Yes, at this moment there are atrocities committed against the land, against animals, against people. I don’t see a time when it will ever be otherwise.
But,
We need to acknowledge that more and more people, organizations, businesses are working had to counter these harms; everyday people around the world are more aware than ever before of how their decisions impact the whole planet. “Environmentally friendly”, “ethically raised” are phrases we look for on our purchases; we recycle, we buy electric cars, shopping in Thrift shops is acceptable. The list goes on.
We have to believe that, like in most movies, the scales will tip and the good guys win.
This will stay with me for a long time: ... what happens when whole societies go rogue? What do we do then? Kimmerer says that today the “dishonourable harvest has become a way of life—we take what doesn’t belong to us and destroy it beyond repair… How can we distinguish between that which is given by the earth and that which is not? When does taking become outright theft?” (Coincidentally, I read this moments after I listened to an episode of "Drilled" - one of my favourite podcasts - called "A Brief History of Rights of Nature in the US." And it brought Stone's voice to life, recalling how he came up with the idea of giving trees "standing rights.") Thank you for this, Linda. It brought crucial perspective and wisdom on a day when war was taking up - beating up - all my mental space.
There will have to be a major shift in attitude toward the natural world, at least in North America. For all the conservation work that is done, and the changing public attitude toward wildlife and wild spaces, still there is an attitude problem with a large swath of the population. When I was in Arizona, I first became aware of "Predator Contests" where people (mostly men) will drive 2 or 3 states with their big foot 4x4s and trailers and ATVs, to participate in hunts for "predator animals" to kill as many as possible in a set period of time - usually a weekend - for big prize money, guns, etc.. They haul their kills to a central place for the "final tally" and get their prizes. There was one that took place in a nearby city while I was down there - they have a sort of trade show for guns, ATVs, hunting gear in conjunction with it. Very commercial. They kill huge numbers of animals. They even have "youth contests" so you can bring your kids along to kill some animals too. So long as this kind of thing is normalized in certain circles of our societies, I don't know how we can move forward. What people are doing - what they *think* is normal - undoes what the rest of us are working so hard to change.
Yes, at this moment there are atrocities committed against the land, against animals, against people. I don’t see a time when it will ever be otherwise.
But,
We need to acknowledge that more and more people, organizations, businesses are working had to counter these harms; everyday people around the world are more aware than ever before of how their decisions impact the whole planet. “Environmentally friendly”, “ethically raised” are phrases we look for on our purchases; we recycle, we buy electric cars, shopping in Thrift shops is acceptable. The list goes on.
We have to believe that, like in most movies, the scales will tip and the good guys win.
I've read and cried over Braiding Sweetgrass. We have all these metaphors for trees/water/air/earth which makes it very easy to commodify and destroy.
This will stay with me for a long time: ... what happens when whole societies go rogue? What do we do then? Kimmerer says that today the “dishonourable harvest has become a way of life—we take what doesn’t belong to us and destroy it beyond repair… How can we distinguish between that which is given by the earth and that which is not? When does taking become outright theft?” (Coincidentally, I read this moments after I listened to an episode of "Drilled" - one of my favourite podcasts - called "A Brief History of Rights of Nature in the US." And it brought Stone's voice to life, recalling how he came up with the idea of giving trees "standing rights.") Thank you for this, Linda. It brought crucial perspective and wisdom on a day when war was taking up - beating up - all my mental space.
There will have to be a major shift in attitude toward the natural world, at least in North America. For all the conservation work that is done, and the changing public attitude toward wildlife and wild spaces, still there is an attitude problem with a large swath of the population. When I was in Arizona, I first became aware of "Predator Contests" where people (mostly men) will drive 2 or 3 states with their big foot 4x4s and trailers and ATVs, to participate in hunts for "predator animals" to kill as many as possible in a set period of time - usually a weekend - for big prize money, guns, etc.. They haul their kills to a central place for the "final tally" and get their prizes. There was one that took place in a nearby city while I was down there - they have a sort of trade show for guns, ATVs, hunting gear in conjunction with it. Very commercial. They kill huge numbers of animals. They even have "youth contests" so you can bring your kids along to kill some animals too. So long as this kind of thing is normalized in certain circles of our societies, I don't know how we can move forward. What people are doing - what they *think* is normal - undoes what the rest of us are working so hard to change.
https://thehill.com/changing-america/sustainability/environment/544533-the-controversy-over-wildlife-killing-contests
& there is Ron Coleman's 'What Really Counts' - of course you are very familiar with it.