David Graeber conceived of culture as creative refusal. If Graeber’s thesis is correct, then creative refusal has been a driving force in human history.

Aiming to assert itself as a refuge for the intrinsically, existentially, and stubbornly human qualities which power denies and delegitimizes, SARA picks up on the tradition Graeber identifies: the art of creatively refusing coercion and compulsion.

——

We are faced with a choice: we can compromise ourselves for a world that finds us intrinsically unacceptable… or we can realize that such a compromise is itself unacceptable, and upon this realization, reclaim our agency and autonomy by choosing to become the architects and builders of our own world.

Waiting to be saved means waiting forever. It means opening yourself to manipulation by those who will promise you the world only to stab you in the back.

You don’t need them and you never have.