Through the '80s and early '90s, while
Reagan and
Bush emphasized awareness of
recycling and garbage removal to the
videogame generation in the
school system at the time in an
attempt to save the planet (generally using
made-for-tv-movies or specials starring
Alan Thicke),
litter's slang connotation became more widely known and used.
The word
litter, amplified in this time of
our society's percieved separation from the rest of the world, has come to be recognized as anything that is
out of place or of
lower class in regards to the surrounding environment. The subjective orderliness or organization of a subject may also be in question. Things are also classified as
litter when they are found
offensive or
obscene.
(A note to
noders: An
e2 node that is considered
litter will be hastily
deleted by the
gods.)
Consider the following examples:
A humble wooden shack in the middle of the forest wouldn't be classified as
litter until it had
fallen.
A person can feel like
litter when they are
juxtaposed against people who seem more
cultured, are wearing
nicer clothes, or are just more
snobby.
Imagine pieces of paper strewn about in a field, or blowing through the street vs. pieces of paper set in a
bookbinding.
An office desk is not
litter in an office, but would be considered such in the center of a cornfield (save
artistic statement).
Question, then, the stretch of concrete crossing the plains of the
Midwest known as the
Interstate.