Global Weirding

It’s had several iterations: global warming, climate change and so forth. One of the terms I liked was “global weirding”. Things are just changing, faster than they should, with floods in one place, heat waves in another, droughts in others.

I liked the term “global weirding” to explain all the odd weather events that have been happening. I wonder if this instability has lead to political weirding as well? We feel overwhelmed (those of us without our heads in the sand) and maybe the reaction to this brings us the desire for the “strong man” to lead, choosing the Bolsonaros and Trumps and Dutertes of the world? Or since most of the above are climate deniers, maybe we just want someone in charge to tell us that we didn’t do anything wrong, we aren’t doing anything wrong and even if the climate is changing, it’s not our fault. Because to hell with climate change, what’s important is whether we should have same sex bathrooms in public. (No one ever mentions that sharing a bathroom in one’s home with members of the opposite sex might be annoying, with the toilet seat left up or the teenage girl hogging the mirror for hours on end to get her hair and make-up _just_right, but it’s quite normal. It’s only in public that we are supposed to be shocked by a baby changing table or a urinal.) Or whatever the problème-du-jour is.

My friend’s daughter is quite depressed about the climate, many species dying off and pollution everywhere. My beloved Foro is part of the problem. He was sent over from China, and resources used to make him and ship him could probably have been better used for something else. In addition, his real world cousin is the cause of green house gases no matter how the cow spends her life.

With love comes suffering. There is love for things that we know aren’t good for the planet. To be blunt, the best thing any individual can do to stop contributing to global warming is to off oneself (preferably in some way that we are immediately composted.) But no one is (or should be) advocating that.

We need to make do with what we’ve got, and try to change as much as we can as quickly as we can. Because the world is getting weirder and weirder.

Foro would march with Greta Thunberg, if he could walk. Or talk.