ANOMCENE by Ananda Woods
"My term, anomocene, comes from the french word anomie. According to Wikipedia, the word anomie refers to “a condition in which society provides little moral guidance to individuals.” Because the person’s values are incongruous with those of the society that they live in, they end up fragmenting their identity into different parts: those that are still compatible with the society, and those that are incompatible due to their own personal values. I thought that anomocene would be appropriate, as I believe that there is an unsolvable discrepancy between the moral desires people have to protect the planet and the organisms within it, and the system of capitalism, which exploits people and the environment worldwide. It is undeniable that whether or not you live in a capitalist country, you are still influenced by the effects of worldwide capitalism; it is almost impossible for anyone to operate outside of this system, no matter how much they desire to fight against the status quo. When faced with this realization, people become unmotivated and make less of an effort to make ethical decisions when given the opportunity. My poem, Anomie, explores this concept further through a confrontation between my own anomie-induced fragmented halves.
"While the poem is representative of my own thought processes, it is slightly disingenuous to leave it at that: I did stretch each ‘personality’ to the extreme to emphasize my point. The dialogue in italics is who I would imagine myself to be if I was driven entirely by my own material impulses and desires: for the sake of simplicity, I will refer to this half as E. The dialogue in non-italics, who I will refer to as N, is what I would imagine myself to be if I was the ultimate ‘feminist buzzkill,’ who has not once in their life compromised on their values for a moment of pleasure. The conflict between them arises not from a lack of shared moral values— that is one of the things they have most in common. Instead, it arises from E’s inability to live up to these values, and N’s frustration at E’s complacency in their situation. This struggle is one that I feel is relatable to most people living in the anomocene."
8:00 AM: morning routine
Are you really going to turn the heat on full blast first thing in the morning?
I’m shivering too hard to get dressed. I’m going to be late if I don’t.
It’s 69 degrees! Everyone else seems fine with that! And you’re leaving in under an hour!
What’s considered an ‘acceptable’ room temperature is based on male metabolism. It’s not my fault, it’s societal standards.
Aren’t you just reinforcing societal standards by putting on makeup every time you leave your dorm?
It’s not like I expect other people to do all of this stuff. I just enjoy it.
Don’t give me that shit. You could donate that money to charity instead of supporting an exploitative, racist industry that uses child labor and fills up landfills with mascara tubes.
I know the packaging is wasteful. I try and repurpose it when I can.
You just hoard them until you get frustrated and throw them all out!
Well, I just don’t have much to put in tiny plastic bottles! I can’t live like a hoarder!
You wouldn’t have to worry about being a hoarder if you didn’t buy so many things!
Head out to class at 9:30 AM
Oh god, the air conditioning feels so nice.
Emory keeps this entire building air conditioned 24/7, 365 days of the year. Isn’t that wasteful?
Well, it’s not like I can do anything about that. Just let me enjoy it.
You go here, don’t you? You pay tuition? So you’re, in part, responsible for the amount of waste Emory produces every year.
By that logic, I’m responsible for all of the waste produced all around the globe.
Aren’t you?
Not to the point where I should feel bad about that!
Oh look, the white girl in a first world country doesn’t want to have to feel bad about her impact on the rest of the world.
Well, I do feel bad about it! I just don’t think it’s healthy to dwell on things that are out of my control.
Yet you constantly worry about what other people are thinking, instead of spending your time paying attention in class?
You’re the one who is distracting me! I came here because I wanted to learn!
11:30 AM: Skip next class, go to lunch
I thought you wanted to learn.
I know. I’m too tired and hungry to focus.
You haven’t even done anything today! Why don’t you donate your tuition money to charity, if you’re just going to waste it?
I grew up poor, and I barely have any money now. Compared to a lot of people, I haven’t wasted that much.
Being ‘poor’ in a first world country is a luxury most people will never get to experience. And I think you know that you could be doing a lot worse.
I understand that I’m privileged, alright? Let’s just eat.
You used to be vegetarian, you know? And yet for some reason, in a place that serves vegan food, you’re eating meat almost every meal.
I was always sick and exhausted as a child because I never ate anything with substance. If I don’t eat meat, I’m going to end up that way again.
It’s not that hard to take vitamin supplements.
Look, does it really matter if I eat this fish sandwich or not? They’d just throw it in the garbage if I didn’t. There’s more effective things I can do to be environmentally conscious.
Are you doing those things?
Head to last class at 12:45 PM
You should be happy now— we’re learning about climate change.
And how are we going to use this information?
Jesus fucking christ.
What?
Is nothing ever good enough for you?
I’m just making a point. We need to be applying practical knowledge if we want to make a positive impact on the world.
That’s not how change fucking works! You can’t just snap your fingers and will things into existence!
We could be out there right now, instead of sitting in a classroom learning something that could be googled.
Out there doing what exactly? Shutting down sweatshops? Getting rid of landfills? Building homes in Haiti?
You think going to other countries and forcing our western morals onto people we know nothing about is helpful? So many of those ‘charity trips’ are predatory and harmful—
Shut up! Shut up! I’m done! Why do you constantly pick me apart? All you have is complaints! You sit there and reap all the rewards of my work while telling me I could do better! Well, let’s see you do better!
3:00 PM: Lock self in dorm room
Why do you always have to blow things out of proportion? I’m just trying to be constructive.
If it wasn’t for me, you’d be just like every other complacent, liberal, moderate that pats themselves on the back for showing basic human decency.
Geez, it sure is cold in here. I guess I’ll just have to take twenty seconds out of my busy day to put a jacket on.
Come on, fight back.
I thought you loved standing up for people?
Running away doesn’t make you right, you know.
Fidget aimlessly in dorm room until 6:00PM
Did you know there’s a documentary about the AIDS crisis on Netflix? Why haven’t we watched that?
Then again, there is still an AIDS epidemic going on right now in Africa, and we don’t spend much time caring about that. But maybe it’s more important to be educated about things that have happened to our own communities? Especially with how little knowledge people have about LGBT history. Or is this just me caring more about people I feel comfortable identifying with?
God, this chair is uncomfortable. I’m a 5’2 woman expected to use furniture designed for the average-sized man.
But would it be any better if everything was designed for people with my skeletal structure? There are physically impaired people who have to deal with more discomfort than I do on a daily basis. Shouldn’t we be working on chairs that everyone can sit down in first? But then again, is it ableist for me to speak on what we should be doing for physically disabled people?
Oh look, Rachel Dolezal’s on the front page again.
7:00 PM: Wake up from unplanned nap
She’s finally stopped talking, thank god.
Why is she so mean all the time? We’re more conscientious than a lot of people in the United States.
It’s not like I can choose to stop participating in the system.
I’m too drained to go get food. I’ll just Uber something.
I wish they didn’t treat their drivers so poorly. I can’t afford to tip, though— but I’m a college student, I’m sure they understand.
I just need to do some self-care. That’ll cheer me up.
8:00 PM: Go shopping, anywhere
Sure I don’t need it, but I want it, and I have the money for it.
It’s not like I’m wasting my parent’s money. I worked for this.
If it brings my spirits back up, it’s a price I’m willing to pay.
Let’s not look up whether or not this was ethically sourced right now— because it definitely isn’t.
This is great! I’m truly reaping the benefits of capitalism!
Go to bed at 11 PM
Hey, are you here?
Did you think I wasn’t? I just didn’t feel like engaging while you were wasting irresponsible amounts of money.
Well I’m not going to apologize. It’s my money.
It’s my money, too. And I’m not angry.
Are you sure? I brought everything home in plastic bags.
It’s my fault for pushing you over the edge. I should have remembered how delicate you are.
I really do want to save the world, you know.
I’m too tired to even go through all the reasons ‘saving the world’ is an awful, baseless idea.
This is why you make me so upset.
I’m just being honest.
So am I.
1 AM: Lying in bed
...Do you think we’ll ever be able to atone for how much damage we’ve done?
Define ‘damage.’
The internet told me that if everyone lived like me, we would use all the energy on the planet in half a year.
Well, I doubt we’re ever going to stop consuming energy.
You know what I mean.
Well, on our current trajectory, there’s a chance one day we’ll discovered a way to significantly reduce humanity’s carbon footprint.
That’s good to hear.
But there will undoubtedly be social ramifications. At least a handful of people will get their agency taken away. We’ll make some sort of job obsolete and make a few dozen people unable to support their families.
And do you think we’ll ever be able to fix that?
I don’t know. Probably not. But if we want to accomplish anything, we need to start with getting enough sleep to function the next day.
Is that really what we’re struggling with right now? We’re supposed to be smart.