There is something potentially seismic and painfully, almost hopeful happening in Ukraine. The stories of Subject, Consumer and Citizen help us see it for what it is.
There is something potentially seismic and painfully, almost incredibly hopeful happening in Ukraine right now.
The stories of Subject, Consumer and Citizen help us see it for what it is.
Putin’s attack was pure Subject Story: raw autocrat power and imperial domination, straight out of the 19th century (if not before).
The West responded from the Consumer Story: sanctions, from the equally broken worldview that “it’s the economy stupid”.
But with that response looking inadequate at best, the true fightback is coming from the Citizen Story: small scale, distributed, rooted in a love of home and humanity.
Look at the Ukrainians taking up arms regardless of experience.
Look at Zelenskyy, joining the front line as an ordinary soldier.
Look at this, his incredible speech, appealing directly to the Russian people: “I come today with an appeal to all citizens of Russia. Not as President. I am appealing to the citizens of Russia as a citizen of Ukraine.”
Look at the 770,000 (and counting) Russians who have signed a petition against the war, and the 1,800 (and counting) who have been arrested for protesting.
Look at the Anonymous Collective, declaring cyberwar on Russia and swiftly taking Russia Today off-air and .ru websites offline.
Look at the solidarity protests and sit-ins all over the world, and the first international brigades starting to form and fly in.
These are deeply frightening times. But it is just possible that the story of society may be shifting.
