Chewing gum: it’s everywhere

By Trevor Doré, Opinions Editor

here are thousands of different varieties of

chewing gum—sticks, squares, tape and

balls. Chewing gum also comes in a variety
of minty and fruity flavours. Different companies
produce everything from the original Dubble
Bubble to the new and innovative Stride, ensuring
something for everyone. At some point in time,
everyone has indulged in a piece. Some chew gum
because they have nothing better to do; others
chew it out of habit. It can help focus and relieve
stress and it provides an easy way to freshen your
breath on the go. While there are various chewing
gum etiquettes—chewing it
with your mouth closed, not
snapping it or chewing it ina
formal setting—I think a true
infraction lies in its careless
disposal.

The problem is, what
does one do once a piece of gum has lost its
flavour? For some reason, gum is different than
any other form of trash. Perhaps, it is its adhesive
qualities that entice an individual’s imagination.
Instead of simply throwing the used piece of
gum in the garbage, people have to find new and
innovative ways of disposing of it.

While sitting in the middle of class, instead of
waiting for the break to throw the tasteless piece

of gum4in the garbage, it is stuck it to the bottom
of the desk. While waiting for the bus, instead
of walking two feet to throw the piece of gum
away, it is spat on the sidewalk right in the path of
pedestrian traffic. The next time you’re at the bus
stop or even simply walking down the street, have
a look and you will see what I am talking about.
There are some people who even decide to swallow
their gum. While this doesn’t result in any negative
side effects for the rest of us, you have seen how
long gum sits on the sidewalk, just imagine what
it’s doing to the inside of your stomach.

Why is it that gum is treated differently than
other pieces of trash? Why do people think that it

is okay to spit it on the sidewalk where it sticks to
the bottom of someone else’s shoe, giving them

an unnecessary headache? Why is it stuck to the
bottom of a table or desk where someone else will
brush up against it or accidentally put their finger
in it? Why not just treat it like every other piece of
trash and throw it in the proper trash receptacle?
Perhaps it’s the same mentality of those who
neglect to clean up after their dog, leaving it where

 

it is most convenient yet where someone else will
likely step in it and have to deal with it after the
fact.

Many might
say “shit happens,”

Why is it that gum is treated differently than other pieces of trash? Why do people think that pyt | would like to
it is O.K. to spit it on the sidewalk where it sticks to the bottom of someone else’s shoe,
giving them an unnecessary headache?

think that it doesn’t
have to. If people
could simply put
their gum and
other trash in the garbage where it belongs, there
would be a lot less hassle for all of us. So, the next
time you think about spitting your gum on the side
walk or sticking it to the bottom of a desk, have

a quick look around, there is probably a trash can
within a couple of feet. Go the extra distance and
chances are, you will one day be repaid with good
Karma if nothing else.

 

Haiti goes from top story to irrelevance

By Eli Levinson, The Link (Concordia)

MONTREAL (CUP)— When the Haitian
earthquake struck, it quickly became the news story
of the year, with constant coverage of the most
minute details of the disaster dominating the news
for days. Then of course, as the initial shock wore
off for those not directly tied to what happened, we
moved on, and the media got back to their usual
reporting.

Like any other major news event, it followed
the pattern of furious initial coverage, which
quickly becomes no coverage at all as the goldfish
mentality and craving for the next big item
superseded any considerations for the plight of
those at the heart of the story.

At the same time, we stopped talking about it,
stopped trying to help, stopped having events, and
stopped having the victims at the heart of the story
in our minds.

Now, even though there is an unfolding story
taking place, a story of a people trying to rebuild
something cruelly taken away, it is no longer of
any importance to us. If the media started round-
the-clock coverage of the rebuilding effort in Haiti,
our reaction would most likely be, “Why are they
showing us this? It’s not news.”

 

This is the contradiction of modern mass
media: it has constructed in our minds an idea of
human activity as being based on specific events.
People and stories cycle through quickly and the
world is explained in very small doses, when in
reality these stories take place over a much longer
period of time than we are willing to devote to
them.

We live in a fast-paced world that
communicates rapidly. That does not mean the
millions of stories taking place all around the
world are fast-paced—far from it. Nobody is
going to believe that life has no nuance, and yet
our consumption of news hinges on this idea of
simplified news bites. If it takes longer than five
minutes to explain what is going on, it is not a news
story —it’s a sociology paper.

And we go along with it because we don’t
have the time or desire to understand the situation
in more detail. It is very difficult for people with no
stake in an event to maintain a high level of interest
for very long, given the slowly unfolding drama
that happens every day all over the world.

It is very easy to blame the media and those
in power for creating the short attention spans that
define our generation, but that is not the whole
story.

How do we consume media, and specifically
news? Do we have the time every day to follow
up—in depth—on all the things that pop up on our
radar, to really engage with these stories that rarely
have obvious turning points or climaxes and are
more like a Dostoyevsky novel? Whose fault is
this? Or is playing the blame game a waste of time?

Changing our attitudes and patterns, as
reflected in the media, is something that takes
effort. It’s an ongoing struggle that cannot
be explained by specific moments and is best
understood in hindsight.

   

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