The Little People

Further to Jeremy Irons and his embarrassment of houses, here’s a refreshing moment of celebrity honesty. CNS reporter Nicholas Ballasy asks the actor, musician and environmental campaigner Dave Matthews what he’s done to reduce his own environmental impact. The full rambling reply may be of interest, but for brevity’s sake, here’s the money quote:

My carbon footprint, I think, I can say confidently, is much bigger than most people’s...  but I think trying to raise awareness has, you know, maybe offset that a bit... What I try and do is try and, with the knowledge that I have, is offset my contribution to [carbon emissions]. I think people that don’t move around as much as me can take a bike when it’s a nice day. Or walk. 

You heard the man. You should walk to offset his celebrity lifestyle. Because,

We’ve got to change the way that we’re living.

Though some more than others, it seems.

The attitude above is perhaps symbolised by an incident in August 2004, when the Dave Matthews Band was sued by the state of Illinois for dumping 800 lbs of raw human sewage over a bridge and into the Chicago River. The human waste not only violated water pollution laws but also, unhappily, landed on over 100 tourists in a boat passing below. The victims of Mr Matthews’ fallout included, “persons with disabilities, senior citizens, a pregnant woman, a small child and an infant.”

Comments

[Mr Eugenides]

God help me, but the idea of a tank full of the Dave Matthews Band's shit landing on a boatload of passengers is irresistibly humorous.

[carbon based lifeform]

Best bit:

"None of the people on the tour boat were seriously injured in the incident and they were all refunded for the trip. The boat was cleaned with disinfectant."

[David]

You’re a very bad person, Mr Eugenides.

[mlrosty]

"but I think trying to raise awareness has, you know, maybe offset that a bit... I think people that don't move around as much as me can take a bike when it's a nice day. Or walk."

He's preaching to us so that HE can go on tour. I can't believe he actually said it out loud.

[Retardo]

The Progressive We is a funny creature. Sometimes it's the imperial "we"[1], but sometimes it's more of a third-person "nurse's we", as in Matthews' "We've got to change the way that we're living." Or "'we' should ask why 'they' hate 'us'", which actually means "I should tell you why I hate you". When somebody actually hates *them*, specifically, they never ask the "progressive we" form of that question. They just go directly to talking about why they hate you.

I guess "we" just means precisely what they want it to mean.

[1] http://althouse.blogspot.com/2010/05/every-murderous-totalitarian-government.html

[Jonathan]

"800 lbs of raw human sewage." Seriously, where do you get that much crap? Could it just have been the collected thoughts of Mr Matthews that were dumped off the bridge, and they mistook it for shit?

[David]

“He’s preaching to us so that HE can go on tour.”

In fairness, I’m sure Mr Matthews makes efforts to reduce, say, the CO2 production of his vast entourage and I don’t doubt there’s more than a bit of backstage recycling. What tickled is that, when asked the question, the first thing that came to mind was excusing his own footprint by “raising awareness” in others. And even with the most pious measures in place, his own ecological impact – measured by his own standards – will still be enormous compared to that of any of the people he presumes to lecture.

And no amount of organic cotton merchandising will change the fact that Mr Matthews is happy to make a very good living indeed doing precisely the things he says other people shouldn’t. And he does this while telling us to avoid “following the dollar” and that the “fossil fuel establishment” is wicked because it does things “for profit.” Unlike Mr Matthews, whose motives are presumably of a more elevated kind.

[WTP]

I still don't understand his point. Why can't he work from home like normal people? His fans could just as easily plug into their iphones, macs, or whatever, and he and the boys (or whatever) can play in a studio. No need to move all those people and all that equipment all over the globe. Would it really be that be much different than playing "live"? Surely it's not so important to be in his awesome presence. And instead of dumping their shit on unsuspecting tourists, they could dump it instead in their vegetable gardens in their back yards.

Actually, I've been wondering why there hasn't been more of an emphasis on acoustic instruments due to all this hubub. Are electric guitars with 1000 watt amps really that necessary? Oooh, a better idea, he can play woodwind instruments in his garage for people who can walk or bike to his house. Just think how many jobs this would open up for other musicians if we don't have him to listen to? Aren't we supposed to think globally and act locally?

David, do you have his contact info? Now that I have absorbed and considered his suggestions to me on how I could change the way I'm living, I'd like to pass my ideas on to him so he can change his life "for the better". I'd also like to send that CD of his I bought 15 years ago. Perhaps he can recycle it. It came up on the ipod this morning and I had forgotten how bad it sucked. Little ants marching, they all do it the same...way

[sk60]

Is "embarrassment" the new collective noun for houses?

[Anna]

"Is "embarrassment" the new collective noun for houses?"

It is if you own 7 of them *and* you think other people have too many clothes.
*And* if your wife’s "deeply socialist".

[Franklin]

The Ditty Bops did their 2006 tour promoting the wonderful "Moon Over the Freeway" on bicycle.

http://www.bikingbis.com/blog/_archives/2006/5/18/1952899.html

The Dave Matthews Band can suck it.

[David]

“Is ‘embarrassment’ the new collective noun for houses?”

“It is if you own 7 of them *and*... your wife’s ‘deeply socialist’.”

I can’t help wondering how that works. I mean domestically, over breakfast or during a quiet evening in. Are there lengthy attempts to reconcile their own rather indulgent lifestyle with this professed socialism?

[TDK]

You omitted a particularly glorious fact

The bus driver carried the blame for the dumping. Now, I'm sure that the driver actually did the deed, but can you imagine them arguing that the CEO of an oil company should not be held liable for an oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

[Wm T Sherman]

Solid gold metaphor.

But of course you knew that, Dave.

I am awe-struck by the geometric perfection of it all.

[Simen Thoresen]

David,
"
I can’t help wondering how that works. I mean domestically, over breakfast or during a quiet evening in. Are there lengthy attempts to reconcile their own rather indulgent lifestyle with this professed socialism?
"

I imagine they don't see the need for reconciliation. In my experience, all 'socialist' persons of means tend to see the fairness of their means, and thus exclude them from the resource-pool that is to be shared among the needy.

Socialism is always about distributing the wealth of others.

Thus the Irons probably see nothing wrong with them having 7 houses, but rather object to the elderly neighbor hiring someone to cut his lawn (this of course being exploitation).

If the Irons did see something wrong with them having several houses, they would have made amends. No amends, nothing wrong - obviously.

-S

[Wm T Sherman]

...if they could just shut their pie holes...

...just refrain from the craptasic social justice talk about a system that made them top dogs despite their failings...

...just pick up their checks and shut up....

...but that would be like expecting a squirrel to stop collecting acorns...

[David]

Simen,

“In my experience, all ‘socialist’ persons of means tend to see the fairness of their means, and thus exclude them from the resource-pool that is to be shared among the needy. Socialism is always about distributing the wealth of others.”

That does seem to be the standard pattern. It’s practically a caste thing. Polly Toynbee, for instance, earns more than many of the “fat cats” she denounces, as does her employer at the Guardian. Presumably Toynbee only dislikes the wrong kind of rich people, which is to say, rich people who don’t pretend to be socialists.

http://davidthompson.typepad.com/davidthompson/2009/12/the-wrong-kind-of-rich-.html

Reading Toynbee’s columns, you get the impression she imagines she’ll be one of the enlightened beings in charge – a consultant perhaps - and thus exempt from the “redistribution” she hopes to inflict on others. Thus the well-heeled socialist with a spare Tuscan villa has the gall to tell her readers, “money doesn’t make us happier.” Perhaps what she means is “*your* money doesn’t make *you* happier so *I* should spend it instead.”

[tehag]

The Dave Matthews Band pooping on the lower classes who take scenic boat tours reminds me of... Ian Banks's Culture Wars.

[sackcloth and ashes]

Well, it's the same attitude that enables George Monbiot to say that 'My flights to America to do book tours are good, but your flight to Tenerife for that hard-earned annual holiday is bad'.