I Hate The “Thoreau’s Mom Did His Laundry” Criticism So Much, It Drives Me Crazy.

I hate the “Thoreau’s mom did his laundry” criticism so much, it drives me crazy.

Henry Thoreau did not go to Walden Pond because he thought it would be a fun adventure. He went into the woods because he was deeply depressed and burnt out. He was running from the horror of his brother and best friend recently dying in his arms, and the haunting memory of causing the Fairhaven Bay fire. His friend Ellery Channing literally gave him the ultimatum of either taking some time off to write and think, or else be institutionalized.

I think Thoreau’s mother saw her depressed son choosing to retreat into a small cabin in the woods, and was worried about him. Of course she did his laundry - just as Ralph Waldo Emerson probably brought him firewood and bread. These were not chores of obligation to support a “great” man, but services of love to help their deeply depressed 28yo son and friend.

And if you ask me, there’s a lesson in that - to “suck out the marrow of life” and “live deliberately,” one must also accept help offered from the people in your life who love you. There is no true transcendentalism or individualism without love and friendship behind it.

More Posts from Ihadhopeoncetoo and Others

1 year ago

man as an afab nb with long hair and no intention of cutting it and tits too big to bind i rly have no way to not look cis. cis people rly see me on the streets n think we have the same vibe….. frightening. 

oh dear ima stop this post right here to say i found a stinkbug on my ceiling 

1 year ago

Just an experiment. Reblog if you actually give a fuck about male victims of domestic violence and rape.

Of fucking course

What sick bastard doesn’t

1 year ago

“You shouldn’t self-ID as ADHD/autistic, you’re turning a very real mental condition into a trend” Ok then stop saying delulu. Stop speculating on which cluster C personality disorder the criminals you hear about on the news have. Stop saying “schizoposting” and “acoustic” and “is it restarted?” Stop using “psycopath” and “sociopath” as catch-all ways of calling someone a bad person. Stop saying “the intrusive thoughts won” when you bleach your hair and then turn your nose up at people who suffer from very real, very scary urges of physical/sexual violence. Stop saying “I’m so OCD” as a way of calling yourself neat. Stop treating BPD/ASPD/Bipolar as inherently abusive. Stop saying “OP I am living in your walls” without tagging for unreality. Stop diagnosing complete strangers you’ve never met on r/AITA with NPD.

You first. If you don’t want our disabilities to be treated like trends then stop belittling and minimising them. I’ll NEVER judge a person for trying find labels for their symptoms when an apathetic, racist, sexist, ableist healthcare system refuses to. But I will absolutely judge a hypocrite. Which a lot of you are

1 year ago
Gamer Cats
Gamer Cats
Gamer Cats

Gamer cats

1 year ago

The beautiful thing as you get older is that you realize so many “rules” are made up and you can just do whatever. Posters can go anywhere in the house not just my room. I can sit down while cooking a meal or taking a shower. I can make the same thing for breakfast lunch dinner for a week straight. I can roam around the house shirtless. I can wear a dress with jeans. The world is my oyster key word my and I can live as I please embracing little things such as this

1 year ago

The war in Sudan has reached its 10th month. The war has been met with a global indifference or there has been no desire to act from many world leaders.

8 million people have fled their homes and millions of Sudanese people have emergency food insecurity, with 5 million people on the brink of famine. even the neighbouring country Chad has had to declare a food insecurity emergency due to the mass amount of Sudanese people that have fled to Chad. (By no fault of their own of course)

Faced with a media blackout which is over a week at this point we need to continue to amplify the voices and plight of the Sudanese people.

#freesudan till it’s backwards 🇸🇩🇸🇩🇸🇩🇸🇩🇸🇩🇸🇩🇸🇩🇸🇩🇸🇩🇸🇩🇸🇩🇸🇩🇸🇩🇸🇩

1 year ago

I would never be mean to my friend and lover public transport but the bus does take the piss sometimes

1 year ago
I’ve Been Seeing A Lot Of Anti-Nazi Ones, Which Is Great, But I Felt Like We Needed One To Show Our

I’ve been seeing a lot of anti-Nazi ones, which is great, but I felt like we needed one to show our support for the Jewish community.  

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