I have written several articles in Spanish about the littering problem in Puerto Rico. This one will be in English. Either way, it seems an exercise in hoping against hope that #1, people will develop a conscience and common sense regarding the trashing of our natural beauty, and #2, the government will decide to crack down hard on these inconsiderate litterers.
And… that is as nice as I am going to be in this article regarding the litter problem on the island. Now I will take off the kid gloves.
A favorite scene of mine from the old movie “The Matrix” involves Agent Smith talking to the handcuffed Morpheus, describing the human race as a virus. For those who have never seen it, I will post the scene here.
“Every mammal on this planet instinctively develops a natural equilibrium with the surrounding environment, but you humans do not,” says Agent Smith.
He must have seen the two-legged pigs, who call themselves human, trashing the beaches and rivers of Puerto Rico. The comparison would be even more accurate now, that the “stay at home” orders have been lifted and people are out in force now. Anyone would think there was a lot of pent-up littering energy just waiting to be released when the curfews and limits were removed.
During the lockdown, there were “oh so many poetic posts” on Facebook showing the pristine beaches and rivers, free from human presence… nature cleansing itself from the pestilence of human trash. Some naively suggested that maybe people would see this as an opportunity to right the wrongs of the past. The cynical laughter you may have heard upon reading those posts was mine.
Going back to Agent Smith in “The Matrix”… this should go down as one of the best and most accurate movie lines of all time. Granted, not all human beings behave in such a fashion. But enough do to make a huge impact, and ruin nature for the rest of us.
What is it going to take for people to stop trashing the beaches, rivers, and public spaces that are meant for the enjoyment of us all?
I am through mentioning education as an option. People with pea-sized brains who trash beaches have kids who learn to do the same. This propagates from generation to generation, with little to no hope of creating social conscience. All the publicity campaigns in the world will not reverse this trend.
The only solution, in my opinion, is harsh government crackdown with painful penalties for those who litter. Create and install a surveillance system in all popular beaches, rivers, and parks. Increase… no… multiply penalties for littering. Make it hurt. The proceeds from these fines can be put back into the maintenance and reinforcement of the surveillance system.
People flood social media, waxing poetic about beautiful Puerto Rico this… beautiful Puerto Rico that. Yet we cannot seem to keep this place clean enough to want others to come visit. I for one feel burning shame whenever an outside visitor has to see a garbage-strewn beach. Most don’t comment out of respect. But visitors are not blind.
It was naive to think this pandemic was going to change people’s behavior in some way. In some cases it has gotten even worse. So if gentle encouragement isn’t going to do the trick… let’s implement some harsh, effective “welcome to reality” measures to punish those who don’t get the message.
Let’s show Agent Smith we are not just another virus.
Great message bro. I feel the same anger and frustration as all us well educated souls do when we see the end result of a weekend at the beach. Punishment seems to be the only way. Hell nothing else has.
Thank you for the comment, bro. Indeed, anger and frustration are inevitable feelings when those of us you mention see the same thing day in and day out. All the publicity campaigns in the world… all the slogans… all the billboards… all the TV commercials… all the people pleading on Facebook… NOTHING seems to deter these (fill in the blank here) from trashing our island. Emphasis on “OUR” island, because it is as much ours as it is theirs. They litter the beaches… it’s almost as if they are littering in our backyards. Which is why I insist on harsher punishments. Hit ’em where it hurts… in the wallet. But we must have more surveillance. We need to catch these litterers in the act. Then hit them with several thousand dollars worth of fines. Something has to work.