Enough With the Arrogant Attitudes Towards Extreme Heat

3 comments

1. Fossil fuel investors are asking everyone to endure ever increasing heat so that they can become richer and control them more.

2. >It’s odd then that in so many aspects of our culture, we view severe heat as something that should be willingly embraced, bravely endured, blithely ignored, or in the case of some marginalized communities, entirely deserved.

   >Our books, movies, TV shows, common tropes, idioms, and social media often reinforce the idea that heat is something that—with enough mental acuity—we can overcome. But because of climate change, “pushing through” the heat is something we can no longer physically do. It’s just simply not possible in some parts of the world as temperatures rise past the point of practical survival.

   Maybe this is a difference in what media gets followed, but everything I see in AZ is “don’t do anything when it’s this goddamn hot.” [Hiking trails close because it’s too hot](https://www.phoenix.gov/newsroom/parks-and-recreation/3080) and media warns against being “that person.” Social media is full of memes about the sun trying to kill you, or [declaring Phoenix to be a monument to man’s arrogance](https://www.reddit.com/r/KingOfTheHill/comments/8j8t1y/phoenix_is_a_monument_to_mans_arrogance/).

   There is no “willpower can get you through it.” It’s goddamn hot and we all know it.

3. They even have attitudes like this on reddit, which is supposed to be a place that’s a little more left and sciencey than your average social media.