[lit-ideas] Re: The continuation of Realpolitik -- a rant

So maybe we're not so divorced from the animal kingdom?  What a 
surprise.  Herd behavior is the essence of human behavior, from highest to 
lowest and everything in between.  Case in point, plastic water 
bottles.  You know who started the bottled water rage?  Madonna, 
when she appeared on stage with a bottle of Perrier or whatever it was.  
After that everybody was drinking bottled water; tap water became synonymous 
with undrinkable, when in fact tap, i.e., municipal water is what they put in 
plastic water bottles half the time anyway.  Municipal water is also 
rigorously tested.  Ecologically friendly water fountains are a dinosaur 
now.  I gotta run.  See ya later.


--- On Sat, 5/24/08, Mike Geary <atlas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

From: Mike Geary <atlas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: [lit-ideas] Re: The continuation of Realpolitik -- a rant
To: lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Date: Saturday, May 24, 2008, 4:23 PM





IC:
>>Lemmings are a better metaphor, running off that cliff just because 
everybody else is doing it.<<
 
Well, in that regard, sheep too just follow the ass in front of them.  But 
they don't do the bidding of dogs or wolves.  Apparently most flocking / 
herding animals (humans?) just follow the one in front which results 
in the wonderful "braiding flights of birds" (Merwin -- I always 
acknowledge my sources when I think I might get caught and I know Eric is a 
Merwin reader and I don't trust him to his mouth shut) and the 
astonishing ballet of fish schools.
 
Mike Geary
Memphis
 
 

----- Original Message ----- 
From: Andy 
To: lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx 
Sent: Saturday, May 24, 2008 11:10 AM
Subject: [lit-ideas] Re: The continuation of Realpolitik -- a rant






If you think plastic water bottles are an eco-hobgoblin, then you're not paying 
attention even slightly.  Plastic water bottles are a monster huge 
problem.  What do you think happens to those bottles once they're emptied 
out?  They kind of vaporize and go to hobgoblin land?
 
For Mike, you're right about the sheep.  I'll stop picking on them.  
They're actually cute little fuzzy things who just do their little thing in the 
world.  Lemmings are a better metaphor, running off that cliff just 
because everybody else is doing it.  The metaphor does end with the word 
'worship' but if lemmings were capable of worship, and who knows, maybe they 
are, they'd do it only because everybody else is doing it.  

 

--- On Sat, 5/24/08, Eric Yost <mr.eric.yost@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:

        So it is with the latest eco-hobgoblin, plastic water bottles. Brita 
Water Filter capitalizes on "plastic waste" guilt to sell their water

filters.  

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