are you all serious?

[carlybaby223]

i just finished reading the book (which i did after watching the movie) and i have to say that i agree with grendel and dizzmatic on so many levels

although i feel bad that such another human being died this horrible death, i dont feel bad for CM himself. whats really scary from reading this book is the numerous stories of other young men who have also disappeared into the 'wilderness' to find their 'true' self. this seems to be a very male, very middle class, very north american cliche. to me, this is very much the experience of the privileged. here are some of the things that continued to get on my nerves about chris:

-he went into the wilderness with very little preparation - to me this is the arrogance of the privileged - of course mother nature and all these hard working folks will provide for me food, shelter and goods, im a white kid with a college degree! (i wonder if CM was any other race if his experience was different) - all the people who meet him comment on the fact that he 'looked' like a good kid and he had 'a college degree' - thus CM used the very conventions he fought against (class, race) to get himself from one place to another

-he refused to listen to any advice that contradicted what he believed or what he wanted to hear - again, this is arrogance of the privileged - i know everything i need to know i dont need to listen to anyone else (people call him wise but he is the complete opposite) not only that but he preached his way of living to everyone he met as though HE had the answers to everything - he was incapable of humility or understanding that other opinions are just as significant as his - this made him a completely unlikable character for me

-although college educated he remained ignorant - the book talks about how smart he was in school but did he not learn any history in his academic career? - instead of relying on how people have historically lived in the wild, through cooperation and community (even the pioneers of america needed native help to survive the early years on this continent) he believed that HE alone could survive where others could not - he read FICTION because it said what he wanted to hear and not the sad truths of the hardships of living a nomadic life or living in alaska

-he contradicted himself at every turn - no i dont want a map cause it represents control and technology and blah blah, OH but wait i will use a rifle to kill things and a camera and tent etc... - this is just plain egotism - its the 'i want to live without possessions except these possessions" - oh and when im really hungry or tired i want to jump in a car or a train which are maned by hard working people living exactly the kind of life i condemn - pure hypocrisy!

he didnt even have the drive to find a place in the 'wild' to build his own space, raise his own food, make his own life - i thought thats what he wanted?? instead, what he wanted was to bum around on other peoples money and good character until he wanted to be left alone and then he disappeared - this is the behaviour of a spoiled child to whom we give too much attention. if u want to live in the wild go! make ur own shelter, hunt your own food, walk/swim/climb to where u are going and stay there - but for him this is all a vacation from reality. he was planning to go back 'home' because he was done with this 'experience' - he wanted to write a book to SELL and make money! in fact, his sister repeatedly talks about how he was good at making money so i am more and more certain he was planning a nice 2,3 10 yr vacation from life and then make a ton of money and live the very life of comfort he claimed to have abandoned.

he is no hero in my book. he is not unique but a cliche. he has done nothing revolutionary. thousands of men live the life he chose even today and we dont consider them heroes, and we certainly dont come on forums to discuss them. CM is a another great white hype and to be honest his 15 min of fame are up for me