I love smashing glass jars when I take our recycling to the depot. Now let’s just get this out of the way, Bowman:
What does this joy in smashing jars say about me? I mean, I hate waste like crazy. Recycling has its place but it’s still dreadfully wasteful when it would take less energy to simply reuse a thing. So it drives me nuts that when it comes to glass — an easy to clean, disinfect, and reuse product — we instead opt to collect it, drive tons upon tons of it around (and glass is heavy as hell so think of the fuel costs to move it from place to place), and use special processes to break it down or melt it or whatever, reform it, ship it out again. Recycling glass is maybe a little bit better than tossing it in the landfill but not by much so I don’t like recycling it — I don’t enjoy smashing jars because I am so wildly supportive of our glass recycling programs.
And yet, every time I go to the recycling depot, my fave part of the visit is launching each glass container into the metal bin. I’m sure the staff and other people stare and wonder why an apparently normal adult is making such a point to gleefully smash all the glass they possibly can, but I couldn’t care less. It’s worth it. Despite being wasteful and something I can’t abide by, I can’t deny that smashing glass is really fucking fun.
It makes me wonder about the odd drive so many humans have to just break shit. I mean, I am not alone in this, and it’s not just glass. People love watching building demolitions, and hit-to-pass car racing derbies. And when crowds of people celebrate it often turns into a riot where windows are smashed and cars are burnt and flipped over — and the people doing that shit are happy! So why? Why do we take such joy in destruction? My first thought is that doing so is like freeing yourself from the shackles of developed human thinking and living — we live in such highly structured and ordered worlds that I bet it just feels good to free yourself from that in some small way and say “aahhhh fuck it, I’m sick of having to make sense and have reasons for my actions.” It’s probably just a rebellion against the tyranny of a conscious and/or structured existence.
Wow, I think that’s a pretty good guess for me just sitting at my computer, plunking keys while thinking about smashing jars at the recycling depot. Not sure how right it is but it seems plausible and that’s enough for me. Well done, Janie.
crimson highway 