Us and Them Is All the Rage

[Alice B.]

7. It's not just easier, it eases the conscience

TFG has made “every man for himself” okay (for tiny keyboard’s sake, I’m using the broad, old, gender specific expression—though you can read much into that, too).

He essentially killed Jiminy Cricket.

And I think, for most of us, there is an awareness of privilege and a sense of how precarious it is. Especially if you’ve ever been vulnerable or poor, it can be hard to enjoy what you have when you know what someone else is going through. I think a lot about the phrase “turned to ash in [one’s] mouth” — which you read in stories where someone is enjoying a good meal only to be reminded of something or someone that kicks up guilt.

TFG offers a real release from that and the freedom to ignore the ladder, if not pull it up behind you because it’s okay to stop fighting your prejudices now, too.