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But Hummers make for such hulking, imposing targets as physical stand-ins for all-American arrogance and mindless anti-environmentalism that they routinely come in for drubbings , forcing Prius drivers onto highway shoulders, or demolishing hatchbacks in traffic accidents and emerging largely unscathed. (http://www.popmatters.com/pm/books/reviews/53782/the-hummer-by-elaine-cardenas/)

http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/501/hummer-ins1.jpg
Raymond Cummings - PopMatters - April 2007

This is a book review available at Amazon.com located here (http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_gw/103-1156888-9447068?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=The+Hummer:+Myths+and+Consumer+Culture).

Of the dozens of television commercials for ever-smaller civilian Humvee variants—the H1, the H2, and the H3—my favorite is at once the most realistic and the most preposterous. Realistic, because the spot portrays smirking, monied white Hummer owners walking away from and piloting their mammoth vehicles in ingratiating slow motion; preposterous, because a sanitized version of “Ruff Ryders Anthem”, a 1998 single from hyper masculine, canine-obsessed black rapper DMX ("Stop/Drop/Shut ‘em down, open up shop"), plays over this lifestyle-porn montage.

You’ve gotta love the ironies at work: a domineering statement of hip-hop superiority courtesy of the feared “other” appropriated to sell functionless, beastly status-symbolism to folks able to blow $100,000-plus on an automobile that doesn’t even average 20 miles per gallon. Whereas other spots have made overt attempts to humanize the Hummer or reframe it as a scrappily iconic consumer choice, this one gives it to the public straight: driving this monster demonstrates that you’ve arrived, you’re special, you own the road, you’re ultimately better than everyone else...http://www.popmatters.com/pm/books/reviews/53782/the-hummer-by-elaine-cardenas/

Sat down last night to watch National Geographics 2 hour special, "6 degrees". It painted very graphically the dangers humanity faces by continued indescriminate burning of fossil fuels. There were probably 8 or 9 commercial breaks, maybe more. Every one of the brakes had a different mindless Hummer commercial catering to those who, as this article here says, viewed the Hummer as the "I have arrived" car.

I could not believe it. At first I thought it was a joke! Either what National Geographic is telling me is all BS or those selling Hummers don't really care what National Geographic is saying, for those interested in "arriving" don't really care, as long as they "arrive".

But then I started thinking about this apparent insanity, and concluded that;

1. Being a Capitalistic society we are all motivated to some degree to "arrive". Being "bigger", more costly, using more resources, defines what we are and what our goals are, to "arrive". All-American arrogance, mindless anti-environmentalism, forcing Prius drivers onto highway shoulders, or demolishing hatchbacks, all says "I am bigger than you". "I am better than you". "My money says I can do anything I want to do to you or our society because I have a lot of money".


2. When the needs of our society or the world for that matter, come into conflict with Capitalistic gain or profit, it seems to depend how much is at stake to motivate big business to fight for their profit. Changing toilets so they use less water upset some, and some said " well, not me" and got themselves an old model in defiance. But, by in large there was no fight.

The cars we drive, the amount of oil they use, and how Americans view themselves personally as extensions of "whats under their hood", makes this a fight the Auto/Oil cartel will NOT back down on easilly. The simple fact that you have a show on TV that says that we are defenitely on a one way road to disaster because of our indescriminate and flagrant burning of fossil fuels followed by commercial after commercial of THE MOST flagrant denial of the problem shows me that the Auto/Oil cartel is not going to back down, under any circumstances. There is SSSSSSOOOOOOO much money involved, that they, their lobbyests, their special interest groups, and the auto/oil company executives, will OK ANYTHING to make sure profits like that keep comming.

Anything.

Enviornmentalists, National soverignity, and people with a consience, they are all expendable.

And, besides, they are on the "right side". What they are doing is capitalism at its finest. What they are doing has made this country what is. God is on our side.

Just look how well "taken care of" our legislators and elected officials are. We never hear a peep. We never see even one stand up for what they know is right.

All we see is a National Geographis two hour special interdispersed with completely legal Hummer commercials.

Shh-Shh, not a peep.

Take a peek on google books:

http://books.google.com/books?id=Yk5ulsa2EcoC

11011011

Take a peek on google books:

http://books.google.com/books?id=Yk5ulsa2EcoC

11011011

Thanks for the peek, Dan.

The small peek I took made me realize that putting this monster down on the mat will be a lot harder than I realized!

Thanks for the insight.

Bob.