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| September 27, 2012 Tomgram: Rebecca Solnit, We Could Be Heroes
Think of them as Rebecca Solnit's “explaining” trilogy, three incisive and provocative commentaries on how we (mis)understand our mad world. The first of them, “Men Explain Things to Me,” was actually four years old and already a minor classic when, on August 19th, I reposted it as a “best of TomDispatch” summer piece. As it happened, I did so at the moment when Missouri Republican Senatorial candidate Todd Akin decided to explain the “facts” of “legitimate rape” and abortion to the women (and men) of America. His comments sent the piece into the Internet stratosphere.
Less than two weeks ago, the night before the first anniversary of the Occupy movement, I put up the second essay, “Occupy Your Victories.” It offered a warning against all the mainstream anniversary pieces that Solnit knew were about to explain to us that it was all over, a flash in the pan, a lot of sound and fury signifying next to nothing. (Okay, maybe Occupy did change the national discussion to “inequality,” but nothing more and no longer.) In a way, her piece might have been called “Mainstream Pundits Explain Things to Me,” and it offered a vision of just what Occupy, as well as the other global revolts of 2011, began and of just what hasn’t ended on our planet, no matter what the best and the brightest at the largest newspapers may think. Now comes what could be thought of as the third installment, which might be subtitled “Leftists Explain Things to Me.” In each case, Solnit opts for the long haul, for counting victories no matter how partial, and for hope over despair. And if you want to get anywhere on this planet, that does seem like a reasonable way to go. Or maybe the trilogy just adds up to a simple warning: Reader beware; rile up Rebecca Solnit at your peril. Tom The Rain on Our Parade |
