@beep@follow.ethanmarcotte.com
Post #2567163
2026-05-07 16:48 UTC
“To refuse is a creative act. What is created in a refusal is a gap, a space, a moment in which something else makes ready to emerge, something that waits upon our invitation and a bit of water or sunlight to pop itself out and set down roots. To refuse is to create that which can only exist in the shade of that refusal, the refusal giving shelter to the choice that appears behind it. *To refuse is to choose.*”
— https://aworkinglibrary.com/writing/into-the-gap
Replies (2)
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@beep@follow.ethanmarcotte.com 2026-05-07 16:48
I’ve been reading Mandy for literal, actual decades. This might very well be my favorite thing she’s ever written.
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@heydon@front-end.social 2026-05-07 17:35
@beep@follow.ethanmarcotte.com Reminds me of the time I was at an agency and refused to do work for a client engaged in proselytization. They were really put out but ultimately said "okay we'll just assign it to someone else." I don't know what happened with the account but I should have made my refusal a public announcement.