Robin blackmail and incompleteness (Adorno 129)
Robin Hood is the epitome of protecting the weak from the powerful. Stealing from the rich and giving it to the poor. Overcoming corruption and salvaging the peasantry. Such a seminal figure is the defender of those who can’t help themselves yet can those today fighting on behalf of the victimised be seen in the same context?
The Robin Hood story developed into his save and grace. The earlier depictions were quite different than today’s conception. He is irritable and violent in early ballads. Much gore and senseless killing. Stow’s Annales of England is the first to make him a friend of the poor. Yet in this early modern adaptation he is still a commoner with loyal servants. It is only later that he becomes a beacon of revolution and change, though it is possible that his creation was from the peasants following the peasant revolt of 1381. Nevertheless, the themes became more apparent in Ritson’s modification in light of his revolutionary feelings. Pyle’s adaptation transformed Robin Hood into a saviour of England against the Norman lord. Outlaw populist rebel became canonical in light of the revolution and the subsequent romantic era.
Despite the evolution of the legend is the contextual aspects surrounding it. The outlaw who fights off the devilish elite to help the poor. Batman may have some similarities in fighting off Gotham’s crime syndicate though without the redistribution of wealth. The Green Arrow may be the most clear comic book example. Zorro was created decades before the DC heroes with a protection for the peasantry complex. His actions especially in light of the heavy taxes preyed upon by the corrupt elites required a heroic figure to save the day. Stealing from the rich to give to the poor in an age of static fate was a necessity to ensure the ease of peasant life. The peasants had no commercial nor free resource to mobilise. They were at the behest of the kingdom. If the king was bad the circumstances were worse. A corrupted circle spelled disaster for the peasantry, a hero was indispensable.
Standing up for the downtrodden is a common trope amongst the liberal apparatus. They can’t stand up for themselves so someone must do so in their place. Nobleman stood for the patriots, the slaves the discriminated. For those to rise from the depths of oblivion, someone with resources must step forward. A pattern resembling the higher status Robin Hood. A man with resources and talent to salvage the indignity of his era. The young moralists of today act in a similar pattern. Seeing themselves as the reincarnation of Robin Hood. Acting immorally for a moral clause. Unconcerned with the consequences as long as the oppressed remain in the status quo. They must be salvaged. Their victimhood must end. Whether in the economic or social strands. Both are demoralising and must be changed. Only the protesting is the heroic mind to reclaim was has been stolen and displaced.
Modern Robin Hoods support higher taxation. A move that inquires of the institutions to invest more power. The same institutions that are the problem are supported to rewrite their wrong but hurting entrepreneurs. People who began their businesses in their garages. People who toiled to get their business off the group. Now their profits are stolen to redistribute to the downtrodden. Young moralists see quantities and sit at them. How dare someone have that much money. How dare someone excel. Derailing all the hard work for a measly rhetorical hit piece. The rich are unfair so let the government reroute the effort. Raising taxes for the betterment of society. With the moralist’s push, the government becomes the sherif of Nottingham. Levying heavy taxes for a noble cause. The money is never rerouted. The assistance to the poor goes nowhere. The machine redistribution is flawed and uneventful. The cause is a loss and solution in ruins.
Along for the spiralling ride is the social failure. The downtrodden need a saviour. The Neo-stalinists scream and shove for their rigid ideology. Willing to revolutionise if the victim’s will be raised. Standing behind the ideology to protect those who cannot protect themselves. Actively shutting people down and censoring opposition. A monolithic enterprise hellbent on an apparent moral project. Kicking and screaming in an immature destabilising effort. The moral effort supersedes the actions. Violence is necessary. This is a rebellion. The cramping oppressive regime must be stopped. Robin Hood can act out without consequence. The cultivation of an equal order is spilled with blood. Either convert or die. A universalistic agenda. To ally with the cult or embrace the fury. To ally is to reside in an echo chamber of disastrous sidelining. Robin Hood is the marxian messiah. An outlaw who suspends the ethical. His actions are acceptable in light of the systemic discrimination that belittles others.
The ally does not think twice of his allegiance. He hears the issue and springs into action. He does not take the time to consider the information. He hears cries and follows the weeping. This is someone in need. He sees a girl on the floor and a man standing over her. She is crying he must have hurt her. He must be an evil man. She is crying she must be the victim. Without a second thought he leaps shoulder first into the man’s chest. The man coughs up blood as he hits the ground hard. The girl eyes flooding in tears. He turns to her and she smiles thank you. She explains that he tried to attack her. His anger flares and he begins kicking the man over and over. The man tries to call for help but the hero is pummelling him. The man lay motionless. The hero removes himself from the man’s chest. He helps the girl up and accompanies her to a cab. He catches a glimpse of the girl laughing but doesn’t yield. She was in trouble she was the victim. He shrugs off the possibility of the devilish side. His conscience reminds him of his good deed.
The enemy is the enemy. Good and evil are binary. The downtrodden are the helpless. Oppressed and coerced. They were forced into that situation. They didn’t do anything to anyone. A systemic overload and discredit due to their status in the hierarchy. The world is black and white and the evil must be tarnished. The issue for the heroic paradigm is not evaluating the context nor recognising the issue at hand. For Robin Hood it was simple but was contextually so. Stealing goods from the impoverished in a static economy was bound to derail their livelihood. Especially if the King Richard Lionheart part is canonical then even more so a puppet ruler benefitting off corruption. It was a live or die situation. Defending the peasantry from losing their capability to survive. The feudal system may not mimic today’s age. Stealing from the government is not stealing from the citizenry. Those who advocate for taxing the rich to pay their fair share are minimising their efforts. They are turning the system into a static system that producing a significant amount of profit is punished by the government. Just as the sherif stole forth peasantry so is the government stealing from the wealthy. It is the same paradigm. The government isn’t Robin Hood but the pinnacle of corruption.
The activist’s biggest question is playing hero worthwhile. For many young visionaries it is worthwhile. Yet the slogan becomes you must help. If you aren’t helping you are part of the problem. Those who do not wish to partake in the protests are sinners and anti-change. If you are not anti-racist you are racist. If you do not believe in going green then you are a climate denier. The radical extremes at the binary propositions are problematic. One can be against the reparations and not be racist and one can be against plastic removal and not be a climate denier. Activists believe they are doing right by the victims and by society. They are standing up against the tyrants. The tyrants who wish to go about their day. The tyrants who shout at activists blocking streets. These tyrants just want to see the world burn. The issue with activists is that they see the world like a comic book. The good is what the activist is pushing and the bad is everything else. Bystanders and pacifists are culpable and deserve the collective punishment. Screwing up one’s work day is worth raising awareness of the planet’s imminent destruction.
Activism is brave and bold. Yet many a time it goes too far. It overcompensates for the issues that are not plaguing the social fabric. Burning down businesses in the process of a cleansing systemic discrimination. Innocents caught up are worthwhile since no one is really innocent. Activism fails to thoroughly investigate its client. No scepticism nor weariness of potential grifters. No step back to ponder the possible issues and the critically unsolicited debacle. The victim screams for help they are oppressed. No backstabbing will happen no regression will occur. The treasure will show up at the victim’s door. A picture published in a newspaper will document the historical success. The oppressors have been overpowered and change is near. That is all the activists wishes to hear. Salvation has come and the utopia in reach. Yet perfection is implausible. There is little that can truly be overcome. Caught up in the oppressed activism is necessary. A desire to aid, a humane response to the crumbling issues surrounding. If only assistance is provided all will be well. A passionate visionary ignorant of the moving he is advocating for.
Who wouldn’t wish to be a part of something bigger. Something that can change the world. Assist the downtrodden and feel like a hero. Finally checking that box off one’s to-do list. A hero in plain clothes but a hero nonetheless. Heaven will reward for such inspiration and bravery. People are hurting, there may be a way to assist. Strong muscles and intelligent mind to overcome any issue. A populist tone to empathise with the suffering. Promises to alter that horror for salvation. It is easy to call the other a beast. Why is the other so unconcerned with the stragglers. The activist feels he is correcting the wrong. He stands by those who are suffering acting as an aid. He is seduced into their mantra and believes their tale to be absolute. How great does he feel now that he can protect and fulfil. He has the resources, he is not a sufferer so it is his duty to make things right. How noble of him. He may wear a polo and slacks but in a comic book he would have cape to go along with a title. His superpower is empathy. Something on he can understand. Others who pay no heed are devilish with no souls. He can make a difference, it is up to him to save the day.
There are good and bad aspects of activism. The hero activist simply needs to evaluate the situation before running with a full head of steam forward. Decipher the situation and always be sceptical. People are suffering how to properly raise awareness and affect change. The solution isn’t always to mark a boogeyman and attack all those who disagree with the approach. The activist more so can be a bridge between the victim and the perpetuator or a bystander. Enabling more conversation and compromise for a better future.
No comments:
Post a Comment