Waxing Philosophical from The Matrix

[jack's smirking revenge]

There's a quote that has stuck in my mind ever since I saw the movie. It's not as flashy as some of the other quotes from the movie, but it gave me a different perspective about our species. It's a pretty dark quote and I apologize in advance if this is too negative. Rings true to me. Occurs to me that we can't coexist with this planet or very well with each other. Thoughts?

Agent Smith: I'd like to share a revelation that I've had during my time here. It came to me when I tried to classify your species. I realized that you're not actually mammals. Every mammal on this planet instinctively develops a natural equilibrium with the surrounding environment, but you humans do not. You move to an area, and you multiply, and multiply, until every natural resource is consumed. The only way you can survive is to spread to another area. There is another organism on this planet that follows the same pattern. A virus. Human beings are a disease, a cancer of this planet, you are a plague, and we are the cure.

tyler

[Tyrone Bigguns]

There's a quote that has stuck in my mind ever since I saw the movie. It's not as flashy as some of the other quotes from the movie, but it gave me a different perspective about our species. It's a pretty dark quote and I apologize in advance if this is too negative. Rings true to me. Occurs to me that we can't coexist with this planet or very well with each other. Thoughts?

Agent Smith: I'd like to share a revelation that I've had during my time here. It came to me when I tried to classify your species. I realized that you're not actually mammals. Every mammal on this planet instinctively develops a natural equilibrium with the surrounding environment, but you humans do not. You move to an area, and you multiply, and multiply, until every natural resource is consumed. The only way you can survive is to spread to another area. There is another organism on this planet that follows the same pattern. A virus. Human beings are a disease, a cancer of this planet, you are a plague, and we are the cure.

tyler

Not really true. Plenty of other mammals overbreed. Living in Wisco I woulda thunk you would recognize that....we cull the deer every year.

[mraynrand]

I've been living in the same area for for years now and I STILL haven't breathed all the air there is to breath. Guess I won't have to move just yet.

[Deputy Nutz]

Our deer herd might be overpopulated, but at the same time we are moving into their natural habitat with our expanding suburbs. We frankly see more deer because we just built our home on the deer's drinking hole and food source, where are they supposed to go? Them little fuckers don't have GPS.

I totally agree with the quote. I ain't no stinking environmentalist regardless of what my signature might lead you to believe. But I am a conservationist and it sickens me to see the expansion of stinking developments land right on natural habitats. Then we have these fucking moron assholes that get pissed because the fucking deer keep eating their fucking tulips, and shitting all over their shit hole flower beds. The deer didn't migrate 400 miles to eat you shitty flowers, they were there eating the farmers corn before you decided to buy your lovely new shitbox of a house that looks like every other piece of shit in your new state of the art subdivision. Then the builders or developers have the god damn nerve to name the fucking crap shoot something like "Deer Run Parks".

Don't tell me that people need those new homes, have you seen the assholes that buys those fucking cookie cutter piles of donkey shit? Yuppy assholes that used to be vegetarians in college because they thought it would get them layed by some slutty flee bag hippy whore. They won't eat a fucking steak 6 years ago because of cruelty to animals, but yet they can build a fucking home on what use to be a natural habitat to 100s of different species of wild life, on top of that they want to kill the fucking racoons, deer, woodchuck, turkey, because they ate a fucking rose bush, or they knocked over your stinking ass garabage can. These are the people that want to get away from the city, and most likely get away from the minorities that are moving into their current suburbs.

Finally these assholes that are so proud of their new home cause another problem. Due to their "need" to get away from the city, and the "crime rate" in their current location, they have to drive 37 miles each way to work in the fucking city. You say so what, but hey their gass chugging Bluto type SUVs are spending our natural fuel source right out the fucking door. So what if the fucking tank only gets 8 miles to the gallon? Asshole will drive that fucker 70 miles round trip in 95 degree heat with the air conditioner blasting the whole fucking way.

So to answer your depressing little question Tyler, yes that little quote of yours is one of the closest things to truth that I ever read or heard.

[hurleyfan]

Cmon nutz, tell us how you really feel!

Good post, and a great response!

[MJZiggy]

Great Rant, Nutz! It's like people who move to the end of a runway and expect the airport to reduce their noise.

My question is, when we've plopped a subdivision on every bit of farmland in the country, what are we supposed to do for food...?

[SkinBasket]

Don't worry, global warming will destroy us soon.

Seriously though, isn't that how species come to an equilibrium with nature? They overexpand until something goes terribly wrong (disease, starvation, "global warming"), the population crashes, and equilibrium is established. Or in the case of the matrix, giant robots kill everyone.

Then the deer will run shit and we'll see how ya'll like it then when they're rubbing their lyme infested chronic wasting bodies all over you just because they can.

[Deputy Nutz]

Then the deer will run shit and we'll see how ya'll like it then when they're rubbing their lyme infested chronic wasting bodies all over you just because they can.

Crazy Robot Deer Disease, seen it a hundred times.

[SkinBasket]

Then the deer will run shit and we'll see how ya'll like it then when they're rubbing their lyme infested chronic wasting bodies all over you just because they can.

Crazy Robot Deer Disease, seen it a hundred times.

I spent my first 10 yaers or so growing up on a farm near Baraboo. Lots of corn fields. Lots of deer. I named the 3 footed one who would come to the horse's salt licks "Lucky." The next hunting season one of my dad's hunting buddies shot Lucky. He died.

[Deputy Nutz]

Poor lucky, first birth defect from pesticides, then a prideful hunter taking am at the poor three legged deer.

[Little Whiskey]

nutz, i would classify myself with you in the conservationalist group. I'm not a tree hugger, but it pains me to see a guy build his cottage on a wooded lake lot then tear all the trees down so he can get a better view, or these same guys fish a private lake and always take fish home and during hunting season you hear these guys unload there gun, reload and fire off a few more rounds.

however, to play devils advocate on your position consider this. If you live in a rural area now, how where you able to buy or build your home, unless a farmer "subdivided" his land. why should you beable to live in the country but once you get there all other "subdivision" should cease. so unless you share the same farmer's tan as your dad and grandad, how do you complain. We had the same arguement when my rural community wanted to put in city water. a few people stood up in anger and shouted "I didn't buy this property xx years ago for this community to become a city. first the water will come then more people will move in, then we will have to build bigger roads and gas stations, and shopping malls and schools, next thing you know this is another chicago!!!" people started cheering him and egging him to keep going. after he sat down the next guy got up and said, "if my great grandfather didn't sell his farm out here none of you would be able to live out here in this rural "country". Now once you have gotten what you want, you don't want anybody else to have it as well." it pretty much shut this guy up and the water proposal passed.

[jack's smirking revenge]

Don't worry, global warming will destroy us soon.

Seriously though, isn't that how species come to an equilibrium with nature? They overexpand until something goes terribly wrong (disease, starvation, "global warming"), the population crashes, and equilibrium is established. Or in the case of the matrix, giant robots kill everyone.

Then the deer will run shit and we'll see how ya'll like it then when they're rubbing their lyme infested chronic wasting bodies all over you just because they can.

So, you're suggesting that equilibrium is inevitable? Thus, at some point, our race will face a massive natural correction--or, in your words, "something will go terribly wrong"? Shouldn't we, as an intelligent race with the means and ability to affect the future, stop such forced equilibrium from happening or try to address the problems leading up to such a forced equilibrium?

To me, global warming is a problem, but not as big as overpopulation. The population of our planet is supposed to reach 10 billion by 2050, with a dramatic increase in areas that can't handle the burden of a large society.

tyler

[Little Whiskey]

To me, global warming is a problem, but not as big as overpopulation. The population of our planet is supposed to reach 10 billion by 2050, with a dramatic increase in areas that can't handle the burden of a large society.

tyler

so we should limit population?? maybe kill off the old, the criple, the poor. boy that sounds like a world i want to live in. especially since part of the old group by 2050.

[jack's smirking revenge]

To me, global warming is a problem, but not as big as overpopulation. The population of our planet is supposed to reach 10 billion by 2050, with a dramatic increase in areas that can't handle the burden of a large society.

tyler

so we should limit population?? maybe kill off the old, the criple, the poor. boy that sounds like a world i want to live in. especially since part of the old group by 2050.

I'm not suggesting that at all. That truly would be "culling the herd", to harken back to the deer reference. No, as a race we need to come to terms with the fact that our house is becoming too small for everyone and we need to prepare for that inevitability.

If India is supposed to triple in size and its already bursting at the seams on its sustainable land, then masses will migrate elsewhere--possibly to the United States. If this model happens in other overburdened countries, you can bet we will get migrations from other countries as well. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think the United States is already coming close to maxing out our sustainable land. What happens when we have to continually divide farmland for subdivisions? What happens when there is too little farmland to support the needs of our nation? What happens when we have to drive our deficit into the stratosphere in order to survive, when we have to import massive amounts of food as well as energy?

Sure, these are doom and gloom questions, but imagine a few billion more people on the planet. That simple fact will have an effect on every single aspect of human life.

tyler

[jack's smirking revenge]

Some specifics from the United Nations study on sustainable land in the United States...
http://www.un.org/esa/agenda21/natlinfo/countr/usa/natur.htm#land Note that we converted 34% of the United States crop and pastureland between 1982 and 1992 to urban uses. With a rise in population, that number will continue to increase, decreasing our ability to sustain ourselves.

Land Conservation and Rehabilitation

Of the existing total land area in the United States of 4.7 billion hectares (ha) [1.9 billion acres], about 1.5 billion ha [600 million acres] physical characteristics favorable to crop production: sufficient rainfall, adequate topsoil depth with good water-holding capacity, and gentle slopes. Results from the USDA National Resources Inventory indicate that on the nation's non-federal cropland, erosion decreased by 42 percent between 1982 and 1997.

About 1.6 billion ha (660,000 acres/year) of cropland and pastureland were converted to urban uses in the US during the period 1982 to 1992. Although the cropland base is fairly stable at 939 million ha (380 million acres) since 1992, more than half of the cropland converted to developed land between 1982 and 1992 was considered prime agricultural land. Land converted to cultivated cropland between 1995 and 1997 was generally lower in quality (steeper and more erodible) than the existing cropland area.

[Little Whiskey]

What happens when we have to continually divide farmland for subdivisions? What happens when there is too little farmland to support the needs of our nation?
tyler


sweet!! my 3 acre lot will be worth BIG BUCKS!!! of course i aint talking deer, since they will be long gone. :mrgreen: