You're not the only one who sees it

A must-read essay by Tessa Lena

Writing is hard for me right now. There are many topics I want to dive into, but some difficulties are taking my attention right now. When those happen, for me, the now ever-present sense of the world as wrong, off-kilter, false, and surreal becomes harder to manage.

I’ve used the films The Stepford Wives and Invasion of the Body Snatchers as metaphors for the way world seems, and they’re still the closest descriptions of how I perceive society right now.

Other people see it, too, and while it’s not enough, it’s some comfort. Writer Tessa Lena is among them.

I see it everywhere. The standards are in the toilet. Nobody has the energy to care. The delivery people don’t look you in the eye, they just throw the stuff on the floor and hurry off. Younger cashiers also often don’t look you in the eye and don’t respond to greetings. Packages get destroyed, stolen, and lost. Tracking doesn’t work. Censorship algorithms are a black box that you can’t argue with. Asking people to think is perceived as an arrogant insult or a personal attack. Thinking is, in fact, “snotty.” And have you seen those “stay away” damaged teens on the train with empty, mentally challenged eyes where, I personally would think twice before I say anything that may piss them off because I am not sure what they may do in response? They have been damaged perhaps irreparably, they are not there. Can’t reach. So many people you just can’t reach.

All this is a result of accumulated, and now acutely visible, physical and spiritual poison.

I recommend the whole essay. Those who watch Disaffected or who read this Substack will recognize a fellow “noticer.”

Thank you for helping me feel just a little less crazy and alone, Tessa.

When No One Can Work, What Will We Do?