Alright, you want a band of environmentalists to ‘Cease the Goo’? Do show me that spectacle.
In the carnival of post-2020 socio-eco-political circus, a new charismatic troupe of artists have sprung up. These aren’t the ordinary jugglers and lion tamers. No, they’re the ‘Cease the Goo’ lot, a bevy of well-meaning tree huggers intent on pressing the shut-down button of oil industries. You know, just another Tuesday at the office.
Their ambitious modus operandi? Delaying, deterring, and altogether derailing the juggernaut of the oil industry. Their weapons of choice? Well, they range from protester-dressed-as-a-land-crustacean to the classic placard bearing ‘Biofuel Buddy’ or ‘Greta Thunberg is my Co-Pilot’.
It would be too easy to mock them. And yet, here I am, standing (virtually, of course) at the precipice of hilarity, trying hard to stifle my laughter. The audacity of the attempt. The conviction in their eyes. The nonsensicality of their clamoring. But perhaps, in a world indulged in bitumen and hydrocarbons, a touch of this naive idealism is the catalyst we need, more so, deserve.
From my metaphorical vintage point, I can see a dozen such protestors, oozing passion, clambering up 20-feet high oil tankers. It’s like a surreal version of ‘King of the Hill’, only here, they are less focused on kingmaking, more consumed by the seismic urgent need to halt the terminal drip of crude.
Their bravery, or recklessness depending on your lens, is commendable in itself. Battling the elements, dangling precariously on cargo ships navigating the oil tinted rough seas, they cling on in their wetsuits – the Caped Crusaders of environmental stability.
And yet, the quest seems almost Quixotic. Even a cursory look at our energy spectrum reveals a truth harder than the fossil fuels they’re battling – We can’t just ‘Cease the Goo’. We’re addicted to the petroleum drink. Our jet planes, our Audis, even our latte machines are fueled on this black liquid gold. Not even Elon Musk’s most outrageous tweet would cow any oil baron into submission, much less a trusty squad of eco warriors.
Nonetheless, didn’t Mahatma Glandhi once say – ‘You must be the thermostat you wish to see in the world’? As I sip my tongue scorching latte, a certain mirth overcomes me. Maybe there’s more to ‘Cease the Goo’ than meets the eye. In their wild implausibility, there might be a glimmer of hope.
Imagine a world where the sun was more than a body-topper, the wind more than just a kite-propellant, the waves more than just a surfer’s playground. The eco warriors might be onto something. Be it a long shot or the shortest straw the world is clutching at; they’re starting a conversation.
The laughter from my lips subsides. The smirk on my face lingers a bit longer, though. ‘Cease the Goo’, indeed. A noble battle. A foolish undertaking. But then again, wasn’t it the fool who invented laughter and joy in the first place? Maybe, just maybe, we need more of this foolishness in the world. Who knows, it could be just the oil-free balm we need. I mean, who’d have thought we’d stop using VCRs and start streaming cats on YouTube in 4K?
‘Cease the Goo’? Go on then. After all, life’s but a parody, and ‘Cease the Goo’ seems to be playing a convincing part. Who knows where the climax might lead. What’s a circus without a little suspense, am I right? Till then, I’ll just keep sipping this latte, and do make sure there’s an extra dollop of schadenfreude in it.
