SumOfUs are Corporate Whores | Some Of Us Are Not
Feb 1, 2012: SumOfUs posts a popular image used by media outlets today to reflect the worker conditions at Chinese “sweatshops.” “Ethical capitalism” is a fantasy embraced and fetishized by the liberal/professional left.
New Delusion for 2012: SumOfUs
New to the growing spiderweb of the interconnected non-profit industrial complex is SumOfUs. Behind this web you will find the most notorious players within the so-called movement – an array of bright green “climate wealth” opportunists, believers of the illusory “green” economy.…Like all good Imperialists, the Philanthropoids set themselves the task of creating and training an international cadre that believed that Capitalism, and by extension the hegemony of the United States, was in their own self-interest…. In the United States, as we have seen, corporate-endowed foundations spawned the culture of NGOs…. — Arundhati Roy, Capitalism: A Ghost Story
“SumOfUs is a global movement of consumers, investors, and workers all around the world, standing together to hold corporations accountable for their actions and forge a new, sustainable and just path for our global economy. It’s not going to be fast or easy. But if enough of us come together, we can make a real difference.”
On the twitter account (first “tweet” November 14, 2011), SumOfUs goes one step further, stating:
“We are a movement of consumers, workers and shareholders speaking with one voice to counterbalance the growing power of large corporations.”
SumOfUs states:
“We’ve witnessed again and again what happens when powerful corporations get their way: Environmental and health catastrophes like Fukushima and the BP oil disaster; A global financial crisis that destroys entire economies; Rising food prices and starving children; Families from Kalamazoo to Timbuktu losing their houses and land; Poisons pouring into our air and water. You name it, corporations are behind it. But rather than being held accountable – their CEOs are often walking away with bonuses. And these injustices are largely left to continue unabated. But the world doesn’t have to be this way. And here’s the secret: We own the corporations that are causing all these problems. They rely on us to buy their products. They count on us to buy their stock. They need us to work for them. They need us to continue to elect governments that let them get away with murder. We are SumOfUs, and we’re not going to take it anymore.”
So rather than campaign on citizens divesting, that the rights for corporations be abolished, that private companies become nationalized, that citizens work together to form their own co-operatives, and that society must unite in one goal of starving the corporate machine, SumOfUs believes we further our power as “consumers” by feeding the very system that is destroying us.
All while exclaiming “We’re not going to take it anymore!” SumOfUs would have us believe that “we” – collectively, as “consumers” continuing to purchase the corporations’ products, continuing to purchase their stock, continuing, indefinitely, to work for the corporations destroying us, continuing to re-elect politicians (all controlled by a ruling hierarchy) – that we can, in fact, make the corporations “do the right thing.” This is not only a false premise, it is an assertion of complete grandiose delusion. Further, we have been hearing “we’re not going to take it anymore” from the environmental “movement” for over three decades. In this time, emissions have increased over 40% while we stand on the precipice of irreversible, cataclysmic, accelerating environmental collapse of epic proportions.
SumOfUs states it is “a new world-wide movement for a better global economy” that stands for: Fair treatment of workers and the right of every human being to make a living, safely and ethically, for themselves and their family; The right of ordinary consumers to products that are produced and marketed ethically, sustainably and transparently; and “Business models that put people and the planet first instead of being driven by shortsighted greed.” They then tell the “consumer”: “Yeah, take that deep breath, close your eyes and imagine what kind of a world that could be – and then crash back to this one.”
What SumOfUs doesn’t tell you and never will tell you, is that 1) this vision is absolutely IMPOSSIBLE to achieve under the global industrialized capitalist economic system, and 2) our current economic system is absolutely dependent upon the exploitation of both people and planet to simply continue its existence. SumOfUs wishes to convince you that this suicidal economic system can be reformed. That, like Obama, corporations can be made “to do the right thing” if only we ask nicely. Yet, let’s be clear and cast all denial aside – one cannot reform an abomination.
SumOfUs, along with all the rest in the non-profit industrial complex, is banking on your hopeful ignorance, hoping you will continue to swallow their lies and join them in the game of delusion where fantasy reigns.
“Capitalism is going through a crisis whose gravity has not revealed itself completely yet. Marx said, ‘What the bourgeoisie therefore produces, above all, are its own grave-diggers.’ Capitalism is in crisis. Trickledown failed…. Capitalism’s real ‘grave-diggers’ may end up being its own delusional Cardinals, who have turned ideology into faith. Despite their strategic brilliance, they seem to have trouble grasping a simple fact: Capitalism is destroying the planet. The two old tricks that dug it out of past crises—War and Shopping—simply will not work.” — Arundhati Roy, Capitalism: A Ghost Story
The first campaign for SumOfUs sounds suspiciously familiar.November 29, 2011, “SumOfUs: Petition urges Google to quit the U.S. Chamber of Commerce” Excerpt: “[SumOfUs] correctly point out that in 2009 Apple quit the Chamber over environmental concerns, while Nike quit the board of the Chamber shortly after, and Yahoo recently quit over internet censorship legislation.”
The “U.S. Chamber Doesn’t Speak For Me” (http://chamber.350.org/) was spawned from 350.org’s attempt to capitalize on and recruit business. The poster available for 350.org business partners states:
“Our mission is to inspire the world to rise to the challenge of the climate crisis – to create a new sense of urgency and of possibility for our planet. Our focus is on the number 350 – as in parts per million CO2. If we can’t get below that, scientists say, the damage we’re already seeing from global warming will continue and accelerate. But 350 is more than a number – it’s a symbol of where we need to head as a planet.”
“… Make a product with a 350 logo and educate people on the science of 350 – how Camelback did it.”
Yet, the “science” of 350 ppm put forward by 350.org is made irrelevant. That 350.org/1sky/Chamber350 refuses to acknowledge that infinite growth, the integral pivotal component of the global industrialized capitalist economic system is not compatible in any way with reversing atmospheric concentration of CO2 is somewhat beyond belief. And yet, we are expected to embrace such illusion. Common sense dictates that industrialized production, most instrumental to the global capitalist economic system, can only further destroy our shared environment. The above Camelback “success,” which 350.org/1sky/Chamber350 highlights as one such “solution” to climate change, clearly demonstrates the outright denial of the very root causes of our multiple escalating crisis by such liberal left “leaders.”
What 350.org/1Sky or the new SumOfUs has never, nor will ever, state is the truth – that 350 ppm (and definitely the pre-industrialized levels of 280 ppm called for by the People’s Agreement and the State of Bolivia) can never and will never be achieved under the global industrialized capitalist system. Further, ethics and the global industrialised capitalist system – whereby violence is inherently built into the system – by way of decimation to the planet and exploitation of those most vulnerable, can never, and will never, co-exist. To believe so is to believe in fairy tales.
The fact is, aside from good publicity for these corporate monoliths, quitting the Chamber of Commerce “over environmental concerns,” in real life, means absolutely nothing. After Apple quit the Chamber of Commerce (considered by 350.org a great victory), the company has continued to break their own records in profits. (January 24, 2012: “Apple profit doubles, thanks largely to 37 million iPhone sales in three months. The Cupertino, Calif.-based company flew past all profit expectations as it reported net income of $13.1-billion (U.S) on revenue of $46.3-billion in its first quarter ended Dec. 31.”) Africa continues to be raped and pillaged for Coltan and other vital components of such technology, which has left approximately up to or more than right million Africans dead. (Top censored story of 2003: American Companies Exploit the Congo; top censored story of 2007: High-Tech Genocide in Congo.)
And while millions continue to anguish over tragic atrocities such as the Holocaust, the Congolese genocide continues unabated. Organizations such as SumOfUs don’t touch upon such uncomfortable truths, especially when the victims are non-white. In the world of RINGOs [1], the continuous and relentless plunder of liberating nations by Imperialist states is simply par for the course. Certainly not a reason to stop consuming items we have lived without for approximately 100,000 years.
The questions SumOfUs will never put forward is this: Would you rather consume beyond your most basic needs, or would you rather live? Would you rather consume beyond your most basic needs, or would you rather your children have a future? Which do you value more – your iPhone or the life of an African? Which do you value more – your iPad or the life of an exploited Chinese worker, whose distress is so great they prefer death over life?
SumOfUs asks “followers” (“consumers”) to demand Joe Trader pays 1 cent per pound more to the farmers who toil in the fields to produce our food, while SumOfUs “followers” purchase $700.00 iPhones. SumOfUs represents a clear division – those who benefit (be it short-term or long-term) by the capitalist system and those who are on the receiving end of the capitalist system: the exploited who reap the fall-out. It is understood, and even embraced as natural, that those who may be so lucky to receive a 1 cent pay increase, thanks to the goodwill on behalf of the white-saviour complex, will never have the means to shop at Joe Traders, let alone purchase an iPhone. Perhaps SumOfUs will have the exploited send SumOfUs members thank you cards at Christmas time, just like World Vision. After all, those who spend their lifetime simply trying to provide the next meal to their family are in no position to decline a 1 cent per hour/per pound pay increase.
The SumOfUs organization/campaign is more than insulting. If it is not bad enough for citizens to be referred to as a “movement of consumers and workers” (why not just refer to the majority of society as proles?), in an authoritative manner the message conveyed is that “consumers” have an important role within the capitalist system – equivalent to that of an investor or shareholder. The message conveyed is that the industrialized global capitalist economic system is one in which we are, and must remain, a partner.
In short, SumOfUs promotes an ideology that stands in stark contrast to our current reality – the absolute imperative of starving/abandoning the industrialized capitalist system, before it systematically kills us.
Excerpt from the SumOfUs “LOCOG: Partner with a Sponsor the Whole World Can Celebrate” campaign:
“LOCOG has promised to stage the greenest games in Olympic history. They are the first games organizing committee to be certified to a sustainability standard called British Standard 8901. Yet, while LOCOG tells us that the London 2012 Olympics will be the greenest games ever, they have accepted the sponsorship of a company that refuses to clean up the pesticide factory in Bhopal where 400 tons of toxic chemical waste remain near a children’s play area. Dow Chemical expects that its $25 million per year Olympic sponsorship will give it a $1 billion dollar sales boost by 2020. Don’t let Dow profit off the “greenest Olympics ever” while they refuse to take responsibility for the worst industrial disaster in human history. Send a message to the London Organizing Committee that if it is committed to sustainability, they have to drop Dow as a sponsor of the games.” (Emphasis in original)
Newsflash: There is no such thing as a “green” Olympics. There is no such thing as a “sustainable” Olympics. There never will be. The “greenest Olympics ever” is perhaps the greatest attempt to greenwash the public under the guise of sustainability. SumOfUs has no intention of educating citizens on the vast social impacts and environmental consequences of an event like the Olympics; rather SumOfUs asks us to join the “Whole World” in the Olympic celebration.
This campaign must be considered an endorsement of the Olympics themselves as “the greenest ever.” One could even consider SumOfUs as advertisers of a new breed. Consider the language behind the “Apple: Is the new iPad made illegally?” campaign. SumOfUs states:
“If it is anything like Apple’s past products, the new iPad will be a sleek, gorgeous gadget … Apple says it cares about workers and requires its factories to follow the law. Well, we want to give Apple a chance to prove it. As Apple customers and potential customers, we deserve to know whether the new iPad was manufactured illegally and unethically like past Apple products. (Emphasis in original)
SumOfUs states they “want to give Apple a chance to prove” it cares about workers and requires its factories to follow the law, all while acknowledging in the same paragraph that its products have consistently been made illegally and unethically. Of course, the “consumer” isn’t urged to make the simple decision to not purchase a new iPad, instead, he/she is asked to convey a message to Apple: “We deserve to know whether workers making the new iPad were forced to work illegal and dangerous amounts of overtime.” Of course, Apple workers were forced to work illegal and dangerous amounts of overtime. Anyone with a brain understands that this has been and continues to be the case along with a multitude of other human rights abuses. Further, Apple will never share their monetary wealth with those they exploit. For this is the way of the capitalist system. The SumOfUs petition serves as an instrument to eradicate guilt by simply “clicking” and being made to feel one has performed their ethical duty. Further, under the petition, there is a survey collecting data regarding your patronage of Apple products. It would be interesting to know where this data ends up.
SumOfUs allows society to feel good about their role in the capitalist system. SumOfUs allows one to feel vindicated for one’s purchases and participation in corporate patronage. Like a confession or a prayer prior to or after a bad deed, SumOfUs eradicates guilt, makes one feel heroic, and – most importantly – protects the current economic system and thus the current power structures that exist today.
“You know, I’m an iPhone user myself, I’m an Apple consumer. I love their products. I want to be able to buy their products with pride and not feel like I’m complicit in these abuses that are taking place.” — Taren Stinebrickner-Kauffman, the executive director and president of the consumer advocacy group SumOfUs, speaking to Keith Olbermann, February 14, 2012
Ignoring Reality | Feeding the Denial Machine
In the March 26, 2012 article, Climate scientists: It’s basically too late to stop warming, the author writes: “Here’s what happens next: Natural climate feedbacks will take over and, on top of our prodigious human-caused carbon emissions, send us over an irreversible tipping point. By 2100, the planet will be hotter than it’s been since the time of the dinosaurs, and everyone who lives in red states will pretty much get the apocalypse they’ve been hoping for. The subtropics will expand northward, the bottom half of the U.S. will turn into an inhospitable desert, and everyone who lives there will be drinking recycled pee and struggling to salvage….”
In the March 26, 2012 article, West Antarctic Ice Shelves Tearing Apart at the Seams, the author writes: “A new study examining nearly 40 years of satellite imagery has revealed that the floating ice shelves of a critical portion of West Antarctica are steadily losing their grip on adjacent bay walls, potentially amplifying an already accelerating loss of ice to the sea.”
Flashback to 2003. From the paper The Discovery of Rapid Climate Change: “How fast can our planet’s climate change? Too slowly for humans to notice, according to the firm belief of most scientists through much of the 20th century.” “Today, there is evidence that severe change can take less than a decade. A committee of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) has called this reorientation in the thinking of scientists a veritable ‘paradigm shift.’ The new paradigm of abrupt global climate change, the committee reported in 2002, ‘has been well established by research over the last decade, but this new thinking is little known and scarcely appreciated in the wider community of natural and social scientists and policymakers.’ ”
The question must be asked, where the hell do ethical iAnythings fit in a world of total chaos, collapse, death and starvation? We understand the Earth’s resources are finite. So why do we refuse to comprehend, thus ignore, the root cause of our multiple crises, that being the global industrialized capitalist economic system? The non-profit industrial complex protects the interests of their funders – this is a given to be expected. Yet the tragedy is this: today, intelligent citizens are choosing to embrace delusional ideologies that reinforce what they have been conditioned to “want” by the very corporate interests many claim to oppose, instead of choosing to protect their very future and the future of their children by facing our realities dead-on.
SumOfUs fails (purposely) to educate on the fact that corporations are bound by law to increase profits for their shareholders first and foremost. SumOfUs allows “consumers” to continue consuming while eradicating any guilt they may be feeling as the world crumbles beneath our feet. Hey, I signed the petition; I did my part, what more can I do? Truthfully, no sane person can possibly believe that any petition in 2012 can truly change the cataclysmic path we have placed ourselves on. Ten thousand signatures or 10 million, these petitions are meaningless. They are not intended to provoke any meaningful change. Rather their purpose is to influence, sway, and shape and mold public perception. This is understood between the corporate funders (via funding funneled through tax exempt foundations) and the “leaders” at the helm of the global NGO matrix: Avaaz and the Avaaz-affiliated organizations, 350.org/1Sky, and other corporate greens such as Rockefeller-founded WWF.
The Sycophants at the Helm
“… Corporate-endowed foundations administer, trade and channelise their power and place their chessmen on the chessboard, through a system of elite clubs and think-tanks, whose members overlap and move in and out through the revolving doors. Contrary to the various conspiracy theories in circulation, particularly among left-wing groups, there is nothing secret, satanic, or Freemason-like about this arrangement. It is not very different from the way corporations use shell companies and offshore accounts to transfer and administer their money—except that the currency is power, not money.” — Arundhati Roy, Capitalism: A Ghost Story
And of no surprise, this group of elite “leaders” are predominantly white and wealthy. SumOfUs reads like a big tub of dirty laundry, the same names that are continually recycled from one group to another, churned over and over again under a multitude of NGO names that just keep expanding and growing like a cancer. The bulk of foundation money funneled into these entities originates primarily from George Soros foundations, whereas the bulk of foundation money funneled into 350.org/1Sky originates primarily from the Rockefeller Foundation, the Rockefeller Brothers Foundation and the William J. Clinton Foundation.
“Two of the minds behind the global advocacy platform Avaaz.org and Australia’s social action network GetUp! are taking what they learned in the non-profit online organizing space and applying it to the world of consumerism.” — TECH PRESIDENT website, May 24, 2010
SumOfUs’s Executive Director and Founder, Taren Stinebrickner-Kauffman, is a dual Australian-American citizen with online organizing on four continents and at the global level, including at Avaaz.org, GetUp.org.au, MoveOn, AccessNow, 350.org, Al Gore’s Alliance for Climate Protection and others. She was born in Australia, and currently lives in Washington, DC.
MoveOn.org is the founder of Avaaz (along with Res Publica). MoveOn is the US version of the Australian GetUp! AccessNow is affiliated with Avaaz co-founders. AccessNow.org is endorsed and supported by Avaaz, MoveOn.org, Witness.org, Blue State Digital and GetUp!
The AccessNow International Advisory Board includes Andrew MacLaughlin, vice president of Tumblr; Chris Hughes, co-founder of Facebook and director of online organizing for Obama’s Presidential Campaign; Joe Rospars, new media director for Obama’s 2008 Presidential Campaign and founding partner of Blue State Digital; Scott Heiferman, CEO and co-founder of Meetup; and many other prominent technologically savoir-faire “leaders” in the world of social marketing.
SumOfUs is a 501c(4) non-profit incorporated in Washington, DC, with a 501c(3) fiscal sponsorship arrangement through the New Organizing Institute Education Fund (a George Soros entity).
SumOfUs’s Treasurer, Tate Hausman, is the director of management at MoveOn.org. Previously, he has directed a number of other national political operations such as Vote Today Ohio, a voter mobilization effort that helped swing Ohio to Barack Obama. In tandem with working on congressional campaigns, Hausman has consulted for high-impact organizations like CREDO Mobile/Working Assets and many non-profit organizations.
SumOfUs’s Secretary, Keith Goodman, founded the Repower at Home program at Gore’s Alliance for Climate Protection, and developed and managed the acclaimed online Neighbor-to-Neighbor program for the 2008 Obama campaign.
The U.S. Advisory Board includes bright greens such as Bill McKibben, co-founder of Rockefeller’s 350.org and Eli Pariser, co-founder and president of the board at MoveOn.org.
The U.S. Advisory Board also includes Betsy Taylor, president of Breakthrough Strategies and Solutions. Taylor is an adviser to several donors and foundations and is on the advisory board of 350.org. Taylor was co-founder and board president of 1Sky, an incubator project of the Rockefellers, partnered and funded by in part by the Clinton Foundation. Taylor also founded and served as president of the center for yet another Soros organization, New American Dream (NAD), which “helps Americans live and consume wisely for a better world.” During her tenure, NAD was featured in the media over 1,000 times, built a network of over 100,000 citizens, and launched the “Responsible Purchasing Network,” an association representing over $50 billion in buying power. She has a master’s degree in public administration from Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government (where Avaaz co-founders Ricken Patel, David Madden and Jeremy Heimans also attended). At the 2007 Clinton Global Initiative, President Clinton announced and personally congratulated the 1Sky team. Rockefeller Brothers Fund president Stephen Heintz, Betsy Taylor, 1Sky chair, and Jesse Fink, Mission Point Capital Partners, joined President Clinton on stage in recognition of the Rockefeller Brothers Fund commitment to 1Sky.
In 2011 1Sky officially merged with 350.org – which was most instrumental in the 1Sky creation. This union, now official, was deemed the “NEW 350” (350/1Sky) in which Rockefeller interests sit on the 350.org board of directors with the likes of McKibben, Naomi Klein, Jay Halfon and Jessy Tolkan. [350.org staff, 350.org international advisory council, 350.org U.S. advisory council].
The SumOfUs EU Advisory Board includes:
- Paula Hannemann, social media manager, WWF Germany
- Paul Hilder, former campaign director of Avaaz and Oxfam Great Britain, vice president of global campaigns for Change.org
- Alice Jay, campaign director, Avaaz.org (Spain)
The SumOfUs Australian Advisory Board includes:
- Jeremy Heimans, CEO & co-founder of Purpose, co-founder of GetUp.org.au, Avaaz.org and AllOut.org
- Brett Soloman, formerly with Avaaz, executive director of AccessNow.org, former executive director of GetUp,org.au.
“I’d like to use the funds to promote the idea of movement entrepreneurship and to incubate a couple more movements. We’ve been talking in a broader way about the future of consumer activism, of organizing people not as citizens but as consumers.” — Avaaz co-founder, Jeremy Heimans
And of course no organization with the sole duty of promoting green capitalism would be complete without the corporate kiss-ass, Kumi Naidoo, head of the notorious corporate creation, TckTckTck, and Greenpeace International. Naidoo also sits on the International Advisory Council of 350.org, along with Avaaz co-founder and Imperialist puppet, Ricken Patel.
SumOfUs is currently offering an “Operations Fellowship.” Applicants should, among other things have “experience in social change, whether it’s organizing a Save Darfur rally on campus or volunteering for the Obama campaign” while “Big Pluses” are listed as “Grant-writing experience; Experience managing funder relationships; Experience as an office manager or executive assistant; Basic familiarity with 501(c)3/(c)4 election law; Familiarity with the MoveOn/Avaaz model of organizing.”
And like all big greens that make up the non-profit industrial complex, SumOfUs assures us that it is an equal opportunity employer … Minorities and women are strongly encouraged to apply for this fellowship.” This all sounds good in theory, yet for all the rhetoric thrown around by the big greens supporting “indigenous” rights, values and leadership, try to find one big green NGO with an Indigenous person at the helm. For that matter, try to find one big green that officially supports and refuses to undermine the People’s Agreement (Cochabamba, Bolivia, April 2010) or any other Indigenous declaration.
SumOfUs – A new organization to greenwash the corporations destroying our shared planet. SumOfUs wants you to not only accept the liberal left assertion that corporate power will always dominate, they want you to show respect to the corporate powers destroying us.
Remix: March 28th, 2012
Sum of Selling Out
From the April 18, 2011 article Rockefellers’ 1Sky Unveils the New 350.org | More $ – More Delusion:
“At the same time of the 10:10:10 launch, 350.org revealed its first order of business – that of business. In 2011, the Green Market website published an article titled “350.org and Business.” The website promotes the 350 campaign to ask businesses to leave the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in response to climate change; however, it neglected to critically analyze why such a campaign can only fail. The reality is that incrementalism in the face of a planetary emergency dooms humanity to failure. No amount of justification excuses any organization, large or small, to play politics in the face of our daunting climate reality. Yet 350.org is doing exactly that. Many may consider this a strong step and the greenwashing cabal will applaud; after all, if you have the token voice of the climate movement praising sweat-shop driven, mining-dependent Apple, you’ve won the day. However, the reality is this: No matter how many businesses leave the Chamber, they will still be doing what they do. Apple continues to abuse those most vulnerable while simultaneously destroying the environment for the sake of profit. Nike still manufactures shoes in China. A campaign such as this will never extricate these corporations from the business model they worship that enables several barrels of oil to be burned for the sake of the Swoosh through symbolic campaigning and the mighty victory this campaign seeks. No amount of symbolic campaigning will accomplish anything remotely close to a solution to the current planetary emergency. Such a campaign makes for good press for the times; however, in terms of outcomes, it will provide nothing of consequence to the solution set. It’s nothing less than delusion, if not a crime against humanity, that those who understand the science actually believe such campaigns are helpful beyond our psyches. Tragically, this undoubtedly will become more obvious rather soon.”
So, no thanks, SumOfUs. Some of us consider ourselves citizens – not consumers. Some of us are not interested in participating in your delusional dreams of “ethical” and “green” capitalism. Some of us, in the real world, prefer to deal with the realities that you, hand in hand with your funders, continue to deny.
Round and round the delusion goes. Where it stops nobody knows.
The new SumOfUs campaigns urge us to send a message to LOCOG, Apple, Starbucks, Novartis, corporate media conglomerates, Walmart, Carlsberg, Verizon, Microsoft, Google, Bank of America, Coca-Cola, Yoplait, Lowes, Trader Joes and Johnson & Johnson. Below are my sentiments in regards to these corporate psychopaths.
Fuck Apple.
Fuck Bank of America.
Fuck Carlsberg.
Fuck Coca-Cola.
Fuck corporate media.
Fuck Google.
Fuck Johnson & Johnson.
Fuck Lowes.
Fuck Microsoft.
Fuck Novartis.
Fuck Starbucks.
Fuck the Olympics.
Fuck Trader Joes.
Fuck Verizon.
Fuck Walmart.
Fuck Yoplait.
And most of all, SumOfUs – fuck you.
References:
[1] Judith Rodin, President of the Rockefeller Foundation, spoke March 19, 2010 at Innovative Philanthropy for the 21st Century: Harnessing the Power of Impact Investing: In this second phase of philanthropic innovation, our Rockefeller Foundation predecessors helped establish the non-governmental organization sector as the missing middle between giving and direct impact. This included support for entities we call them RINGOS, Rockefeller Foundation Initiated NGOs.
61 Comments
Whoever creates what people accept as money has god-like power to raise up or destroy civilizations, nations, businesses, individuals,or any institution at will. The current monetary system creates all money as debt out of nothing and then charges interest on this fake money..
Until people regardless of ideology do something about this thievery, kiss not just your freedom, but the health of the planet GOODBYE.because “plunder” is the norm..Blessings to all. ..
I have gotten alot of sollicitations to donate to political stuff. I have avoided all of them because I committed to advocacy for saving “wildlife” right now since they are going extinct at an alarming rate. But Sum of Us sent a request for $1, like the democratic party request, which was very difficult to ignore after looking at all the campaign they were involved in, especially neonicotinoids that killing bees. I gotten alot of request too from Move On etc. but whenever I see founders like Rockefeller, I reject, period like Oceania. Also I have learned to reject organizations that bitch for company to change, and not tell consumers boycott. I don’t sign petitions anymore. these people exercise the ultimate disrespect….taking up the time I have to live and then ask me for money. and yes, I leaned to really think ‘HARD” if one is promoting a campaign is UNREALISTIC, taking a whole systematic change…like ANIMALS ARE NOT PROPERTY,,,,how impossible would that be to change that in USA…when cattle was brought here by Chris Columbus, Cattle reason for conquest of all the land from Indians, Cattle is cause of disease in health care cost of 1.2 Trillion dollars annually…and people go get their bypass or stent and government even put a tax on beef. So how will “Animals not Property” can become law??? I give to organizations who actually in the FIELD doing work, like Rangers protecting elephants from poachers.organizations that buys land in rainforest for wildlife. Rehabitation and release. etc. Action that result in concreate Reality.
I worry sumofus are just a money making organisation 7% goes in admin, but can find nothing to say how much they are raising, some of the causes seem very worthwhile, others look like they are jumping on existing negative publicity, and have obviously not doe any research into the real truth behind what is happening, fake news is so easy to generate today.
You all seem to be sitting back and throwing stones at anyone trying to do the simplest thing to make a difference. You all sound so self righteous. How many sentences and syllables does it take to say “I’m better than you are because I do this or that…” Geez, it’s no wonder the power structure we abhor has no problem remaining in power. Someday maybe someone will be able to put together a coherent and supportable argument for a better way to live that people can rally around. Unfortunately, I don’t have much hope. My hope died with Bobby Kennedy. It’s all about me now, not us. Why should I disparage anyone who is trying to fight the good fight? Why don’t you all understand that this fracturing and fragmenting renders any of our arguments powerless and meaningless Yes, I’m old and old fashioned. I grew up without computers and Facebook or the Internet. But I know the difference between right and wrong. It isn’t complicated. I gave to SumofUs because they are fighting a corporation that is raping us in Michigan and the land and water we cherish, need and love. Period. Simple.
No one, I mean no one, really understands that there is a thing called “spiritual capitalism”were one of the north west tribes banned from holding or participating in the “potlatch” 200 years ago, you might know.
Basically it is a far more empowering structure than any other, but it used the unconscious mind directly, and rome removed all knowledge of that so that the ultimate forms of secrecy could flourish into the problems people cite in these comments.
Our ability to adapt and evolve requires us to use our entire mind. Not just the puny 14%+- of the conscious capacity.
I’ve been reading parts of this article and the following debate. I was wondering if I should help SumOfUs financially in it’s campaign to support the legal fight a resident is facing against a mining multinational in Conga Project, Peru. I hardly know SumOfUs. So many organizations out there!
Despite the fact that reading this brings in more questions than answers, two certainties come out to me: it is important for me to gradually understand the complex reality, from different points of view, and to act. To act. Talking is not enough.
I sweep away all the black and white-type affirmations. For example, I support Greenpeace, even though its European campaign against seal hunting is based on so many lies. I don’t have to agree on the approach taken by SumOfUs in order to support some of its campaigns. Like this one. I could be proactive and support an artisanal and small-scale mining cooperative instead (and I will do when I find out how), but for now, the only way I know of preventing this large-scale environmental and social disaster is by supporting this SumOfUs campaign.
Give and take, as we say. Especially from organisations that inform without nuances, including WKOG.
I do see your perspective, but the temporal proportion of change of society does not work with it. Transition takes time AND mass communication.
Are you ready to work towards that first?
Give me a call is you are. 8059674055
Those of you asking the author ‘what can we do?’ positing a false either-or fallacy of ‘SumOfUs or nothing’, need to realise the author makes their suggestion and intent clear: instead of lobbying corporations who merely change their PR spin in response but make no real fundamental changes (can anyone confidently say that SumOfUs has actually successfully eliminated child slavery from Apple’s production lines?), the author is proposing a *complete and total boycott of the product*.
Essentially, their argument is that SumOfUs allows people to make the token gesture of donating an amount (I suspect far less than even the paid-for cost any of said Apple goods you might buy, for example) and signing a petition without doing any of the actual hard graft that comes from doing the right thing (a criticism echoed even in South park with ‘but I have a [wrist]band for it!’).
Morality often comes down to making hard choices: convenience, money and social acceptance versus doing the right thing.
Nor is this preaching to the choir. I already refuse to purchase from numerous corporations, much to my inconvenience. I do not purchase nor use any Apple goods, I actively avoid Tescos, I supplant google with duckduckgo, I will no longer purchase computers that have parts made by HP (and, where possible, IBM). Both Coke Cola and Pepsi are on my boycott list (I haven’t had their drinks for years, and if I do feel a craving for a cola, I get the store brand one). I refuse loyalty cards left, right and centre (their successes only achieved via the mass adoption by the people looking to save a few mere pennies). I shun primark and their blood stained garments.
I don’t own a smartphone, but then I know I’ve done my bit to chip away from child slavery. I don’t buy the latest electronic computers generating waste, I literally purchase second hand laptops and keep them running beyond their year by switching to Linux OSes (subverting Microsoft as well). I use laptops as they consume less energy. I have a laptop that literally had to have it’s screen hinges from sheer amount of use broken before I’d even consider replacing it. It’s over 15 years old.
Sound horrifying? Not as horrifying as actively purchasing expensive, child slave made components.
No alternative solutions offered. Do you deny the need to network, work in collaboration, fund efforts.
It is not the role of Wrong Kind of Green to find or administer solutions. It is our task to inform the public that there is a crisis at hand of apocalyptic proportions.
To use an analogy, a doctor may inform a patient that he or she has an illness. If there is no cure available, then it is not up to the doctor to find a solution when the ailment itself is incurable. The global capitalist system is dependent on industrial civilization to experience the requisite amount of growth to stay alive. That is the problem. WKOG proffers that there is no cure for this illness if the belief is that these circumstances can continue ad infinitum.
However, even if there was a possible or even probable solution, this would only be applicable if there was acknowledgement of a problem. This has not been the case in mainstream society and is the primary issue when it comes to addressing these voluminous amount of catastrophes that humanity is being presented with in growing rapidity. In whatever form of lucid response one may present as a solution, it must be done in a group fashion with all of humanity on board. There is no evidence that this type of collective response is on the horizon. This is an objective reality.
That being said, WKOG doesn’t discourage anyone who has a legitimate plan to address any of the issues at hand. Although we reserve the right to critique it in as honest fashion and will reply to all questions, concerns and responses regarding the aforementioned critique.
somebody sounds incredibly paid off…for future reference, writing or verbal, in an argument, you cannot EVER use the terms never or always…because 99.999% of the time its wrong…this rant includes the word never in every other sentence…wise up…think…then write…
Wrong Kind of Green is a grassroots organization where the entirety of our work is done through volunteerism. We are not paid shills and have no other funding outside of the few resources we have coming out of our own pockets.
In regards to our word usage, the critique of any of the wording is the opinion of the poster. We allow any valid analysis and provide a safe space for those who disagree with our viewpoint. Yet, the condescending tone is neither needed or warranted in this regard. WKOG will not go back and forth in a meaningless online battle with unknown parties. However, we will defend our work with great vociferousness to anyone at any time.
Thank you
I read your article as I genuinely want to have an impact somehow. I’ve always been worried about the earth, but apart from ceasing to exist, what can a human do? Is there any activism group that you think is getting somewhere?
Wrong Kind of Green appreciates your thoughts on this matter. Although our primary task is to provide the unfiltered truth to the masses regarding the state of global affairs, we are collectively and individually concerned about the progress (or lack thereof) in confronting these issues at an organizational level. At this time, WKOG can’t in good conscience advocate any particular group or organization, although we hope to be able to provide you more information in this respect in the not too distant future.
Please check back periodically to our website since we will be making modifications and doing a more concerted effort of offering groups and organizations that we feel are at least attempting to address our myriad amount of problems in an honest fashion.
Thank you as always for your support.
Absolutely fantastic message. Until the white-hating.
Please start calling a spade a spade instead of stereotyping. That’s no better than racism.
Wrong Kind of Green doesn’t advocate hate of any kind. Although we acknowledge that there are certain forces that are at hand that influence the overall problem of global environmental destruction. These things include misogyny, patriarchy, classism and racism, which is more directly white supremacy. Therefore, this article speaks specifically about a phenomena that has been plaguing the Earth for centuries now and has led to a global ethnic hierarchy that can’t be denied by any honest assessment of the past few hundred years.
Hence, there is no stereotyping present in the article and WKOG doesn’t advocate such things. However, any emotional responses or hurt feelings to the truth are not our issues. Any critical analysis of the article itself is something we are more than willing to engage in and have a discourse with any informed parties.
Thank you.
Haven’t i met you at a coffie shop? If you used a computer to make this web page, if you wear clothes, buy your food at the grocery store, then you are a consumer and you are part of the capitalistic system you claim we all should reject entirely. Done with it.
WKOG acknowledges that we live in a Western society where your survival is dependent on doing all of the aforementioned things. As we advocate individual and collective preparation for when this capitalist system meets its inevitable end through adaptation and acclimation, the above rant doesn’t discuss the article itself. It is just a flimsy attempt to cast aspersions on those of us who have no choice but to live in a Western society, of which there is no escape since its tentacles traverse the entire Earth at this juncture.
Therefore, WKOG’s primary goal is to address the problems even if there are conflicts of interest on a personal level as we reside in circumstances that are beyond our control many times as human beings with little power. In that role as journalists, we are attempting to advocate for truth and honesty in our reporting. We are beholden to nothing else.
No such thing as climate change as it’s a natural cyclic pattern on earth due to the sun. Humans were made to feel guilty for something that is totally out of their control so they themselves could be controlled. SunofUs is a shadow government controlled movement to divert attention away from the real problems of this world. Read the Wes Penre papers and learn a little bit.
K’ sooooo all those nuclear missiles we detonated in the southwest in the 50s have nothing to do with that big ass hole in the ozone?
Please refrain from blatant lies and untruths on the page. We will defend your right to say such insanity and even allow it on the website since WKOG doesn’t believe in censorship, except for basic rules of conduct (i.e. no vulgarity, personal attacks, spam, etc.). However, we will always respond accordingly. This post deserves admonishment and nothing else.
I thought the article was good.Nice to see how all those groups were inter-connected. Well act locally, dah! I read thru half the comments and think people don’t know Buckminster Fuller’s definition of the purpose of life which is to to absorb more energy from the sun using less and less. So we have that, we have Karl Marx. Dudes just get er done.
People here keep saying Mr. Morningstar does not posit a solution to corporate greed but he does repeatedly throughout the article–STOP BUYING THEIR PRODUCTS.
You know, once upon a time when people cared about fighting corporations, they boycotted certain companies and certain products to get there point across and it worked. Pleading with these companies doesn’t work. You have to take away their money to get them to listen.
Although gender specifics aren’t the most important thing in the world, the writer is MS. Morningsar and he is a she. Just a clarification to those who thought otherwise.
Thank you
Read
“The Six Extinction”
Nothing worse than an enviro-greeny who attacks other enviro-greenies for not solving the problem with a magical solution that they so fervently argue for.
Much like the guy that produced that Cowspiracy doco.
Get off your butt and offer the magical solution you have to solve the problem. Stop throwing others under the bus, trying to do the same thing in a different way.
Once again, Wrong Kind of Green is here to inform the public. What the public does with that information is entirely up to the individual and the collective. Therefore, character assassination and aspersions don’t change the truth of the matter.
Thank you.
If we don’t stand up we already lost……
I think he’s saying we need to ditch capitalism, false democracy and the new religion of consumerism promoted by Apple and tech companies that are persuading us that our future is digital rather than human. This last year or two it seems for the majority to be becoming increasingly impossible for us to think for ourselves, do without the very latest gadgets that are trashing the planet behind the scenes and distracting us from what it is, or was to simply be human with simpler needs. If the man is angry, can’t really blame him, he’s trying to persuade people to think about rampant consumerism on an individual level and where it leads to. Destruction of everything INCLUDING all the things we now feel we simply must have to function, survive, such as iPhones, i Pads, etc. We’re human, not robots but there are now conferences in Europe where scientists literally plan to make us half human, half borg, based on how we have so happily embraced tech in recent years, a situation we would have disbelieved, laughed at, shuddered at a decade ago. Now most people won’t even notice the transition. Who decides where we are all headed, When we look outward all the time to the latest thing, we lose touch more and more with ourselves and the natural world. Perhaps we will all eventually disappear into the tech that we have so embraced and become one with it in ‘the singularity’ and no longer mourn the passing of whatever we and the planet once were.
well… first i supported SoU. then i read the article (all the way through BTW) and decided NOT to support SoU. then i read some of the comments and decided to continue to support the SoU… and then i read some more comments and decided not to support the SoU… and then i decided that i am not very good at deciding.
Sorry Corey I could only read your first para because the way I read the end of the Sum Of Us statement is that they are not saying feed the system they are pointing out that those who consume their products, own their shares and who vote are the ones who have the power if they do something with it…most people do not for varying reasons, some say it’s stupidity, apathy, social distractions, fluoride…but people in general are becoming more aware of what is really going on
Great article – it is easy to see organizations like this and get complacent with our current situation in society. We should be thinking critically and questioning the way we conduct our economic, social and political affairs. SumofUs.org is not challenging the system we live in, but trying to appease it. But they try to do what they can within their limits – the question is, should we press on? The bigger question is, how can we? There are lots of people who want a more aggressive fight, but there aren’t any visible organizations that are as well planned out and visibly acceptable as SumofUs.org. For now, personally, I will support them as they are and have done good work with spreading awareness and stopping more harm being done to bees, among other activities that other organizations do nothing about. They’ve done some work against GMOs which no other organization will touch, and have worked with on the ground activists around the world, which I support. I have turned my back on other organizations like NRDC, Sierra Club, among others since they are not doing anything and taking a large chunk of the overhead (CEOs make $300,000 and up). Until I hear otherwise and I do more research, SumofUs.org seems to have the most dedicated people, thinking more extreme than the other Charity Organization scams out there.
SumOfUs December 7, 2015 UPDATE: The Human Rights Commission in the Philippines has just agreed to investigate Exxon and 49 other top polluters.
Seems like a worthwhile campaign to me. It takes balls to put energy into something and fight for an outcome like this.
It’s easy to label an organisation as ‘Corporate Whores’. It’s an attractive soundbite and a great putdown. But what does it actually mean? And what does it mean ‘some of us are not’?
Is what is happening here that someone who isn’t doing anything is criticising some people who are and putting them down in a smart, witty way, and in doing so feeling superior?
Yes it is true that the capitalist system as we practise it is deeply flawed to the point of being mindlessly stupid and of perpetrating actions that often fit the label ‘evil’. And it is difficult to do something substantial that actually has a hope of making change happen. But to change it you have to start somewhere. Have a go at whoever you want Cory but I for one say to you, get real about your motives and the negative impact your comments make. (and I realise it was three years ago so something might have changed for you by now) . Does your criticism of SumOfUs help or hinder them when they are in action? And have you done anything remotely as
effective in the same time as them?
Wrong Kind of Green is only concerned about providing facts, news and information to the masses. As we are a grassroots organization that doesn’t have the resources of other groups, it is unfair to compare our small pool of resources with NGOs who get better funding from more lucrative sources, be it corporate or individual donations. Therefore to expect WKOG to be able to compete with these more powerful entities is beyond irrational.
Hence, WKOG’s criticism of SumOfUs is not unwarranted since the facts speak for themselves. We welcome all responses regarding the information presented.
Thank you.
in a way I hestitate to post this, but it has become a very interesting read. I gave up eventually, skimmed to the end when it became obvious how long it was. the comments were also interesting.
I encourage anybody with the time to actually read the whole thing.
long story short, it seems to support my previous post about selectively consuming the products of “ethical” organizations. but it also says a lot more than that.
http://www.wrongkindofgreen.org/…/sumofus-are-corporate-wh…/
I’ll also propose my own solution, or rather, the solution that I, along with one industry in particular, has concluded is the -only- solution likely to be acceptable to most people. space exploration. space devellopment. we’re raping the earth which is the only place we can currently get hold of the raw materials we need? and happens to be the only place in the universe known to harbor life as we know it? well.. why not get all those minerals, etc, from space? plenty out there, just hard to get at. well, maybe not for long. there are companies in silicon valley pressing hard for asteroid mining. they’ll succeed. give them a few years.. with the resources of space in space, and shipped back to earth to make solar pannels, or the pannels made in space and the power beamed to the earth..
yes, the solution to our problems? more technology? sure
smile emoticon
think about it!
grin emoticon
all of us consuming less and taking more pleasure in simple things and loving each-other, also awesome!
grin emoticon
even all of us deciding to live the simple life, however, isn’t a solution. there is some simple math involving the volume of a person, the amount of time they are permitted to exist on earth, what fraction of are allowed to reproduce, the volume of the surface of the earth (multiplied by the “habitable altitude”). any way you cut it, we end up in space. if you want details, ask, I’m tired of typing..
tongue emoticon
..it’s all a question of timing. which one happens first? the earth destroyed by plundering, or us in space the earth left alone finally to be turned into a paradise? if methods of putting pressure on corporations to “do the right thing” is one way of buying time for the tech heads to do their thing.. maybe not such a bad idea..
I really encourage discussion on this.. it isn’t simple. lee? I’m sure you’ll have something to say about this..
Late to this string obviously but… what is the point of this rant? Do nothing? Fuck everyone? Seriously? How about offering an alternative solution? Organization like Sumofus may in fact be ineffective at this stage but I must include this post in that category too.
I can’t stand articles like this one. What good does it do to point out all of the problems and criticize anyone attempting to make a change yet you propose no solution(s)? What are you doing to change the world other than sit in your apartment and blog about all the problems in the world and criticize any movement for change? I agree with most of the problems highlighted in your article, but what ideas do you have to change the world? In absence of any solutions you are just a doomsday preacher and the person that no one invites to parties anymore. I like many other people, know that the world is corrupt, controlled by a very wealthy elite and that incremental purchases can’t go on forever given our current environmental issues. Most people know that, the hard part is figuring out the solution. At least organizations like sumofus and others are advocating for change. You can’t solve the worlds largest problems overnight and you aren’t going to change consumer demand overnight either. We have to think of new and innovative ways that bring about meaningful change. At the end of the day, if the world is going to fall apart, I’d rather go down trying then being a miserable critic.
WKOG believes in solutions also, but we don’t advocate false solutions that don’t address the problems at hand. WKOG proffers that SumOfUs is nothing but a continuance of ‘business as usual’ in the capitalist system with all evidence showing this to be the case. An honest critique in that respect is what WKOG strives to do for our readership.
Thank you
I basically agree with what you have said, I sign these petitions but it feels lazy and insufficient. On the othe hand I have a busy job working with disenfranchised, stigmatised people which I think is important, three kids and a home to look after. I am terrified for my kids future but actually don’t know what more I can do with no free time as it is to change things. Part of me wants to give it all up and devote all my time to this because everything else feels like rearranging the deck chairs on the titanic -but What could I do? So in the meantime I put up solar panels, take the bus and sign petitions.
Don’t you think it’s still better to do SOMETHING, than just idly sit around and fantasize about a total complete global revolution? I think it’s a worthy goal to improve ASPECTS of capitalism than to just aim for its complete destruction.
You claim to be a citizen – not a consumer – but I venture to say that you too consume. It is not easy/feasible to opt out of consuming, but it is worthwhile to consume rationally and ethically.
WKOG’s critique is not meant to tell anyone what to do in this regard. Our goal is to focus on the systemic failures that are inherent in the NGO movements. In that vein, people are free to do what they want. We just provide the information and evidence. What people decided to do after they have been provided with these things along with critical analysis is entirely up to them.
Thank you.
A very good message delivered through a very hateful perspective. It’s true that the current system is totally corrupt and beyond saving. Largely because of it’s core premiss of exploitation of the earth for financial growth, which is completely unsustainable. I think of Sumofus and other organizations like them as the ones who impede the progress of evil corporate giants like Monsanto who now intend to sue the countries of Central America to force their farmers to use their frankenseeds. Help is on the way to establish a new foundation for a true civilization to arise and flourish on planet earth, but it’s not yet ready to go fully online. It’s a common theme in story telling of help being on the way, but to stall for time, things are done that, by themselves, could never save the dying person, but they can delay the death until the serum arrives. I suggest that what groups like Sumofus are doing is just that. Stalling for time to keep the destroyers of civilization at bay just long enough for the serum to be fully applied. I also suggest that the calvary coming over the hill is made up of people within the human race that can see the same thing vile things happening to us as you do, but are actively seeking solutions to them. I believe there are benevolent forces that want to see the human race succeed. Many religions are founded because of them and many people pray to them “To show the fuck up and help us already”. Some people will pass that off as infantile fantasy, but what is not fantasy is that solutions exist. You pointed some of them out. The evil that exists in this world can be thought of to be caused by a cosmic cancer that infects the left brain of individuals. It isolates some of them to the point of cutting them off from many human emotions and qualities. The common term for them is sociopaths. Some are complete and others are partial but they all pretty much work for the same team. And these emotions and qualities I’m speaking of are essential to work together as a family and turn things around. The cure is now being applied. It shows itself in the form of organizations forming that have at their core the premiss that we are an element and/or guest of planet earth and through cooperation we can build a sustainable model in which all life will thrive. The old system is collapsing all around us. We just have to hang on until the new systems are mature enough to stand on their own. It really is happening, it’s just not reported in the corporate media.
WKOG stands by its perspective on these matters, be they construed as “hateful” or anything else. The information has been provided to all who want to see it and our response may not be palatable to some, but it is indicative of the seriousness of the times in which we reside at this moment. As that is the case, WKOG will continue to write in the most stark terms possible to reflect our current situation that is worsening with each passing day.
Thank you.
I think this message is supposed to get people thinking more objectively about what’s going on. Most people know the world is going downhill but are in denial of how soon a massive correction may hit us. It’s supposed to make us realize that just contributing to the odd Environmental/social group and recycling is probably a negligible contribution to making the changes required to save our civilization. Our species is still too driven by basic survival instincts to maintain an advanced civilization for very long. I think there are individuals who have enough control over short sightedness, greed, competition, etc to form a sustainable tecnologically advanced civilization but I don’t know if any will survive the correction to do so. I think we will unleash the full extent of the sixth mass extinction on the planet and life will bounce back. In the meantime, I try to only buy used things to avoid any packaging and contribution to unnecessary manufacturing, don’t buy things that need to be recycled, try not to buy things in the first place and , one day soon, hope to be living off grid growing my own food, producing zero garbage, sewage, etc. but just because I would enjoy a very basic lifestyle doesn’t mean I want to go all the way back to a rudimentary society. I love science because it is facinating, objective, and has protocols in place to weed out propaganda. I think it can be the key to evolutuion of the human species to something more responsible. Most are not ready for that. Most still believe we are the pinnacle of evolution. That would be very disappointing if it were true.
Better to have tried and failed than not have tried at all and I guess these people were raised to believe they could achieve anything they put their minds to.
So what solution do you propose?
Rather than prompting us to despair at the hopelessness of our predicament (which you make abundantly clear), do you have a suggestion for how we who are aware of these things should live our lives?
I’m still waiting for someone to explain to me how my purchase of an iPhone is causing global warming on Mars because the entire solar system is warming up not just earth. And as for exploitation – I don’t agree with it but every race has done it when given the opportunity – hell the old testament even endorses it. Just face facts – we’re a flawed species and the planet would be better off without us. Why try and halt that process?
I hear from your article your frustration, tiredness and anger that comes from the powerlessness that we are all experiencing from what seems as the collapsing and corruptedness of everything on the planet.
I completely understand…. I hear ya man!
however do we just sit here and watch the world collapse with apathy? It seems to me, that most of the population feel so powerless to these massive corporations exploiting nature, people etc, and therefore they don’t do ‘anything’. This, my friend, is called apathy. It’s giving up and giving in. And that is exactly how and why all of this has come about.
What are *you* doing about this Cory? I’d really like to know. Because if you’re doing something about it, then tell me about it. I’ll get on board too….
These large corporations/mining companies thrive on people’s apathy… so if orgs like sumofus, etc out there exist and are spending their time fighting against them.. I will support them.
I am very happy to sign petitions, donate some money to help contribute a little bit towards the big fight. yes its a big fight. … at least I’m not suffering from the soul destroying disease of apathy.
Have you actually thought of why sumofus exist? it’s so they can get enough people together, even more people – get the word out there to try and tip the balance. If people like you sit on the fence and don’t make any move then the power of course won’t be tipped… get it?
Attacking symptoms and ‘popular issues’ IS a waste of time and resources and DOES divert attention from where it needs to be. Its all well and good to ramble valiant quotes like “we are fighting…” but this guy is right, you are wasting your time because you’re focussed on the wrong issues, what makes it whorish is that the issues which ARE focused on by sou are popular issues rather than systemic issues.
the fact that you miss the article’s point is even more worrying. There’s no way you missed the point, so you’re clearly trying to write a buzzy rebuttal post to retain whoever you can who may find their way here.
i was a supporter and now I’m not.
your cause is superficial and worthless because it only floats with the surface issues.
Thanks for your response lev186211… I understand completely what you and Corey are highlighting… You feel that it’s a pointless enterprise for organisations like sumofus who address the symptoms rather than the causes and thus you feel they’re not getting anywhere, and you also see a hypocrisy with the organisation. I see your point.
However do you understand what I’m questioning? What are YOU and Corey (and other like-minded people) doing to address the entire systemic change that needs to take place? I see people pointing fingers and complaining about the world and how everything’s failing yet doing nothing about it themselves. And that’s exactly what I see both you and Corey doing here. I will appreciate and respect your blogs even more if you could recommend an action that is working at addressing the foundational changes needed.
It concerns me that people like yourselves seem to look at everything, can see all the faults in the world (like many of us do) and tear organisations like sumofus apart (who by the way I’m no way affiliated with).
Yes it’s certainly become one big planetary systemic hot mess. So where are YOU going to start? Seriously?
I stand by my last posting… organisations like sumofus may be addressing local issues and perhaps contradicting themselves, but by raising awareness to the little things, brings a greater awareness to the bigger things – people begin to wake up and think, and then through building greater support and awareness that’s where changes can eventually be made – at a grass roots level – and finally, where the balance of power can tip.
What I wonder is whether you see the complexity of it all, and sit back and make apathetic comments like “it’s systemic” and maybe due to the complexity of it all, you feel you cannot do anything about it and therefore don’t do anything… please correct me if I’m wrong here. I would like to be. Do tell me what you’re doing about it? I’ll back it too.
If you want change, don’t go pulling grass roots organisations down, don’t defame them and highlight all their faults, blog about the causes or organisations that you ‘do’ see working. You’re only invoking more apathy and hopelessness among people. And ultimately you’re adding to the power of corporations.
Here’s a tip, bring solutions to your complaints…. you’ll be listened to.
Thank you for the respectful nature of your rebuttal, Kat.
let me give you the information you have asked for.
this is what i do to make a difference personally:
– i make regular donations to sci show, getup, sea shepherd, burger off, lighthouse foundation and most of all sumofus. (yes, its true).
– i spread word everywhere online and offline commentary of serious issues which can make fundamental difference if avoided, strategically in the chronology.
– i am bringing up my two children to be aware of the real state of play and am hoping they too will spread word.
– i am preparing for a disaster, be it medical, economic, militaristic or otherwise with a clear plan to make a push for a positive new system through action and incitement.
Regarding as to why i support sumofus through donation and message sharing and yet criticise it so heavily is because of the wasted sharing potential and poor strategies because of distraction by the superficial. The problem this necessary organisation represents is that it represents for many the entire focus from the willing of world issues. Ie. They are hoarding focus and support and squandering it. They are still positively effective however and are cost effective for the beneficial results they do provide, so i support them.
In answer to your request for a solution, it is this:
Educate your children, pay for good schooling.
Prepare yourselves for impact with a plan for what you will do when shit hits the fan, with support of the implementation for a less corrupt system when the dust settles.
Enlighten your friends to the reality and spread the word.
Choose 1-6 worthy organisations to donate 10% of your expendable income to. Think of this last part as a fix world tax.
It works like this; the planning for disaster is a long term backup plan which can potentially give out an instant win in a desperate situation. The fix world tax promotes your own ideals as well as pushes everything in those directions to some minor extent. Spreading the word is the push forward, especially if the individuals share your ideals, but it is important that everyone promotes their own ideals, so you may want to be private about what those are.
Finally, education. Education is the hope for our race. If the planet is to become democratic capitalist then it is imperative that we vote smart. This is a contingency for defeat. If we must ask ourselves if we can save ourselves, we must also be prepared for the event that the answer is no… And then only our children can save us.
There you have it. A strategic and realistic proposal for how we can move forward and save the world from itself.
Local issues consuming focus disproportionately as though they were the kardashians of ethical resistance movements hurt any effective movement from taking off as a weed would strangle a rose. However, when these organisations enjoy proportionate focus, they can be more effective themselves as well as not getting in the way.
As it stands, these organisations dominate the spotlight and therefore really have the ability to promote a cause or strategy for change but fail to do so. Their failure to do this i guess could delay progress by years.
I respect your support for sumofus, but do not forget that they are currently failing us and good intentions are not enough in the harsh real world.
By the way, i refer to support of sumofus in the past tense as i do not donate anymore to them. I did not make that clear or even mention it really.
By the way, i should make clear that i no longer support sumofus because of this article. I wasn’t clearly speaking in past tense where i should have been above.
So we just sit here and suck it all up? Someone has to start somewhere. The big corporations relish and rely on people just like you to let them do as they please, because it’s “too hard” to fight them back. Apathy is death to the soul and the to the planet for that matter.
Pretty much an incoherent, rambling message here. Lop off about 900 words, organize your thoughts, and see if your message gets across after that.
So we revolt against the capitalist system? Society would need a bigger disaster to prompt that.
Thank u so much for the enlightenment!
And your message is supposed to achieve what?…exactly?
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