HonnestPancakes

Robinson Crusoe and the Narrative of English Colonialism:  The Relationship Between Crusoe and Friday.   Daniel Defoe’s Robinson Crusoe, published in 1719, is often regarded as one of the first English novels (aside from Don Quixote) and a foundational text in the literary tradition of pro-colonialism propaganda, and was published at the height of global colonization itself. The relationship between Crusoe and Friday, the native man Crusoe rescues, and subsequently dominates, serves as a microcosm of English colonial ideology, specifically based on race science and their overarching belief. Through their interactions, Defoe’s novel reflects the power dynamics, racial hierarchies, and civilizing mission central to British imperialism. By examining Crusoe’s paternalistic authority, the imposition of European values, and the economic underpinnings of their relationship, we can read Robinson Crusoe as an allegory for English colonialism, as well as a straight forward depictio...

       The Illusion of Choice: Living in a Nation of Coercion Philosophy Essay by Buddy Devine (Revised) We've never had true freedom, not in the United States, not anywhere. Coercion permeates every layer of modern society, shaping decisions we've mistaken for choices. When survival itself hinges on compliance, can we claim any decision is truly ours? The question isn't whether we have freedom, but whether we can distinguish genuine choice from learned submission to necessity. Consider how economic survival dictates our most intimate decisions. Someone enters sex work not from desire but because rent is due and groceries are unaffordable. College students remain enrolled not for education but for housing, parental support, or health insurance. Workers stay in abusive jobs because healthcare is employer-tied and eviction looms. This extends beyond economics into every social structure. We medicate ourselves to appear "normal" not from preference but to avoid insti...

  Psych wards must be abolished.  Here are some more humane Alternatives:  By Elijah Brahmi Psych wards need to be abolished, and the few promising replacements around the world today do not get the funding they deserve. It may seem like a radical view for some, but for the survivors of psychiatric incarceration and abuse, forced institutionalization is akin to torture and oftentimes can devolve into just that. Many who do not know someone who's mentally ill and don't live with severe mental illness themselves often perpetuate the misconception that psych wards may be unpleasant but we need them, and their treatment for the "most far gone in society" and are necessary for society to function, to keep the thin line between order and chaos. Truth be told, psych wards are not treatment. As someone who's been to several over the years, in the teen and adult ward in many different states, I have a unique perspective on a comprehensive view of what psych wards are reall...

  Elijah Brahmi Minxu Press Essay 11/18/2025 The Failures of Modern Mental Health Treatment. Statistics show that one in four people lives with a mental illness. 23.1% of U.S. adults experienced a mental health condition in 2022, which translates to 59.3 million people. Mental illness and neurodivergence (autism, ADHD, dyslexia, and other neurological conditions, which can have a lot of overlap with mental illness as we currently conceive of it). Now, that is a lot of people. 50 million? That's more people than the entire population of Vatican City in 2025. Diagnoses have only gone up since 2022. So, people who live with mental illness are still a minority, an oppressed and highly discriminated against one at that, but 50 million is still a lot of people, more people than you may think, considering how society treats people with mental illness in a way that frankly is stuck in the dark ages. Chances are, you know someone who lives with a mental illness. So if such a large p...