Eco-pain

Before I first started working for Amnesty International I made myself the promise not to become one of those people who are always advocating in the name of a cause in a completely unrelated scenario. The people who always bring up the political roots of world poverty, who paint verbal pictures of slaughters as soon as anyone orders a burger, who post their candidate’s material on Facebook. I knew I’d signed up to become much more aware of the daily disaster that is our society, but I wanted to keep on being someone who doesn’t harass anyone else, regardless of how little they’re doing for the environment/society/animals/what have you. Plus “right” and “wrong” are highly debatable concepts, and far from me to tell people (if they don’t ask for my opinion, that is) that what they’re doing is wrong. Least, that what I’m doing is right.

But Amnesty (and awareness about the world on which I cruise) got to me, and I’m obviously becoming someone who’s more and more taking steps towards the “eco-friendly”, the “socially just”, the “environmentally correct”, the “healthy choice” (all of that in brackets because who really knows?!). I buy organic food whenever I can (afford it), I’m a vegetarian (who wants to be a vegan but loves her leather stuff too much – go figure), I want to keep working for NGOs (even if for free). And while I don’t judge people who don’t act or think like I do – or at least not out loud – I think I am growing more and more…obnoxious about my personal choices. Even though rationally I disagree with my own attitude, I admit that I now frown upon people who show no respect for others or for the environment around them. Upon people that litter, people that like rodeos, people that despise the homeless, people that refuse to spend another dollar to buy free-range eggs.

I watched The Cove the other day and I highly recommend it. It’s a greatly made documentary about the dolphin entertainment industry and the cruelty behind it. It’s awesome because not only it shines a light on an alarming subject, it is also a very cool piece of film. It didn’t commit what seems to be my own sad destiny: become so self-involved in your cause that you forget to also live your life in a carefree, fun manner (or, in the film’s case, become so self-involved in the cause that you forget about making a proper film, and end up with a piece of crap nobody wants to watch).

On the following day I decided to watch Food Inc., another documentary (hello, obsession?!), this time about – obviously – the food industry and how disgusting and deceiving it really is. My friend watched it with me, and left the room, in shock, after some chickens were shown being put upside down and having their necks gashed open, one after the other. Maybe it is too strong of a scene, maybe they didn’t need to show that, maybe my friend didn’t have to see that much. But then again, where does she think her lovely chicken nuggets come from?!!!

Watch out. I’ve become a tree hugger pain in the ass.