“For Us Surrender Is Out of the Question”
It was through mysterious means that, years ago, I first got a subscription to Mother Jones, and at first I was unimpressed. The stories were too often like brushing a turkey while it’s roasting: you know there’s something good there, but all you see is drying, cracked skin. I lobbied K to kill the scrip and find something better, but for one reason or another she never did, and quite suddenly the magazine became excellent—I remember being surprised when I realized it. On that note, I cannot recommend enough Mac McClelland’s story in the current issue about Karen refugees from Burma who sneak across the border from Thailand to document the Junta’s human rights abuses. Its familiar narrative structure of a naïf being introduced to the horrors of the world could have undermined her subjects, but McClelland keeps her focus tight on their struggles and the Junta’s genocidal actions. I think I will not quote from the story; instead, just go read it.
