The CEOs who feast on society’s sickness: why we will never win

As true as it is that the CEOs who were laughing then aren’t laughing now, it also goes without saying that neither are we.

Going against the grain to induce a necessary, collective and perhaps global psychosis requires more than just stepping out of line and getting a friend or two to tag along. It takes more than unprecedented oratory skills and logistics. To undo our hardwiring and channel our energy where it’s needed, we must forget who we are. For example, quitting fast food sounds easy on paper, but doing so is far more difficult in practice. Yes, you may acknowledge that you’ll be healthier as a result, but this comes at the expense of quitting cold turkey, which will likely make you unhappier in the process.

By supporting Luigi, you’re acknowledging that your membership as a community is bound only by slogans, edgy clothing, and online posts that gather upvotes; not change. Some may protest by holding signs in public spaces all day, but this is in no way, not even remotely close to the beginning of any kind of real reform. The point I made in the second paragraph is imperative.

We get a rush of dopamine when one person slips through the cracks, yes. We feel a sense of community when we collectively cheer the result. But it’s short-lived because we can’t maintain our attention on this for 12 hours a day. We might spend an hour or so a day posting or commenting about it online, but the rest of our days are spent doing what we prefer, when we’re not working a 9-5.

This is how they know they will win. I was hesitant about posting this, but the truth is: we love our stuff, and they know it. This isn’t like WWII where people had no choice but to focus all their mental energy on survival. This is modern society, where we vent for an hour and then go back to playing on our PlayStations, unwittingly consuming resources that feed into the profits of those we detest. We lose.