Explain SMBC — the wiki for Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal

the-trees

2022-03-03 View on smbc-comics.com → 1 revision
the-trees
Votey panel for the-trees
This explanation is incomplete or may contain errors. It was generated by AI and has not yet been reviewed by a human editor.

Explanation

This comic plays on the trope of the well-meaning but ultimately spineless approach to environmental or political problems.

In the first panel, a character (possibly a linguist or scientist) announces: "Stop! Look! I have created a tree language that lets the trees speak for themselves!" -- presenting a seemingly revolutionary breakthrough that would give nature a voice.

In the second panel, another character considers: "Maybe the old ones are right, maybe that means that my sisters and I might..." -- suggesting the trees might use this voice to advocate for their own protection.

In the third panel, someone dismisses this: "Pay no attention to the trees," and another adds: "We must send them away. They are so funny" (or similar dismissive language).

The final panel shows a construction worker or logger saying: "Okay, let's go with that then" -- proceeding to ignore or destroy the trees regardless.

The comic satirizes how giving marginalized groups (here represented by trees) a "voice" is meaningless if the people in power simply choose to ignore that voice. The trees being given the ability to speak doesn't change the power dynamics at all -- the loggers and developers just dismiss what they say and carry on. It's a commentary on performative activism and the limits of "raising awareness" when structural incentives remain unchanged.

View History (1) Original Comic
← Previous Comic Next Comic →