I’ve been to a number of car shows and car meets across Southern California. While I
didn’t go by choice, I’ve found that there is a lot to learn at these events if you observe the
right things. However, the thing that stands out above all else is that supercars are stupid.

To name a few, supercars are all the multi-coloured Aston Martins, Lamborghinis and
Corvettes that race around barely half a foot from the ground with stupid-rich people inside.

Supercars are a collector’s item, allowing the one per cent to bask in their wealth and put it
on display for the general population to view. I have no clue what this experience is like for
the people who own the cars. My many mornings at the Malibu Country Mart with Jay Leno’s
cars lined up against others gave me a glimpse into that world, and I can’t understand it.

I can’t lie, though. There was one holographic-wrapped Lamborghini that always caught
my eye, and my general attitude was, “that colour is nice.”

All kinds of cars contribute in some way to the climate crisis our planet is facing, and that’s
impossible to deny. When people talk about emissions and why they’re bad for the planet,
they are talking about the amount of gaseous waste such as carbon dioxide that goes into
the atmosphere. Like a greenhouse, those gases keep heat inside our planet’s atmosphere.

A typical car emits, on average, 4.6 metric tons of carbon dioxide every year. Manufacturing cars can have a carbon footprint of anywhere from six to 35 metric tons per vehicle. Either way, cars are bad for the environment. Especially if you are buying them for show and tell purposes.

Electric cars help the world because they don’t use gasoline, and so do not produce
tailpipe emissions. Hybrid cars help the world because they are more fuel efficient than gas-
only vehicles. Supercars don’t help the world at all, aside from boosting the egos of rich
people.

As the world saw last month, infamous influencer Andrew Tate took to Twitter to boast
about his collection of cars and their emissions to climate activist Greta Thunberg.

Misogyny and sexism seem to be on the rise on social media, and people like Andrew
Tate — who has said that women are the property of men and bear some responsibility for
being sexually assaulted — feed that with their misogynistic messaging.

Many of Tate’s followers fail to see his anti-women rhetoric, and believe that there is an
agenda against “truth-sayers” such as Tate.

Tate’s message to his target audience of primarily young men has the power to expand
misogynistic oppression. Some of that messaging is subliminal, and sometimes it sounds
like genuinely encouraging young men to be good people.

The more followers Tate has — even if those followers just want to check out his collection
of supercars — the more power Tate has to spread the dangerous rhetoric or actions that he
puts into the world.

In the Twitter feud between the two, Tate commented that Thunberg was probably sitting
bitterly in a cold room. Ironically, Tate was arrested a few days after the exchange — though
not because of the tweets, as internet sleuths have speculated — and is now being held in
custody in Romania. If he could only see himself now.

There is and was no need for Tate or anyone to buy supercars for any other purpose than
to boost an image and ego. Humble yourselves. Be conscientious about the cars you
purchase and the reasons you choose them, and be critical of who you follow on social
media. Remember that as individuals, we have the power to reduce our own carbon
footprints and think for ourselves.

At the end of the day, supercars inflate the egos of misogynists, and are also bad for the
environment. We’d all be better off on a bike, using public transportation or a trusted Prius,
rather than driving some misogynistic millionaire’s version of a Barbie car.