George Carlin 1937-2008
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 06.23.08
George Carlin was a Frisbeetarian, meaning that when you die, your soul goes up on the roof and gets stuck; we wonder what roof he is stuck on tonight. In his memory we present his wonderful take on stuff, why we have so much, how our houses are nothing more than a place to keep your stuff while you go out and get more stuff. Rest in peace on a glorious roof somewhere, George Carlin. ::Youtube
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hehehehe... funny guy =)
Peace to you George, thank you for your wise words and passion for a better world. may those who hear your words try as hard as you did and carry on with such a spirit.
It's sad to learn of someone's death but this should not be on treehugger. He actually made a living of making fun of environmentalists.
George Carlin's "The Planet Is Fine"
We're so self-important. So self-important. Everybody's going to save something now. "Save the trees, save the bees, save the whales, save those snails." And the greatest arrogance of all: save the planet. What? Are these f***ing people kidding me? Save the planet, we don't even know how to take care of ourselves yet. We haven't learned how to care for one another, we're gonna save the f***ing planet?
I'm getting tired of that s***. Tired of that s***. I'm tired of f***ing Earth Day, I'm tired of these self-righteous environmentalists, these white, bourgeois liberals who think the only thing wrong with this country is there aren't enough bicycle paths. People trying to make the world safe for their Volvos. Besides, environmentalists don't give a s*** about the planet. They don't care about the planet. Not in the abstract they don't. Not in the abstract they don't. You know what they're interested in? A clean place to live. Their own habitat. They're worried that some day in the future, they might be personally inconvenienced. Narrow, unenlightened self-interest doesn't impress me.
people die all the time, every other day it seems you hear of some celebrity or former celebrity's passing. i have to say though, that George Carlin's death is the first to make me feel genuinely sad, and as if something inherently wonderful has ended.
offering tribute to a wonderful, kind, generous, and hysterically funny man is always appropriate regardless of the normal, everyday purpose of treehugger.
I think it's weird that 'mcark' quoted most of George Carlin's joke BUT LEFT OFF THE PUNCHLINE!!! The punchline turned the whole joke from being a selfish rant into a dire warning:
"The planet has been through a lot worse than us. Been through all kinds of things worse than us. Been through earthquakes, volcanoes, plate tectonics, continental drift, solar flares, sun spots, magnetic storms, the magnetic reversal of the poles…hundreds of thousands of years of bombardment by comets and asteroids and meteors, worlwide floods, tidal waves, worldwide fires, erosion, cosmic rays, recurring ice ages…And we think some plastic bags, and some aluminum cans are going to make a difference? The planet…the planet…the planet isn’t going anywhere. . . . WE ARE!"
Here's a link to the ENTIRE joke, INCLUDING the punchline that radically changes the entire tone fo the rant:
http://gospelofreason.wordpress.com/2007/05/24/george-carlin-the-planet-is-fine/
From the first time I heard this routine, I had to agree that the planet will be fine, with or without humans. Even if it is a desolate rock. But I guess it sounds more noble to say "Save the Planet" than "Save our sorry asses before we drown in our own filth in this cesspool of heavy industry and toxic waste"