AA Two and a Half Acres of Beans, 200
By Tina Petras
To pass criticism on something it is necessary to set up some distance, to free oneself from the value judgments that manipulate us, to examine the circumstances from outside. But does this outside exist anyway? Can we get there? And if we got there would we still be capable of acting? Or is it only a new inside? How is it possible to maintain a critical distance and still be active? Critique starts with oneself; it forces you to disengage from your social affiliation, your obtained identity concept. To unmask yourself as a part of the system that you want to criticize is an impertinence, a risk, and precipitates a crisis. At this point it’s up to you to take action; criticism is not only the conclusion but it is a gesture and practical experience with a transformative effect and interpersonal
vibrancy. One day you will look out of the window and think that it was worth it to take heart.
