May. May is almost done. The lusty month of May has, well, proven accurate given the work I’m doing on behalf of my alter-egotist. And there have been a few days when May felt like pre-global warming May. It also felt like August – showing up early and unwanted with a half-drunk pack of cheap beer.
The weather, and recent reactions against said weather in a southern peninsula state, got me thinking about the hope and failing of art as a communication tool. You want to show someone what it would be like if you were living in an authoritarian regime? A lecture won’t help. How about a story? Tell the story of man who supported the regime – thought he was one of the pillars of society – until he wasn’t. Now, on the outs, he finally sees everything he edited out of his view.
A story like that, in the right hands, to the right people, can change you. And next thing you know, you’re aware. And you ask yourself:
The limits? Well, first, someone has to actually read the book with an open mind. Story will bounce off the walls of phantasm like Superballs. (Psst. Watch
PhillosphyTube.) They have to be willing to become uncomfortable. To ask the question: AITA and be genuinely curious about the answer. Otherwise, they’ll just get a summary from someone else, draw their own conclusion and say “Nope, we’re not the baddies, Hans.”
Second, they can’t just co-opt the bits they like.
“Oh, man. The way he’s being beaten down for his beliefs? That’s so totally me.”
“What about the part where he was doing the beating and explaining to his friends why it’s necessary to beat these people for their beliefs?”
“You’re just trying to crush my interpretation of the book. I’m so the victim here.”
What was that famous KGB training advice? If caught, deny everything and make counter-accusations.
Does this mean we should stop? No. We keep going. We can’t catch everyone. But, if you can get one person to shift their perspective? To say, “I never saw it that way before?” Then it’s worth it.
Biomechanoid Blues 