4 ms·
The Revolutionary Thoreau
- mikejulietbravo 6y agoWaiting for this to blow up with comments about racism in environmentalism w/ Thoreau
- fl0wrini 6y agoHaha! Using Thoreau's essays to defend rioters and looters plus criminals being killed by "racist policing..." Welcome to the internet, where the real problem is. A place where one criminal's death (2.9e-10 of the population) can be glorified and shared as fuel to spark outrage amongst entire cities to destroy innocent people's lives and homes.
- projektfu 6y ago”it indicates the grave limitations of a political and philosophical investment in individual heroism—the danger inherent in the voluntarism of identifying political efficacy with moral purity and deeply held convictions.” I think the author is explicitly disavowing defenses of rioters and looters.
- content_sesh 6y agoI'm certainly out of practice reading more (for lack of a better work) "philosophical" essays like this, but I'm having a hard time understanding the author's point in the last 4 paragraphs. Presumably that is the conclusion, but it seems to just waffle around. It almost makes a good point about the need for collective action alongside abstract beliefs and individual convictions when confronting an unjust society. But then it just seems to end with "neither side has the answer, so maybe better things aren't possible?" But I'd be happy to hear someone disagree with me on this
- projektfu 6y agoThe conclusion, to me, is that a comparison can be made between Thoreau’s isolation and the isolation of the pandemic; his support for radical, violent individual action and the appearance of radical, sometimes violent movements during this time.