Surfing is very fun, totally selfish, ultimately destructive.
Dear Rory,
Why does everyone want to save the world through surfing?
or alternately
When will we fully realize the dream of saving the world through surfing?
Love,
Confused Do-good Dude
Dear Rory writes:
Surfing is such a weird activity. Not really a sport, not quite a dance. Just a form of play we engage in when energy flowing through the ocean hits land. Very fun, totally selfish, ultimately destructive. Hard to avoid the reality that our boards are toxic and our accessories are made by slaves.
I often struggle with my own identity as a surfer, as it pertains to the group. It’s an undeniable label, proficiency in the water is something that comes from a lifetime of effort. No shortcuts, no dry land training, just countless wet hours, surfing, swimming, freediving. Sometimes, like this morning, simply bobbing around like a potato and enjoying the scenery.
I think people struggle with that knowledge. It’s an ugly combo, a deep love of a natural resource and the fact that our use of it is ultimately detrimental. But nearly impossible to avoid, unless you decide to commit yourself to nude bodysurfing. Which we all know is very fun, but leads to excessive sun exposure in the most delicate of places. You ever seen the degenerates who spend all their time hanging out a nude beach? Dicks like hunks of old jerky, not something to which a rational person aspires.
I often struggle with my own identity as a surfer, as it pertains to the group. It’s an undeniable label, proficiency in the water is something that comes from a lifetime of effort. No shortcuts, no dry land training, just countless wet hours, surfing, swimming, freediving. Sometimes, like this morning, simply bobbing around like a potato and enjoying the scenery.
Often, despite efforts to the contrary, I’m kind of a jerk in the water. I don’t like to talk much, tend to unintentionally mean mug people, answer friendly banter with terse grunts. Not because I resent the presence of others (or, at least, no more so than the norm), but because surfing is a solitary thing for me. I’m not looking to be part of a tribe, don’t have interest in meeting like minded folk. Like Groucho Marx, I’d never want to join a group that would have me as a member.
But that’s not the case for everyone. A lot of people, especially those who find the joy of riding waves later in life, want nothing more than to feel they’re part of a whole. They swallow the marketed culture hook, line, and sinker. Logo’d tees, stickered car windows, puka shell necklaces and Surfrider memberships. They’re jazzed in, they “know the feeling.” For them it’s a spiritual joining with nature, a deluded sense of fulfillment they’ve never found anywhere else. They feel like they’re onto something special, members of a magical secret club.
All completely empty claptrap, of course. Fishing, skiing, skateboarding, sailing, etc, they all scratch the same itch. Fun, kind of meditative, a moment in your daily struggles when nothing matters, you can exist in the moment.
The problem with people who actively seek fulfillment within the confines of a subculture: they’re generally stupid, and there are a hell of a lot of them. Sacrificing your individual identity in order to conform inevitably leads to groupthink, forming masses easily led by the cynical and greedy, unable to think critically because stepping out of line is grounds for exile.
Surfing as a whole has long been held hostage by the disingenuous, self-obsessed, or blatantly evil. The act of riding a wave can be relatively pure, but the business around it, and those who participate in it, are anything but. Dissenting voices are silenced, negative press is akin to murder. And, as a whole, everyone is okay with that.
Which leaves the door wide open for predators, people who possess the ability to lie with their entire body, spin “truth” from bullshit. All it takes is a quality grasp of rhetoric, words like “sustainable” and “green.” Meaningless certifications sold to bad actors, pointless initiatives that serve to funnel money into the pockets of frauds. The definition of “good” has been changed to mean doing slightly less bad. Sometimes not even that, a company can squeeze positive press out of something so simple as taking credit for the actions of others. Suck the cock of carbon offsets, as though damage done is somehow ameliorated by a stand of trees on the other side of the globe.
Groups seek leaders, and those with the ability are usually the last you’d want in charge. Too easy to swindle people, simply pander to their inherent decency, then attack anyone who points out flaws.
Surfing can’t save the world, nothing can. The best you can do is strive to be kind to those around you, and hope to hell the status quo outlasts your lifetime.
Email Dear Rory: [email protected]
