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Reply to @evan@cosocial.ca
Evan Prodromou@evan@cosocial.ca (2026-05-29 11:56:37)
That might be the key to it -- the Zen riddle at the heart of Lorde's quote. The master's tools can never dismantle the master's house because by the time we get to the house-dismantling stage, they're not his tools any more. They're our tools, or nobody's tools -- a mob's tools, the crowd's collective tools.
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Evan Prodromou@evan@cosocial.ca (2026-05-29 12:14:45)
Honestly, if you wanted to trick a mob, this quote would work really well. When that mob rolls up with all the liberated tools, ready to do some rapid dismantling, you could chuckle patronizingly. "Now, aren't those the *master's* tools? Well, you can't use *those* to dismantle *this* house. It's the master's house, himself! Those tools won't work for the task at hand -- everyone knows that!

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Evan Prodromou@evan@cosocial.ca (2026-05-29 12:17:41)
"Now, did you bring some other tools? Your own, or somebody else's? No? Well, sorry, everyone, but it seems like everyone's time has been wasted here. There's just not going to be any dismantling tonight. Wait! I had an idea! Why don't you go try dismantling some *other* houses with the master's tools? That should work! Go home and try it on your own houses. See if that works."