A Mayor Ordered A Ton Of Trash To Be Dumped On The Beach So Environmentalists Would Have Something To Do On Clean-Up Day
Seoul (AFP) - Officials trucked in litter and waste that had already been collected from rubbish-strewn coasts, and scattered it all over the pristine sand of southwest Jindo. The following day hundreds of volunteers scoured the shores and bagged up the garbage as part of an event to mark International Coastal Cleanup Day, a global event aimed at countering the scourge of sea-borne waste. "We brought in waste styrofoam and other coastal trash gathered from nearby areas so the 600 participants could carry out clean-up activities," said Lee Dong-jin, Jindo county mayor, in a statement.
I mean this story tells you every single thing wrong with today's day and age. We have all of these activists that say they want to help others, but they don't really want to do it to help others. They just want to make themselves look good. And then they gotta get a picture for Instagram!
Did you really participate in Clean Up Day if you didn't post a picture….? I bet the attendance of people going on mission trips to Africa would go down 75% if you weren't allowed to find a skinny little boy with his ribs sticking out to take a picture with and post for hundreds of likes. I mean, this story right here proves that it is no longer about doing good deeds.
For this mayor to order a literal ton of trash to be dumped on a beach just so environmentalists can pick it up, I literally don't have words for it. Is it irony? Should I use this story to teach my 7th graders about irony? Or is it just stupidity?
But I guess when I take a step back, I do get his decision making a little bit. 600 people signed up to help at this event and if you just cancelled the entire day because the beach was clean, team morale might go down. And they might not want to volunteer anymore if there were bored all day. But absolutely under no circumstances can you order a ton of trash to be dumped on a clean beach. And alas, the office of the mayor has apologized….
His office apologised for causing trouble and said the event was meant to "raise awareness about the seriousness of coastal waste".
Oh you raised awareness, alright. You literally created coastal waste to raise awareness of coastal waste. Should've just done a Fun Run.