Long before we were urged to Make America Great Again, we were told to Keep America Beautiful. Baby boomers may remember the 1950s campaign that made littering a criminal offense, a time when offenders were targeted by Donald Duck singing “Litterbug, Shame on You.”
Did we grow up and forget the message? Or did our children never receive it? Los Angeles is filthy.
Why has Los Angeles become more filthy over the past few decades? Has the composition of LA’s population changed towards people who don’t worry about litter?
The Keep America Beautiful campaign was organized by rich WASPs and corporations in 1953 to shame Americans into not littering. (The rise of non-biodegradable plastics made litter semi-permanent.) As commenters have noted, the biggest breakthrough was the 1971 “Crying Indian” TV PSA commercial that used Iron Eyes Cody to racially shame white people into not polluting their environment.
(Okay, Iron Eyes Cody was actually an Italian-American actor who specialized in playing Native Americans, but the point is that the “iconic” commercial worked.)
The more popular way to quiet correct criticism today, though, is to furiously denounce critics as racists. Any criticism of Latinos for their propensity to litter is a Stereotype demonstrating that you are full of Hate.
From a post to a martial arts site: “I tra[in] ufc at a park near my house.
There is always some kind of party/quinceanera going on. And the aftermath is trash everywhere.
I rarely see this with whites and orientals (and not much blacks around here).
Que paso, putos?”
RESPONSES:
* They are from third world countries and bring their third world manners with them.
* The Dominican Republic was the most disgusting place I’ve ever seen in my life. Bags of trash lined the sides of the road. Huge unemployment rate and these lazy fucks can’t bother to pick up their trash or even burn it.
