View Full Version : Why do people have to be such slobs? (Indianapolis 500)
Every year, after the Indy 500 race, there is a huge mess left behind at the Speedway track. On the local news this morning, they showed some of what the fans left behind............things like microwaves, charcoal grills, a broken metal structure for a canopy, coolers, furniture, a burned couch, shoes, clothing, and all sorts of other trash. Tons of it. Why????
Speaks volumes Re: us, as a race, doesn't it...
Re: Woodstock 1969, over 600 acres of garbage was left behind on Max Yasgur's dairy farm. It took over 400 volunteers and $100,000 to remove it all.
Speaks volumes Re: us, as a race, doesn't it...
Ever see what a herd of elephants can do in 15 minutes to the forest or someone's fields?
http://www.worldlandtrust.org/images/places/india/elephant-damage-l.jpg
Simpler at Fifty
5-28-12, 3:16pm
It is like that at most sporting events Cathy. We have a football team here and the place is a pit including the parking lot. Many of the same people that are slobs at these events expect their workplace restrooms and common areas to be immaculate at all times. They can drop their paper towels on the floor and not pick them up and they better not be there the next time they use the restroom. When I see people leave dishes in the coffee station at work, I will comment that I wonder who cleans up for them at home.
In our restrooms at work the paper towels are to the right or left of the sink. You have to move your dripping hands to the towels to dry them. The counter is full of water most of the time. The people I see wiping it off are the 50+ ladies. I think that is because we (they) were taught in that to clean up after ourselves. I don't believe that is taught the same way today.
goldensmom
5-28-12, 3:26pm
I don’t know what makes some people so inconsiderate of another’s property (personal or public). I can walk our property that faces the road (1 mile total) and pick up a bag sometimes near 2 bags of trash. Makes me wonder what their homes look like. On a smaller scale, one of my pet peeves is when people put their trash in the fire pit of a state park campsite. There are convenient trash containers for that purpose.
Mighty Frugal
5-28-12, 4:17pm
You should see the state of our womens' washroom after some women leave:0!
Originally posted by Bae.
Ever see what a herd of elephants can do in 15 minutes to the forest or someone's fields?When it comes to nature (wildlife/weather), destruction, to a certain degree, is expected, and the ecosystem (for the most part) has it's own way of rebounding and healing from such scars, however, Re: human waste/garbage, it wasn't there at the start/beginning, and considering that little of what we produce in the way of waste is natural (even useful for that matter), it taints our nature habitat and environment when disposed of in such an ill-manner.
So humans aren't part of nature?
I too would also prefer to have elephants go through, than a bunch of human slobs.
I'm not sure they're part of nature Bae. I'm starting to believe in the "we-got-populated by aliens" theory. :~)
I don’t know what makes some people so inconsiderate of another’s property (personal or public). I can walk our property that faces the road (1 mile total) and pick up a bag sometimes near 2 bags of trash. Makes me wonder what their homes look like. On a smaller scale, one of my pet peeves is when people put their trash in the fire pit of a state park campsite. There are convenient trash containers for that purpose.
You might be surprised. I used to pick up trash on a daily walk up the hill and back down. One day a neighbor pulled alongside me to ask if I was a member of the garden club. That still makes me laugh, and I can hear Iris Lily guffawing from here. I am in no way a tidy housekeeper, but I love the rowdy vegetation in my hood and was offended that people could wantonly chuck out their cans and bottles along my road. So I packed it out. Apparently the major offenders are gone, as there is much less trash these days.
goldensmom
5-28-12, 5:33pm
When it comes to nature (wildlife/weather), destruction, to a certain degree, is expected, and the ecosystem (for the most part) has it's own way of rebounding and healing from such scars, however, Re: human waste/garbage, it wasn't there at the start/beginning, and considering that little of what we produce in the way of waste is natural (even useful for that matter), it taints our nature habitat and environment when disposed of in such an ill-manner.
That's how I see it too. Animals do what animals do and the waste the produce or damage they cause (the elephant example) heals or is naturally recyclable. I've seen deer eat from a field crop or nibble on a sapling and I've seen the waste produced from it which will decay, replenish, etc.. I've never seen a deer toss a soda can or McDonalds wrappers into a ditch.
domestic goddess
5-28-12, 5:39pm
If I knew what make people so inconsiderate of the planet and of others, I wouldn't be in the kitchen several times a day picking up after others. And I am not a person easily bothered by a mess, but sometimes what is left around here really gets to me!
It's like that when you travel, and walk into a rest stop bathroom. It seems as if so many people expect that "Mommy" still runs around after them, cleaning up their messes. And what is so bad is that sometimes the mess left is such that eventually someone does have to clean it up, and you can better believe that it won't be the one who made the mess. Whew!! Now I feel better. You can send me a bill for therapy.
Originally posted by Bae.
So humans aren't part of nature?You tell me...
It's interesting although, the nature of the case for conversation Re: this topic. Let's think about this for a minute. We tear-up beautiful wilderness and create concrete jungles, roadways, housing complexes, and a mass of other nature/habitat destroying ventures, and although our work (creation-wise), isn't a natural part of nature itself (as we know it), as in the true fabric and glue part of it, yet we still attempt to make it feel that way (at all costs).
On the waste-delivery side of things, people leaving their no-longer needed items and goods on the doorstep of nature, the artwork and canvas of our daily lives, the very heart and soul of what most of us live for and cherish, unwilling to dispose of it properly and in a caring way? As keepers and custodians of this already fragile planet, we should, instead of looking for diminutive bantam with others over trivial elements related to general conversation, concentrate and focus our efforts towards the negative side of treating public domains and property as personal waste-dumps, and think about the factors that would arise if everyone took the same approach to disposing of their waste so carelessly and disrespectfully.
Mrs-M - I don't think the point I raised was trivial at all. I believe much of our current poorly-chosen road is the direct result of many generations of believing that we are special somehow, apart from nature, masters or custodians of nature, and immune or insulated from natural processes. I think the path to remedy this is to be found in fully exploring the concept that we, like every other species on the planet, are a part of nature, and then asking some hard questions...
Absolutely, Bae. I couldn't agree with you more. Yes, hard questions, with even harder answers... Unfortunately, the human race failed to evolve with the acuity of our wild cousins, and as days turn to weeks, weeks to months, and months to years, our time is quickly running out to correct and alter the course of what awaits us... self-destruction.
People are special--especially destructive.
Miss Cellane
5-28-12, 6:19pm
You might be surprised. I used to pick up trash on a daily walk up the hill and back down. One day a neighbor pulled alongside me to ask if I was a member of the garden club. That still makes me laugh, and I can hear Iris Lily guffawing from here. I am in no way a tidy housekeeper, but I love the rowdy vegetation in my hood and was offended that people could wantonly chuck out their cans and bottles along my road. So I packed it out. Apparently the major offenders are gone, as there is much less trash these days.
A friend of mine started picking up returnable bottles during her daily walk, and started a savings account with the money she made returning the bottles. Her son was 2 at the time. When he headed off to college 16 years later, the savings account had $7,000. From other people's trash.
Animals can't do chemistry and create waste that will never disintegrate. Every bit of plastic that was ever produced beginning in the 1940's is still around today and wreaking havoc on the environment, especially in the ocean gyres.
I agree with Mrs. M. let's stop worrying about asking questions and analyzing the problem and just start fixing it. Let's err on the side of caution and assume we're doing something really bad here and we need to stop it. If we're wrong, well better safe than sorry.
lavachickie
6-14-12, 9:50am
I was listening to a podcast the other day (This American Life I think), and there was a story about a gentleman who started an after-crime cleanup service. He also ended up doing clean-ups after someone had died at home, or any other such situation. He was very direct about how shocked he was at "how most people live." He said he had no idea so many people were such filthy slobs in their homes.
Outside of the home, it's a selfish out of sight, out of mind mentality. "I don't want this here in the car; I'll just throw it out and then it's not in the car, and I won't see where it IS." Drives me nuts.
"Nature" can do a job on whatever the animals of the planet construct.
799
Regarding humans role in the big picture, I feel like our capacity to manipulate the environment for our own benefit and our (at least theoretical) ability to understand the implecations of doing so gives us added responsibility. A tornado is simply a natural phenomena that can generate 1000 Indy's worth of trash in a few seconds. Unfortunate to be sure, but it has no means to decide to do otherwise. A herd of elephants, even if their specific intent is to destroy, only has the capacity to impact a few acres and only for a few years. Human activity has the potential to impact the planet (and everything else living on it) far beyond either. Responsibility in proportion to ability isn't always a popular notion.
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