Social fabric is woven with polite fictions.

One of the major threads in that fabric is the idea of a unilateral self. The idea of the Person as a consistent, coherent individual – the illusion being conveniently contained within a singular meatbag, a single brain encased within a single bone skull. 

Singular individuals, if they exist, must be very rare. Most people are a muddle of conflicting fears and desires, hidden in a ratty trenchcoat of narrative

We say things like “I wasn’t myself” or “be yourself”. The opening paragraph of King Warrior Magician Lover talks about how people can’t “get themselves together”

Ostracize, shun the black sheep of the family, banish the Minotaur to the heart of the labyrinth

The Minotaur is also the source of vitality 

Elephant in the brain 

Inside out, avengers

Propaganda department

Reassuring to know you’re seldom ever in disagreement with the totality of someone

God of war Kratos reaches out to hug his son and doesn’t 

Bridgerton

Teenager jabbing at myself in the mirror asking myself why I wouldn’t study. It didn’t work, the tyrant/cop in me couldn’t get to the deeper self, the invincible summer, drive core, it knew to hide from scrutiny and abuse

I tried to copy what the adults in my life tried to do

I was lucky to have had read books and watched movies… stories are a way for people to pass wisdom to one another past the censors and disciplinarians who would restrict it from us. We shabbily disguise them in mere entertainment, giftwrap them

What does it mean to be a king, sovereign over oneself, a good father… it is to provide structure, discipline, but not ex nihilo, not arbitrary. A good coach doesn’t push you harder than he knows you can go, and to do that he has to be very sensitive to you, your needs

Clown car of feelings, doubts, uncertainty 

Fanaticism is repressed doubt 

It’s embarrassing when a boy king learns that he is being managed. Honor economy, king has to have in some sense the biggest heart – not 

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polite fictions 

There’s always somebody somewhere who could be hurt or potentially hurt by any perspective you hold, any action you might take. 

There’s are some cliche wisdoms that I will likely reference. But idk if I want to start with them.

I want to start with civilisation and society and self regulation and order and bullshit but simultaneously I want to talk about concern trolls and sneaky duckers and people 

You might make people feel bad

It might be an inconvenience to them

How do you know you’re not being an asshole? Well you care for the people in your life. Puff puff pass. 

Civilization is potty training

Those of us who live in cities are well-trained. Avert your eyes. Don’t take up space. Don’t cause a scene. 

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What do I wanna say with polite fictions 

Sidenote status regulation

We are too busy 

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there’s a kind of relaxation i can only experience when being myself around someone who’s actually interested in understanding me, hearing me out, etc. i believe i have personally taken this to the fullest possible extreme on twitter and learned its limitations