Sorry to Inconvenience You

‘Let me get this straight,’ begins the snarky meme, ‘I go to the store and buy ham wrapped in plastic, bread in a plastic bag, milk in a plastic jug, mustard in a plastic container, etc., and they won’t give me a plastic bag to carry it home because it’s bad for the environment?’

There are three very straightforward answers: 1) Yes, it’s only one thing, but at least it’s a start; 2) Yes, it’s a start and people are working on better non-plastic wrapping for those other items as well; and 3) Yes, life on our planet (including that of your kids and grandkids) depends on all of us drastically reducing plastic waste. Sorry that you may have been inconvenienced such that you felt the need to repost this smart little meme.

Another meme making the rounds shows a pile of trash along with the words, ‘Thank God California banned plastic straws.’ This ridicule is along the same lines as that of the plastic bag one, and of course, the response is the same. We have to start somewhere. Once again, sorry to inconvenience you.

Finally, there have been all kinds of memes making fun of Greta Thunberg. These are the meanest of all, and the least defensible. Much has been written about these attacks, including dontpoopinthepool posts, The Latest from the Right, and The Attacks on Greta Thunberg Continue. Thank goodness that the frequency of these mean attacks appears to be subsiding.

Yes, everyone wants to be funny, and everyone wants to appear smart. There are better ways to do so than taking sides against the environment. Even when you’re inconvenienced.