Kevin Callahan: Cleaning up others activismTonight I went to Collins to witness the banning of the trays and the saving of the world.
I walked into Collins, walked behind where the food police had set up to weigh our food, and took the trays that they were guarding. I gave Dan O'Toole another tray and we were the only two people in the cafeteria to have them. I did not cause a fuss, nor get into a debate with any of the food police. I simply walked by them and took that for which I paid. It was a simple symbolic act of refusing to be cowed.
After taking my trays and avoiding the dirty looks of several fellow cafeteria people, I sat down to enjoy my meal with the tray that I had taken. The evening progressed smoothly enough -- until Meinhardt and her crew of Environmental Crusaders decided that it was appropriate to take a congratulatory picture of themselves in front of the "pyramid of styrofoam." The pyramid was intended to model the number of styrofoam containers that Claremont students use on a daily basis. (It wasn't exactly a pyramid, but then again, don't fault the greens for getting their facts wrong!)
I guess the labor of setting up presentations to save the world doesn't fall entirely equally, after all.
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6 comments:
"I have been stunned by the sheer brilliance of everyone around me and want to give something back to this community while simultaneously honing my writing skills."
Let me offer you some of my own brilliance. Before you share anything you write, be it a paper or an article (or even a blog, for that matter), you should proofread.
"I walked into Collins, walked behind where the food police had set up to weigh are food"
Also, the only time you should use the word sans while writing in English is if you are referring to the sans-culottes.
Thanks, Matthew, for catching that error.
As for sans, I'm pretty sure it's allowed in the English language. Maybe you'd like to point me to where it isn't?
Now do you have any substantive points to raise?
I have to congratulate you, Charles. Your paltry complaints on this issue entertained me so much that I was compelled to read more of the same on the Claremont Conservative. Rest assured, my friend, I suspect that we will all grumble about this phenomenon a little bit, because, frankly, it is a nuisance. I think people on both sides of this issue will all feel the same way to some extent. But isn’t that the point? As with many of the articles you have written in your Claremont Conservative, your Facebook group feels like you are overanalyzing a simple movement to encourage awareness about being more conscious about wasting the earth’s resources. I am sure that many people would agree (judging by previous comments, including mine, calling this group “ridiculous” and “stupid”) that you are making a big deal out of nothing. And for pity’s sake, man, have a sense of humor.
Anonymous,
I'm not your friend, buddy.
But thanks for reading the CC anyways.
The point of our group is that it is ridiculous. We deliberately use the language of the Left to mock it relentlessly.
But the very fact that so many people felt threatened by a mere Facebook group shows the Environmental Crusaders' silliness.
Who doesn't have a sense of humor? You clearly haven't been reading the comment section...
It's still unclear where your argument lies, besides the fact that you think it's "silly" (which doesn't count as an argument). I'm assuming (and hoping) that you're not complaining about it because it's too much work to go back and forth between the table and the food. It sounds like you don't like this whole thing because it's a tree-hugging, hippie-loving phenomenon? Well obviously, the point of the whole thing is to force us to reflect on the amount of waste we produce. But if you don't like to be forced to think about it or don't care about how much waste you produce, think about it from another angle. Nobody likes waste. Isn't less waste in the world (not in an environmentally-friendly mindset, but a clean and efficient mindset) better? If you don't like their reasons, then fine. But you have to admit, less waste means more efficiency.
And sorry if I made any implication that we're friends. I was being facetious.
Nice South Park reference, by the way.
Ignoring the 'whole thing is to force us to reflect on the amount of waste we produce' for a moment, shouldn't the numbers add up? If we are being forced to reflect on something, it should at least be accurate.
As CJ, Dan and I have mentioned earlier, the trayless coercion does not reduce waste. By reducing the quality/quantity of a prepaid transaction, you don't eliminate waste. The dining halls make the same amount of food everyday.
If we really want to stop waste, we need to create a pay-as-you go system. You don't see waste at the Muddhole or at the Hub because there's an incentive to save.
And No, its not fine if you use my money and force me to think about something you can advocate in so many different ways. Its as ridiculous as forcing everyone to run a few laps and eat in bunkers to know what the soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan are facing. Good idea, eh? You can always look at it from a different angle. After all, running is good for you.
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