my street had a block party for the 4th. my partner baked cookies, which i brought over to the 20-30 people a few houses up. nobody looked at me, i had to interrupt a conversation to ask where to put the cookies, and once i put them down, nobody continued to acknowledge me until i felt too awkward standing alone so i left. i'm not gonna stop anyone breaking into your houses now and i want my tupperware back.
American culture creates the awkward personal encounter.
Most people spend their days playing the role at work of agreeable, compliant and guffawing stiffs, then spend their free time watching tv and buying cheap disposable crap (without stopping to pause to consider most of it’s been made by child slave labor in SE Asia) to fill up their attics and garages to fill the void in their empty lives with consumerism.
It’s almost as if the whole modern world has been constructed this way so that in our alienation we never seek to find or express commonality with our neighbors, so that no class bonds or solidarity has a chance to develop. Instead, we have Keeping Up with the Joneses status-seeking and envy of what others have.
It’s a weird, pitiful culture here. We’ve made a whole society of stunted adolescents who haven’t learned how to express themselves or trust in humanity, where instead of acknowledging universal truths we speak in the language and touchstones of media sensationalism, sports and advertisements.
my street had a block party for the 4th. my partner baked cookies, which i brought over to the 20-30 people a few houses up. nobody looked at me, i had to interrupt a conversation to ask where to put the cookies, and once i put them down, nobody continued to acknowledge me until i felt too awkward standing alone so i left. i'm not gonna stop anyone breaking into your houses now and i want my tupperware back.
I blame the host. for that kind of event you need someone who notices when new people arrive
American culture creates the awkward personal encounter.
Most people spend their days playing the role at work of agreeable, compliant and guffawing stiffs, then spend their free time watching tv and buying cheap disposable crap (without stopping to pause to consider most of it’s been made by child slave labor in SE Asia) to fill up their attics and garages to fill the void in their empty lives with consumerism.
It’s almost as if the whole modern world has been constructed this way so that in our alienation we never seek to find or express commonality with our neighbors, so that no class bonds or solidarity has a chance to develop. Instead, we have Keeping Up with the Joneses status-seeking and envy of what others have.
It’s a weird, pitiful culture here. We’ve made a whole society of stunted adolescents who haven’t learned how to express themselves or trust in humanity, where instead of acknowledging universal truths we speak in the language and touchstones of media sensationalism, sports and advertisements.