Stupid Hypocrisy

Lately I’m feeling disgust for my species; we’re a stupid species who fouls its nest and fouls the nest of every other living creature on earth.
Blind to our stupidity, we operate as if we’re the only species that matters. Just one example of countless examples: when people come back from their Caribbean holidays and tell me they’ve swum with dolphins. They always say how incredible it was and their oblivious cruelty makes me cringe. I think of the dolphins, the tragedy of their caged existence, how they must swim up to each new human that enters their cage hoping that maybe this will be a smart human who will set them free. It’s a glaring testimony to the dolphin’s superiority and intelligence that they don’t harm the stupid humans who enter their cage.

I guess I’m not a nice person anymore

Recently I was listening to a popular, long-running arts and culture show on CBC Radio One and the host was interviewing a celebrity bartender. Who knew that celebrity bartenders exist, let alone have become so fascinating, but in any case, this fellow was being interviewed about all things rum. At one point, he told the host that African slaves were sold in order to buy the molasses required for making rum. This information made me feel sick to my stomach but more disturbing was the host’s reaction. In the sweet, modulated voice for which she’s known, she completely ignored the information. Instead, she sailed past, wowing about rum minutiae, asking a syrupy question, sounding impressed and being oh-so delighted with everything the celebrity bartender had to say.

Get Real, Real Estate

I come from Vancouver, the poster child of real estate greed, where even a moldy home fronting four lanes of roaring traffic goes for a million dollars. Yesterday, I drove past a building site; what used to be one large lot with one older home was now subdivided into four lots. On each lot a thin, two-story home was being built. For the exterior walls the builders were using that cheapest of all materials called chipboards.
I fast-forwarded to the near future. What if the new owners or their children developed mysterious allergies or other health issues? They probably wouldn’t suspect that they were living inside a shell of chipboard saturated with off-gassing glues. What other cost cutting had the builders engaged in? Have a watch of the Holmes on Homes TV show and you see just how well home-buyers are protected from unscrupulous builders, not to mention the ensuing legal and financial nightmares.
Buyers of new homes should have visual proof of what they’re buying, right down to the foundation, not just the staged superficiality of a 360 degree online tour or the smell of baked bread when their real estate agent gives them a tour. Why doesn’t some entrepreneur with an interest in real estate and consumer advocacy develop a videocam business which would insert cameras into the entire building process? I bet this service would become the expected norm for all home buyers.