Individual stubbornness is only admirable in relation to a hardened collectivity

Evidence

Discipline and sheer force of will explain much of why we valorize our culture’s refuseniks. Imagine how disappointed we would be, for instance, if we found out that later in life Diogenes got a taste for comfort and took up residence in the suburbs, or if Bartleby had either complied or looked the lawyer in the eye and said loudly, “Fine!” or “No!” It’s uncomfortable to assert one’s will against custom and inclination, but that’s what makes it admirable. — Jenny Odell, How to Do Nothing, 270 (#expands, via linked claim)

There is a claim to sovereignty in every consciousness: but it can only be confirmed by risking itself; no superiority is ever given since man is nothing when reduced to his subjectivity; hierarchies can only be established among men’s acts and works; merit must be ceaselessly won: Montherlant knows it himself. — Simone de Beauvoir, The Second Sex, 485 (#expands, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Refusal earns admiration only through sustained discomfort and will — Jenny Odell, How to Do Nothing: Resisting the…, 270; Superiority is only earned by risking oneself, never given — Simone de Beauvoir, The Second Sex, 485; Rigid, immovable persons earn trust only in a stable and uncomplicated environment (+3 more)

Broader Connections

• Individuality is simultaneously a residue escaping the system and a wound the system inflicts #expands (0.88)
• Refusal earns admiration only through sustained discomfort and will #expands (0.85) — Jenny Odell, How to Do Nothing, 270
• Superiority is only earned by risking oneself, never given #expands (0.82) — Simone de Beauvoir, The Second Sex, 485
• Rigid, immovable persons earn trust only in a stable and uncomplicated environment #exemplifies (0.78)
• The Antillean’s self-worth is entirely contingent on comparison with others #exemplifies (0.72) — Frantz Fanon, Constance Farrington, Black skin, white masks, 753