Odd People

ODD PEOPLE

by Antonio C. Antonio

June 5, 2014

“Environmentalism” and “environmentalists” are enigmatic words and terms that still gives cold chills down the spines of a lot of people.  Environmentalists and environmental advocates are, perhaps, one of the most misunderstood groups of people in the world.  Environmental issues and concerns are seemingly not that popular, are not the “in” things and are ordinarily brushed aside as immaterial or inconsequential to people’s daily lives.  Pro-environment people are often described as “odd”.

This is not to say though that people generally do not care.  The underlying stake of everyone is for a better future for tomorrow’s generations.  Undeniably, all human beings are concerned, even in varying levels, about the future.  Therefore, it will not be fair to assume that people, in all their goodness, will deliberately harm Mother Earth.

Global warming, protracted winters, abnormally strong typhoons and flooding caused by torrential rains are enough warning signs to mankind that something is terribly wrong.  There are those who are of the opinion that people will only react when they could already feel the effect of any inconvenience in their lives.  Changes in weather conditions provide the impetus to generate reactions.  After Typhoon Yolanda, now is the best time to engage the public in the re-examination of their roles and contributions to these dire and troublesome changes.  But engaging the public is not everything… people should understand the consequence of environmental abuse.

“Normal” people have a tendency to look and treat “odd” people in a condescending way.  Their behaviour is often seen as eccentric because the manner by which “odd” people show concern for the environment, process present situations, then engage others to some kind of individual or collective action is not commonly understood.  We should bear in mind that what is more important is why “odd” people show concern for the environment… that “odd” people only want a better world for the future generations.  Do we share this concern or not?  If we do not share their concern for the environment, it doesn’t necessarily mean we are “normal”.  If we do share their concern for the environment, it doesn’t necessarily mean we are “odd”.

Just my little thoughts…