"The way I see it, the earth is going to be here after we're dead and gone. Even if it's a polluted planet, and they messed it up. Where do they go from here - to another planet so they can mess that up too?"
About this Quote
The subtext is classic Pryor: a mix of fatalism and fury that refuses to get dressed up as polite concern. “Even if it’s a polluted planet” sounds like a shrug, but it’s really a knife twist. He’s mocking the way environmental collapse gets framed as an abstract “issue” rather than a choice made by industries, politicians, and consumers who can afford distance from consequences. The shift to “they” matters. Pryor isn’t spreading guilt evenly. He’s pointing at the powers that profit from damage, then sell the public a fantasy of escape: technology will save us, someone else will fix it, we’ll just move on.
The final question is the joke and the dare. “Another planet” is hilarious because it’s absurdly literal, but it also anticipates a very modern cultural script: billionaire space dreams as the ultimate moral loophole. Pryor’s point is that extraction is not a location problem; it’s a habit. If you don’t change the logic, you just export the mess. The laugh catches in your throat because it’s not about doom. It’s about accountability no one can outrun.
Quote Details
| Topic | Nature |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
| Cite |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Pryor, Richard. (2026, January 15). The way I see it, the earth is going to be here after we're dead and gone. Even if it's a polluted planet, and they messed it up. Where do they go from here - to another planet so they can mess that up too? FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/the-way-i-see-it-the-earth-is-going-to-be-here-83378/
Chicago Style
Pryor, Richard. "The way I see it, the earth is going to be here after we're dead and gone. Even if it's a polluted planet, and they messed it up. Where do they go from here - to another planet so they can mess that up too?" FixQuotes. January 15, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/the-way-i-see-it-the-earth-is-going-to-be-here-83378/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"The way I see it, the earth is going to be here after we're dead and gone. Even if it's a polluted planet, and they messed it up. Where do they go from here - to another planet so they can mess that up too?" FixQuotes, 15 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/the-way-i-see-it-the-earth-is-going-to-be-here-83378/. Accessed 22 Feb. 2026.
