / efficient fuel found in oil. Tommorow, on Earth Day, I say we give 'em the one finger salute!
I'd like to see Earth Day taken out of the equation, with beautiful liberals flipping the bird to Humvee drivers everywhere, everyday. Earth Day, where we supposedly sit back and ponder the meaning of life and the spirit of giving, seems esp. ap propos.
Heres my two reasons:
1. They are excessive, the very top of the pyramid scheme where people supposedly will respect you cuz you got lots of money and big stuff. I remember watching a T.V. special on the Humvee (actually just a damn ad for the thing included into the nightly newscast - you know how that crap works) where the saleman sitting the the passenger seat explained how 'people just give you a bit more respect at intersections when you're in one of these. . .' Well, nuts to you buddy. You want to feel powerful? Start going to the gymn. Or learn a second language, cuz I hear knowledge is power. . .
B. It's still the fucking oil, stupid. The Hummer has to be the least efficient machine on the road today. When will people start to realize that oil is a limited commodity? Even if you don't believe that at some point our species will have reached the end of our stash - party over - one has to be able to grasp the fact that we can only extract so much out of the ground with our current technology and infrastructre. Thus we consider it a commodity, and it has a fluctuating market price. Sure, Mr. Humvee Driver might be able to pay any amount for gasoline, but that does not mean that burning it like you stole it is a moral choice. Anybody remember those bumper stickers that implied driving your SUV alone was like car pooling with Osama?
Our nation's most radical enemies are funded with oil money. Our dependance on oil guides a foreign policy where we support repressive regimes with guns and money to insure 'stability' of oil production. Even our own fucking president has told us that we are 'addicted to oil.' To stretch that metaphor, Humvee drivers are those guys who can put a string up one nostril and pull it out the other. When we tear through oil reserves the price goes up to something like $70 a barrel. Poorer country cannot afford to import any oil at that rate, so fuel that runs their transportation infrastructre, the gas they put into an ambulance, becomes scarce. Thus it becomes even more difficult for them to put together a working economy and lift the majority of the planet's population out of poverty.
Some folks don't believe this is their problem or responsibility. Some of us feel that once you understand systems and develop a soul, you begin to take responsibilty for the world you inhabit. Humvee drivers are in the vanguard of the group that wants to piss away Mother Earth's greatest treasure, the incredibly cheap / efficient fuel found in oil. Tommorow, on Earth Day, I say we give 'em the one finger salute!
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Hey Aurelius! It's old "Gray Lenses for Dark Days" himself, letting you know that today I was evicted from Blogster. You might want to update your link to me.
poor josh..every where i do today he is there telling everyone he got kicked from blogster..like its a bad thing..now he is over here with the good people...ha..
you have to read vanity fair this month..i blogged about it..but the article about raping the mts. of the appalachians is just a mind blower...great mag this month...but then i have loved every one so far...fucking bush trashed texas and now he is doing the same to the rest of the country..my son has a big suv.. i give him hell..but he is used to that so he takes it in stride...fuckity fuck fuck fuck
you have to read vanity fair this month..i blogged about it..but the article about raping the mts. of the appalachians is just a mind blower...great mag this month...but then i have loved every one so far...fucking bush trashed texas and now he is doing the same to the rest of the country..my son has a big suv.. i give him hell..but he is used to that so he takes it in stride...fuckity fuck fuck fuck
Hmmm you argue about having a soul and wanting to take care of the earth that you inhabit but can't come up with anything better than the finger one day a year? Feel proud about yoursef buddy the earth loves you know, you gave an SUV driver the finger.
Even though I disagree with your choice of action I have to agree that pissing away a non-renewable resource needs to be dealt with without taking away choice.
The rich will always be able to afford gasoline - thats not going away. What would you say to a steep luxery tax on gas purchas over 9 or 14 gallons and use the excess to fund research grants and companies that are exploring alternative fuels methods. That was off the top of my head, maybe you can come with something better. Certainly something better than giving an SUV driver the finger.
Even though I disagree with your choice of action I have to agree that pissing away a non-renewable resource needs to be dealt with without taking away choice.
The rich will always be able to afford gasoline - thats not going away. What would you say to a steep luxery tax on gas purchas over 9 or 14 gallons and use the excess to fund research grants and companies that are exploring alternative fuels methods. That was off the top of my head, maybe you can come with something better. Certainly something better than giving an SUV driver the finger.
# posted by 
: Saturday, April 22, 2006 11:58:00 PM
: Saturday, April 22, 2006 11:58:00 PM
Anon- I admit there was a bit of the tongue-and-cheek to that one. (Notice the bit about Rush & Bill as great intellectuals, or the 1, B ordered list. . .)
I often ponder how to break into the shells of the 'blissfully conservative' and awaken them to a broader reality. When I get the finger on the road I always get perturbed, trying to figure of what pissed them off.
Just like in the days of radical environmentalism, women in fur were never safe from getting tagged; if a Hummer driver got the finger 5-6 times whenever he took his truck out for a drive, it might get to him sooner or later.
I also have to scap with ya on the issue of 'needs to be dealt with without taking away choice.' We accept a limitation of 'choice' everyday all the time. When you dispose of a computer monitor you don't have 'choice' you have to dispose of it in a certain manner. When you go hunting you don't have 'choice', you are restricted to a certain species, often a certain gender and quantity. Even when you turn on your radio, you don't really have 'choice', not when less than ten conglomerates control almost all media content.
You are dead right, however, that if all I do is flick off an SUV once a year I'm certainly not doing enough for my beloved Mother Earth.
I often ponder how to break into the shells of the 'blissfully conservative' and awaken them to a broader reality. When I get the finger on the road I always get perturbed, trying to figure of what pissed them off.
Just like in the days of radical environmentalism, women in fur were never safe from getting tagged; if a Hummer driver got the finger 5-6 times whenever he took his truck out for a drive, it might get to him sooner or later.
I also have to scap with ya on the issue of 'needs to be dealt with without taking away choice.' We accept a limitation of 'choice' everyday all the time. When you dispose of a computer monitor you don't have 'choice' you have to dispose of it in a certain manner. When you go hunting you don't have 'choice', you are restricted to a certain species, often a certain gender and quantity. Even when you turn on your radio, you don't really have 'choice', not when less than ten conglomerates control almost all media content.
You are dead right, however, that if all I do is flick off an SUV once a year I'm certainly not doing enough for my beloved Mother Earth.
I agree that there is something very offensive about driving a Hummer when working people are being broken by gas prices. It's like sitting down to a sumptuous, well-appointed meal in full view of the starving. I also agree that much of this money is going into the pockets of terrorists. It's just another example of the upper class (and wannabes) telling everyone else to screw themselves. That's why we in America are so loved throughout the world.
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