in praise of toxicity

a better way forward with men's mental health

We have a new car. It is a plug in Prius Prime. Though described as green, it’s actually, on the whole, much more toxic than the gas car it replaces. There is nothing good about lithium ion batteries. They are messy to mine and are a toxic, dirty mess when they have outlived their usefulness. They also allow us to move independently without dumping a lot of carbon in the atmosphere.

Gasoline is toxic. I’m grateful for the miracle of its existence. We now have as humans exponentially more calories of energy available to us than most other humans who have ever came before.

Radioactive cobalt is toxic. It was essential in the treatment of my wife’s cancer.

Taxotere, also toxic was another component in saving her life. In the process, it almost killed her. Toxicity is everywhere. Whether it’s the toxic radiation from the sun or the smoke from the fires that people cook on, to the shit that we humans leave behind, things deemed ‘toxic’ might also wear the labels ‘useful’ and ‘functional’.

What…