Bell Hammers by Lancelot Schaubert is a biography of Wilson Remus, a fictional character who is referred to as Remmie throughout the narrative.
Bell Hammers starts when Remmy was six years old with an incident that is very revealing of his character. That chapter prepares us for further extraordinary departures from expected behavior.
I liked Remmy very much when he was behaving unconventionally or being inventive, but I loved him when he was downright subversive organizing other people to resist a company that was destroying the quality of their lives. I loved his aspiration to be a Robin Hood. He's quoted as saying "Always gonna be rich guys who need robbing because they stole in the first place from the poor." A government concerned with justice would act to right these wrongs. In the absence of such a government, I admire people like Remmy who seek to rectify them through individual action.
Remmy evidently didn't consider himself a radical. This was shown in his response to an FBI report that condemned the movie It's A Wonderful Life because it showed rich people in a negative light. (Yes, an FBI agent who saw the movie when it was first released did indeed say that. I found an insightful article on the subject that appeared in the UK newspaper, The Independent here.) Remmy believed that he wasn't a communist for thinking negative thoughts about the rich. He just wanted to read more Robin Hood comics.
It seems to me that the legend of Robin Hood of robbing from the rich to give to the poor, is about the redistribution of wealth which is fundamental to a socialist society.
Over the course of his fictional career Wilson Remus (Remmy) eventually became a significant figure who rabble roused on behalf of his community even if he ended up in prison. The American public needs courageous and independent rebels. They are the ones who stand up for this country's ideals. I considered Remmy an inspiration.
No comments:
Post a Comment