Just wanted to pass along this link to an article by one of favorite columnists. He goes over the edge some days, but most of the time he is spot on in his rantings!
Enjoy –
The Hummer might die?
- Post author:Mindy Carney
- Post published:May 23, 2007
- Post category:American Culture / Consumerism / Current Events / Economy / Energy / Environment / global warming / Religion / Technology / Web Site
- Post comments:6 Comments
Tags: American Culture, Consumerism, Current Events, Economy, Energy, Environment, global warming, Religion, Technology, Web Site
Mindy Carney
I am a writer and communication professional in St. Louis, Missouri, a crafter of jewelry, a disorganized optimist and most importantly, the adoptive mom of two China-born daughters.
Mindy, thanks for the link. Mark Morford certainly has a way with words. He's a terrific writer. I especially love his intro:
Morford ends his piece puzzled how the sales of the big Hummer are actually surging when it is so very apparent how stupid it is to own such a wasteful thing. For that, I would advise Moreford (and anyone else insterested) to listen closely to Charles Darwin. For more, see <font color="#000000">Shopping for Sex: wasteful consumerism and Darwin’s theory of sexual selection</font>, Killer High Heels and Finding Function in Wasteful Human Activities.
Great article, Mindy — thanks for the link! One of my favorite quotes:
I have often marveled at the degree to which some people will use cars as fashion accessories — the Hummer being a fine example. It reminds me a bit of the old stovepipe hats that were the 'must have' fashion accessory back in Abe Lincoln's day — much to the detriment of America's beaver population, which was decimated to provide the felt. Likewise, many species of birds were hunted to extinction in the 19th-century to supply feathers as fashion accessories.
We shake our heads today at the foolishness and selfishness of previous generations — spoiling their (and our) environment for the sake of their fashion fads — but our generation is just as guilty, if not more so. Fifty years from now, people will undoubtedly shake their heads at the foolishness and selfishness of people who now drive Hummers and other conspicuously wasteful vehicles, but who among us thinks the underlying behavior will stop? Fifty years from now, people might shake their heads at our foolishness, but will they have learned anything from our mistakes or will they continue to have fashion fads of their own that serve no purpose other than to spoil their environment? You can guess where I'd bet my money…anyone want to bet the other side?
There is a scene in Shrek 1:
"Mommy? What does he mean that the big castle is Lord Farquaad's way of overcompensating? Overcompensating for what?"
"Ask your father."
I have a female friend who mentions this scene every time she sees a man driving a Hummer. (It doesn't explain its popularity among women, however.)
Is it really so popular among women?
"A departure from the other Hummer models is that the H3 is attracting a larger number of females. Its 40 percent female demographics compares to the H2's 30 percent and the H1's 5 percent." (http://www.chron.com/class/cars/featuredvehicle/082105.html)
Even 30 percent for the H2 is more than I expected.
Now, how did we get from Jerry Falwell to Hummers? Oh, yeah; "Bloated, arrogant, offensive to millions and deeply wrong in a thousand ways …"
Not only is the hummer a gas hog, it's a piece of crap. The press used one in Iraq and pointed out that most of the time it was being towed by a humvee.