Play It Straight?

When I first saw the WWF study which estimated that 49% of the remaining animal populations in the oceans had been wiped out since 1970, I said nothing. A couple weeks later I wrote the satirical post which appeared yesterday.

I mean, what the fuck I am supposed to do with such reports? These kinds of reports come out all the time and they never have any effect. Human behavior is human behavior. Flatland is Flatland. Every day is the pretty much the same as the day before. Really, what am I supposed to do with depressing shit like that?

Play it straight?

Playing it straight, I could post a graphic or two from the study with the relevant text, make a few bitter remarks, and that's all folks. Hell, I've done that maybe a hundred times in the past on DOTE. And who cares, in the end? Nobody really. Admit it, even you guys no longer have the ability to respond to those kinds of posts, at least not after you've seen a hundred of them. Been there, done that, what's next? 

You either take this human nonsense seriously, or you don't. There is no in-between. All the serious approach does is leave everybody (including me) feeling helpless and depressed. Might as well have some fun, right?

Look at the world. I mean, really take a good look at it. In the past 24 hours, the world's biggest capitalist asshole raised the price of a life-saving drug 5000%. Volkswagen got caught lying about their "clean diesel" but really (and deceptively) peppy Jettas and Passats. George Will became apoplectic writing about the heretical views of Pope Francis on sustainability and over-consumption.

I'm not going to provide links to this Flatland horseshit, but you will find it all in The Washington Post. And that's just the last 24 hours. You will find comparable nonsense in any other daily news cycle. Did the WWF study show up in the Washington Post?  My comprehensive searches came up empty.

So, no, I can't play it straight anymore. Even when I do, writing about the Federal Reserve for example, I am left more depressed after I'm done than when I began. Fuck that.

 

Comments

[Kevin]

Dave,
Thank you!
That's all folks sums it up perfectly.
I for one have arrived at a place of uneasy solace.
Folks are as folks are, flatland is where we reside. So it goes.
Thanks for your insight,research and clear commentary.
Accepting the unacceptable is a rare form of logical awareness.
Thanks again for your efforts.
I will continue to check DOTE daily.
Much appreciated.
Warmest regards,
Kevin