31 December 2012

It's Not Easy Being Green, Especially When You're White


M2RB:  The Muppets








It's not that easy being green
Having to spend each day the color of the leaves
When I think it could be nicer being red, or yellow or gold
Or something much more colorful like that







From PoliticoGreens confront their own lack of diversity



Right now, the images people see when environmental causes rise to the top of the national agenda often have one thing in common: They’re white images.

Rising leaders such as Bill McKibben, the 350.org founder who was named one of Time’s “People Who Mattered” in 2011 — white. Eco-celebrities such as Mark Ruffalo and Daryl Hannah — white. Leaders of the big environmental organizations, such as Sierra Club Executive Director Michael Brune — also, for the most part, white. (On the other hand, Sierra Club President Allison Chin, who serves on the group’s board of directors, is the first person of color to hold the top post in the 120-year-old organization.)

Changing the way the movement speaks to communities of color about environmental issues might prove paramount to engaging people who wouldn’t normally characterize themselves as green voters, said Jorge Madrid, a policy fellow at the Environmental Defense Fund.

“[Traditionally] I think the environmental movement wasn’t telling the entire story,” Madrid said. “They were focusing on issues that I think were in the purview of more well-to-do wealthy folks who have time to worry about wetlands and oceans. Now there’s a bigger focus on the public health narrative. This is something that makes it very real for communities of color.”
 


Amazing.  All of these rich, white people are stewing and wringing their hands looking for a solution to their "diversity problem" when the answer is obvious.  They'll probably have numerous white papers written by think tanks telling them how to appeal to "people of colour." They will seek advice from marketing consultants and convene innumerable focus groups over the next decade looking for ways to make the Cult of Gaia more colourful.  I took one look at the title of the Politico piece and came up with the solution in a nanosecond -- and I'm not even into all of that diversity, tolerance, co-existence, multi-kulti, Gaiapocalypse, CRIT, postmodernism, postracialism, postgenderism, empathicalism, constructed-deconstructed-existentialism crap.   Heeeeeell-o, peeps!  Here's your answer:



"Another thing we can do for (green) jobs is make toys of me (doing safe the earth stuff), especially for the holidays (like recycling "holiday" trees). Little dolls (made from hemp and 100% petroleum-product free). Me (because I'm black). Like maybe little action dolls (Alvin, the Atmosphere Avenger). Me in an (earth liberation) army uniform, air (pollution fighting) force uniform, and me in my (environmental clean-up) suit. They can make toys of me and my vehicle (that runs on fuel made from human excrement and foetuses), especially for the holidays and Christmas (like Earth Day, May Day, and Labour Day) for the kids. That's something that would create (green) jobs (in urban areas and increase pigmentation variation). So you see I think out of the (recycled, biodegradable) box like that. It's not something a typical (white) person would bring up. That's something that could happen, that makes sense (granted uncommon). It's not a joke (Really.  Jesse and Al love it and you know what it means when the Social Justice & Shakedown Bruthas luv 'em sumthin.  It's golden, er, green)."

-- Alvin Green, former Democratic Candidate for Senate




And, it's Green at the buzzer for the Green win!





It's Not Easy Being Green - The Muppets

It's not that easy being green
Having to spend each day the color of the leaves
When I think it could be nicer being red, or yellow or gold
Or something much more colorful like that

It's not easy being green
It seems you blend in with so many other ordinary things
And people tend to pass you over 'cause you're
Not standing out like flashy sparkles in the water
Or stars in the sky

But green's the color of Spring
And green can be cool and friendly-like
And green can be big like an ocean, or important
Like a mountain, or tall like a tree

When green is all there is to be
It could make you wonder why, but why wonder why
Wonder, I am green and it'll do fine, it's beautiful
And I think it's what I want to be
 
 


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