There used to be something called "limousine liberals." Now we have "prius progressives." After toasting their willingness to do something for the environment with an organic wine purchased at Whole Foods, last year they successfully lobbied the California legislature to create a special decal that allows hybrid vehicles to drive in HOV (high occupancy vehicle) lanes.
The equivalent of the smily face button during the 70s--a time of U.S. sponsored war crimes, recession and presidential travesty--the hybrid decal points to how car drivers live in a fairyland disconnected from the excrement they produce. It's as if the only natural resource consumed by cars is a highly refined bundle of biological waste, the collection of which often devastates an ecosystem. Cars also consume metals, rubber, glass and plastic made from raw materials that are abstracted in ways that bring wealth to global elites and destroy the lives of native populations. The example of the "World's Biggest Mine" operated by Freeport in West Papau shows how hard it is to scrub the blood from our modern technology.
"Prius progressives" heap scorn on smog spewing junkers, but they are responsible for perpetuating auto-normativity, while driving something that costs only a little less than a Lexus. The Prius is actually engineered to get better mileage in city driving than on the highway, and for half the price you can buy a Toyota Yaris, which gets over 40 mpg on the highway. If I had the money this is what I would buy. And when I first step in to breathe deeply that "new car smell", I would get high from the slight scent of dead flesh emanating from the dashboard. . . remembering that modernity is nothing but cannibalism by another name.
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