When did natgeo become a bunch of pussies?
I am watching a National geographic special the wife tivoed for me, and I’ve just decided to cancel my membership.
Time was, Geographic was men. I mean MEN. Thor Heyerdahl. Sir Edmund Hillary. Men writ large, men who grabbed life by the balls and pulled as hard as they could, dragged themselves up the sides of steep cliffs or onto balsa rafts and went literally where they might die. Men who risked life and limb and came back with a smile on their face, emaciated, undernourished, and wrote books that I yearned to read. Men who wriggled into caves carved out of cliff faces on Easter Island and confronted people from ancient cultures- and killed them when necesary. Men who climbed into tin cans of dubious construction and broke barriers, or pushed the envelope of flight, or depth, or speed. Men who stood eye-to-eye with the most fearsome creatures on the planet.
This wasn’t about testosterone, it wasn’t about showing off, it was about doing things because you wanted to do them. About battling with yourself.
Now, Geographic is talking about being sensitive to the fragile ecosystem of something or another. Fuck them. Give me back some Men.
Oh, and ladies, there have always been a lot of women doing those men things right alongside the men, so cut me some slack, I know you’re there too.
I recieve National Geographic as a gift compliments of my in-laws. I cancelled my subscription some months ago – and told my inlaws to spend the money on toy guns for my son – because of the swiftly declining scientific standards I’ve witness over the years. The fact that they are a bunch of limpwristed peacenick pussies made it all the easier.
At the same time I used to give gift subscriptions to about 10 relatives. I was the family’s NatGeo man. The family has been informed that the NatGeo years are coming to an end. I’ve decided to take the $35 and this year will be providing 10 NRA memberships (I let them choose the magazine).
My son is getting an extended payment life membership.
It will be a very merry christmas – especially if we get to shoot in the next postal match before then.
I can take a hint. See the next couple of posts
Concur yr analyses, Og–I literally learned to read via NatGeo. I always had a soft spot for the Yellow Rectangle. So I was really struck with a sense of numb shock when a friend of mine gave me some old copies from about ten years back, and I compared them with copies from earlier this year. Same thickness, but about half the magazine is now ads hawking everything from Ford Explorers to Amnesty International. The actual magazine section consisted of maybe ONE decent article and the rest was screaming about how the world is going to hell.
And now, you see NatGeo toys and merchandise filling the shelves at Target. It’s going the way of Disney. Totally out of line with the original vision of its founders!
–TwoDragons
Man, Og, you have to do something about this comment spam! It’s like having a total stranger wander in and make themselves a sandwich in your kitchen!
–TwoDragons