Comments Will has made
wheee
wind power brings me joyOn Innovator patents floating wind turbine posted 1 year, 11 months ago 5 Responses
what he said
yeah, I somehow missed the green one's post. that's basically what I meant.On Are you brave enough to say no to a high-stress holiday? posted 1 year, 12 months ago 51 Responses
Like, oh my gawd!
Why waste your time ripping apart peoples' religious beliefs? Why not pick apart something that actually harms the environment? Christian theology has the potential to be an incredible tool for stewardship. What does it matter if someone wastes fewer hydrocarbons for religious, political or economic beliefs-- the job gets done. "Because it's stupid" is a pathetic answer. And that's all I've seen. It's true that the Christian message is raped and pillaged by homophobic right-wingers and greedy capitalist retailers. But let's try a little harder to see the forest from the trees, Gristmill. Is the problem Christianity and religious beliefs, or is the problem rampant militarism, mindless consumerism, and destructive hypermasculinity? Take a "rational" minute and look at things. And as long as we're being rational, which cultures have empirically treated the earth with the most respect? Cultures with deeply spiritual beliefs-- some of which make no sense. The indigenous people of the world have the strongest connections to the earth, and they harm it the least. What does it matter if they believe in some crazy stuff? FURTHERMORE, why does it make any sense that technical solutions are the answer to our environmental problems? At what point does the technology (the product of the western industrial revolution-- the reason America is the most overworked and unhappy country in the world) that caused all the environmental degradation somehow become the solution to all of our environmental problems caused by technology? It's a total non-sequitor (sp?). A consciousness-shift is needed. Think of the (psychotic) western industrial capitalist experiment of the 20th century is viewed as a train-track. The humans of this world (yeah, the Christians too) are the train. No journey further in this direction will bring us happiness or environmental sustainability. We need to reconsider our culture-- militarism, consumerism, hypermasculinity. That is Bill McKibben's message. Let's try not to pervert it to make fun of the "irrational ones".On Are you brave enough to say no to a high-stress holiday? posted 1 year, 12 months ago 51 Responses
Oops
Atomic D, you're right. It IS stupid to believe in something. I've spent years carefully articulating my idealism for naught. How woefully naive I was to think that the centerpiece of Christmas should be world peace and community. Fortunately, your dripping sarcasm and searing cynicism have shown me the light. I only regret that I didn't learn your thuggish lesson in high school, when it was so plentiful. Your preposterous examples have clearly outlined the truth that mindless capitalism has been shoving down our throats since Silent Spring: all environmentalists detest shoes, and we are therefore irrecoverably out of touch with the needs of the masses (BONUS POINTS: we don't even love our families!). Wow. I think we could all learn a lesson from your Christmas cheer. "Cynicism looks cool. BONUS POINTS: You don't have to align yourself with any ideology because you can criticize everything!" Where's my beret, I need a smoke.On Are you brave enough to say no to a high-stress holiday? posted 2 years ago 51 Responses
Solidarity Reconsidered
Atomic Dog - I think that your attitude is more destructive than constructive. Every movement has a variety of tactics which move it forward in different directions. This does not mean that one is better than the other, or that hostile in-fighting will advance the movement as a whole. Gristmill bloggers could easily rip you a new one but that has not happened. I think a careful reconsideration of your true sentiments are in order.
For starters, it does not appear that you fundamentally understood Bill McKibben's piece. His working thesis is that people do not enjoy the materialism of the holidays-- polls have shown it to be an incredibly frustrating season. This is because the knick-knacks we buy each other do not represent the time and "perfection" you advocate. Modern consumerism has coopted the holiday and the values we hold so dear; you can't buy love or affection. I also take issue with your idea with "braving" the malls. Ask yourself why it is valuable to you that someone endured a grueling, alienating gauntlet of consumerism to exchange their pathetic wage-labour compensation to buy you a crappy new vacuum. Wouldn't it mean a lot more if they had put their time and energy into a homemade gift?
Secondly, I take issue with your representation of the environmental agenda. If you really feel that your activism is so annoying to people, I wonder where it's coming from. My activism is an act of love-- for the planet and for those I am close to. I believe that we need to repair our relationship to the earth and this will improve relations with those around us. Why are you so hostile towards environmentalism-- what are you doing on this website? It sounds like you are an environmentalist out of guilt, not passion. Also, your attitude suggests that you dislike environmentalists and non-environmentalists alike.
Which brings me to my third point-- non-environmentalists are not bad people. If 364 days of the year are spent with you telling non-environmentalists how to live their lives and kicking their shins, you are making a rough name for the rest of us. (This also explains why you seem so hateful towards other environmentalists).
I'm trying my best not to tell you how to live your life, because I believe that a variety of tactics are crucial to any movement. At the same time, I cannot see where you fit into the picture. Maybe you should skip Christmas this year and just meditate or something "hokey" like that. On Are you brave enough to say no to a high-stress holiday? posted 2 years ago 51 Responses