<
https://www.currentaffairs.org/news/the-sinister-origins-of-americas-anti-litter-movement>
"This morning, while sitting at a red light, I watched as the person in front
of me rolled down the window of their Lexus, stuck out an arm, and flung a
greasy McDonald’s bag filled with garbage and empty soda cans onto the
sidewalk. Instinctively, I slammed my horn with one hand and made the universal
“
what the hell?” gesture with the other. They did not respond. For a moment I
considered stepping out of my car and scooping the strewn Egg McMuffin entrails
into a pile to hand back to them; then I remembered that I live in America,
where people have guns, and I decided this wasn’t really a situation worth
escalating. The light turned green and the driver sped off—laughing maniacally
and slurping ketchup from each of their fingers, I assume—while I fumed.
Few small acts seem to breach the social contract like littering. Dumping your
garbage on the ground is illegal, technically, but it’s treated more like a
character indictment than a crime. If I saw someone shoplifting in Walmart I’d
look the other way; if I saw them drop a handful of wrappers in the aisle, I’d
ask them why they’re better than the custodian who has to pick it up. Any old
Joe Schmoe can rob a bank, but it takes a real scumbag to leave trash all over
a hiking trail. As a society, however, we didn’t always feel this way.
Littering only became a real public issue in the States after World War 2, when
disposable containers first began to flood the market. It only became a real
taboo 20 years later, and not because tree-hugging hippies felt strongly that
Americans must hold their garbage until they find the nearest dumpster! When
our rivers, forests and sidewalks began to overflow with trash,
environmentalists went straight to the source, demanding that corporations put
a stop to single-use packaging. But companies didn’t like that idea, shockingly
enough, and so they created their own campaign: Keep America Beautiful, which
placed the blame on the individual. If industries could convince Americans that
litter was a personal failing, then no one would ask where it came from in the
first place."
Via Christoph S.
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
