{"id":45463,"title":"This obedience","description":"...","content":"

<\/p>

\"4twn0stnplczbcgo3guwxr9dnfk1l5bhdmknlutgqpvnvlmd.png.jpg?w=1140&h=auto\"Obedience.<\/p>

Say it aloud.<\/p>

Go on.<\/p>

Let it roll around your mouth<\/p>

like an unfamiliar sucker.<\/p>

Sour at first, isn\u2019t it?<\/p>

A word heavy with implications,<\/p>

yet somehow hollow<\/p>

when you try to pin it down.<\/p>

Obedience to what, exactly?<\/p>

The light flickers.<\/p>

Red.<\/p>

Amber.<\/p>

Green.<\/p>

A little sequence we\u2019ve learned to trust<\/p>

more than our own instincts.<\/p>

The body hesitates<\/p>

because the mind has been trained<\/p>

not to question.<\/p>

It's not law enforcement;<\/p>

it's a glowing stick figure.<\/p>

No barked orders.<\/p>

No batons.<\/p>

Just a suggestion in LEDs.<\/p>

But we stop.<\/p>

We go.<\/p>

We wait.<\/p>

We\u2019re conditioned to follow<\/p>

not the command<\/p>

but the symbol of the command\u2014<\/p>

and when that symbol wears a skirt,<\/p>

we pause again.<\/p>

Progress?<\/p>

A gesture?<\/p>

Or just another way to tell us<\/p>

we\u2019re only allowed two shapes\u2014<\/p>

man in trousers,<\/p>

woman in a skirt\u2014<\/p>

and that the rest of us<\/p>

are just noise in the data?<\/p>

\"zyzb63lytuk4scmiyxdgdksvpegubemiyhqizrntypbysgzj.png.jpg?w=1140&h=auto\"But then, haven\u2019t we all become noise?<\/p>

Since the world tilted on its axis<\/p>

and the streets went silent,<\/p>

and our lives shrank<\/p>

down to the size of a Zoom window.<\/p>

The pandemic wasn\u2019t a storm;<\/p>

it was a pause.<\/p>

One long, drawn-out, head-throbbing silence.<\/p>

A sort of planetary shhhh.<\/p>

Stay inside.<\/p>

Stay safe.<\/p>

Stay away.<\/p>

We obeyed.<\/p>

Most of us.<\/p>

Not because we believed, necessarily,<\/p>

but because obedience<\/p>

suddenly came dressed as morality.<\/p>

As solidarity.<\/p>

As care.<\/p>

And we were so good, weren\u2019t we?<\/p>

Washing our hands like Lady Macbeth.<\/p>

Clicking \u201caccept all cookies\u201d<\/p>

like our lives depended on it.<\/p>

Scrolling through our feeds<\/p>

like they were the Gospel of Saint Mark,<\/p>

who offers protection<\/p>

for those held captive or imprisoned.<\/p>

\"9ezpafkxswtdgj3pmkmaxn9dccbsrnw8dk2wkfxron0xylyz.png.jpg?w=1140&h=auto\"There we were, alone together.<\/p>

Together apart.<\/p>

Our only rebellion<\/p>

a late-night doom-scroll<\/p>

or an ironic TikTok dance.<\/p>

But really\u2014were we rebelling?<\/p>

Or just following a different kind of instruction,<\/p>

quieter, sneakier,<\/p>

dressed in blue light and push notifications?<\/p>

Then there were the skies\u2014<\/p>

do you remember?<\/p>

Blue\u2026<\/p>

The air tasted different.<\/p>

It was cleaner,<\/p>

as though the planet itself had exhaled<\/p>

in our absence.<\/p>

It felt like a revelation,<\/p>

but was probably just temporary relief.<\/p>

A good face day on a dying system.<\/p>

And as soon as we were allowed to move again,<\/p>

the noise came back,<\/p>

along with the certainty.<\/p>

Meetings.<\/p>

Deadlines.<\/p>

\u201cBack to normal,\u201d they said.<\/p>

But whose normal was that,<\/p>

and why did it feel like a step backwards?<\/p>

\"edwgoziwl1vxfdqjlsiccjwiatlibjhxs3eczf58y5omtqol.png.jpg?w=1140&h=auto\"And amber\u2014oh, amber!<\/p>

Always overlooked.<\/p>

A brief second of yellow,<\/p>

that in-between moment<\/p>

that tells you nothing clearly.<\/p>

The colour of maybes.<\/p>

Slow down?<\/p>

Speed up?<\/p>

Prepare to stop or don\u2019t bother?<\/p>

The colour of modern life, really.<\/p>

That great ambiguity<\/p>

we all try to live inside<\/p>

without pulling our hair out.<\/p>

The pandemic taught us how to live in amber.<\/p>

It taught us that certainty is a lie,<\/p>

that pause is its own kind of truth.<\/p>

\"zrunshwq6spoojffclblpktfko9n1nqpjyeom1t9srjcnhl8.png.jpg?w=1140&h=auto\"Then there\u2019s the mask.<\/p>

Remember when it was just for doctors?<\/p>

Now it\u2019s a second skin.<\/p>

A muzzle.<\/p>

A badge.<\/p>

A burden.<\/p>

A gift.<\/p>

It says: I care.<\/p>

It says: I comply.<\/p>

Or it says: I don\u2019t believe in this nonsense,<\/p>

but I\u2019m not trying to get shouted at<\/p>

in the supermarket.<\/p>

The face is hidden,<\/p>

but the message is clear\u2014<\/p>

though that message shifts<\/p>

depending on who\u2019s looking.<\/p>

For some, it\u2019s protection.<\/p>

For others, it\u2019s surveillance.<\/p>

\"uk0fwsmk9ytlv5vxbhts5v3i0d6ahrkvkxcsi9zols007red.png.jpg?w=1140&h=auto\"And underneath it all?<\/p>

Rage.<\/p>

Fear.<\/p>

Exhaustion.<\/p>

An overwhelming urge<\/p>

to be seen again,<\/p>

truly seen\u2014<\/p>

not just through a screen,<\/p>

or by facial recognition software,<\/p>

or in someone's weekly Teams meeting.<\/p>

\"vitxoibxdcranmpdlxaztrrmitwlnjpboqcj8oafhuaponkj.png.jpg?w=1140&h=auto\"But what about those who were never seen to begin with?<\/p>

The ones the world forgets\u2014<\/p>

the ones with lives lived quietly, differently,<\/p>

in pain that doesn\u2019t show,<\/p>

in bodies that won\u2019t behave.<\/p>

The disabled.<\/p>

The chronically ill.<\/p>

The neurodivergent.<\/p>

The ones who were told,<\/p>

during all this,<\/p>

that their lives mattered \u2014<\/p>

and then were promptly abandoned<\/p>

when convenience returned to the stage.<\/p>

For them, the mask was never political.<\/p>

It was survival.<\/p>

Still is.<\/p>

But the world only likes survival<\/p>

when it\u2019s cinematic,<\/p>

not when it\u2019s slow<\/p>

and silent<\/p>

and inconvenient.<\/p>

\"xklfxkcsp5hw0mk5ynghb53e4um7m6c3egdyhtewnlpngoeh.png.jpg?w=1140&h=auto\"Meanwhile, somewhere else\u2014<\/p>

a fence.<\/p>

A metaphor, sure,<\/p>

but also an actual fence.<\/p>

A physical barrier<\/p>

between \u201cneutrality\u201d and \u201cinvolvement.\u201d<\/p>

And listen, neutrality\u2019s just disobedience<\/p>

in a good suit.<\/p>

To say nothing is still to say something.<\/p>

Silence doesn\u2019t exist in a vacuum;<\/p>

it echoes off walls<\/p>

and ricochets into complicity.<\/p>

We know this.<\/p>

But we like the comfort of not knowing.<\/p>

We wrap it around ourselves<\/p>

like a weighted blanket.<\/p>

Soothing.<\/p>

Heavy.<\/p>

Suffocating.<\/p>

And above all of this,<\/p>

behind it,<\/p>

inside it:<\/p>

surveillance.<\/p>

The ever-watching eye.<\/p>

Not Orwellian anymore.<\/p>

That\u2019s too retro.<\/p>

Now it\u2019s chic.<\/p>

Efficient.<\/p>

Invisible.<\/p>

Our lives catalogued in little data packets,<\/p>

our preferences sold<\/p>

before we know them ourselves.<\/p>

The algorithm doesn\u2019t just watch\u2014<\/p>

it predicts, manipulates, nudges.<\/p>

It doesn\u2019t need to punish;<\/p>

it only needs to persuade.<\/p>

And we go along,<\/p>

nodding at terms and conditions<\/p>

we\u2019ll never read,<\/p>

handing over ourselves<\/p>

piece by pixelated piece.<\/p>

\"nvnfzjqytc7vjnqd7ssgrwyj4uastvujak9grhvct2gbdety.jpeg.jpeg?w=1140&v=2\"So where does that leave us?<\/p>

Obedient?<\/p>

Disobedient?<\/p>

Something in between,<\/p>

something flickering?<\/p>

We live in the yellow.<\/p>

We live in the pause.<\/p>

We exist in the flicker<\/p>

between red and green,<\/p>

between fear and hope,<\/p>

between action and stasis.<\/p>

And maybe that\u2019s where we\u2019ve always been\u2014<\/p>

trying to decide<\/p>

if it\u2019s safer to cross,<\/p>

or wiser to wait.<\/p>","urlTitle":"this-obedience","url":"\/blog\/this-obedience\/","editListUrl":"\/my-blogs","editUrl":"\/my-blogs\/edit\/this-obedience\/","fullUrl":"https:\/\/lostcampitos.com\/blog\/this-obedience\/","featured":false,"published":true,"showOnSitemap":true,"hidden":false,"visibility":null,"createdAt":1736198658,"updatedAt":1756590180,"publishedAt":1756590180,"lastReadAt":null,"division":{"id":209850,"name":"Lost Campitos"},"tags":[],"metaImage":{"original":"https:\/\/images.podos.io\/oix7kb0z7z3hwaahuedjvpghdwkmftyystleqbpiytvclinv.jpeg","thumbnail":"https:\/\/images.podos.io\/oix7kb0z7z3hwaahuedjvpghdwkmftyystleqbpiytvclinv.jpeg.jpg?w=1140&h=855","banner":"https:\/\/images.podos.io\/oix7kb0z7z3hwaahuedjvpghdwkmftyystleqbpiytvclinv.jpeg.jpg?w=1920&h=1440"},"metaTitle":"","metaDescription":"","keyPhraseCampaignId":null,"series":[],"similarReads":[{"id":34182,"title":"Crumbling Facade","url":"\/blog\/crumbling-facade\/","urlTitle":"crumbling-facade","division":209850,"description":"Matteo Delred's sculpture and photography project delves into the intricate relationship between solitude and artistic creation. In his pursuit of translating inner visions into tangible expressions, Delred finds himself detached from conventional social rhythms, with the artistic medium becoming both a confidante and an isolating force. As he immerses himself in the creative process, the boundaries between self and art begin to blur, presenting both exhilarating and disconcerting challenges. Delred grapples with the risk of losing himself in the act of self-expression, questioning where he ends and his art begins. However, he emphasises the importance of acknowledging the need for separation as a fortification of resilience and a form of self-care.","published":true,"metaImage":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/images.podos.io\/fxv2qr44nqrpzpefvo2i9ze9d7scwzzygwvzzqtjqavd1iz1.png.jpg?w=1140&h=855","banner":"https:\/\/images.podos.io\/fxv2qr44nqrpzpefvo2i9ze9d7scwzzygwvzzqtjqavd1iz1.png.jpg?w=1920&h=1440"},"hidden":0},{"id":33704,"title":"Sacrificial Male Stoicism","url":"\/blog\/sacrificial-male-stoicism\/","urlTitle":"sacrificial-male-stoicism","division":209850,"description":"Masculinity, often associated with stoicism and strength, possesses a complex emotional honesty that hides beneath layers of absurdity and self-deprecating wit. This emotional sincerity, though obscured, plays a crucial role in the masculine experience, giving rise to an archetype of sacrificial male stoicism. The use of absurdity in the masculine narrative serves as both a shield and a bridge, allowing men to navigate their emotions while conforming to societal expectations.","published":true,"metaImage":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/images.podos.io\/fyj9jyybikuyeexrss2dk7wdeg8jubvn9hvjlc1mvfd0jnpv.jpeg.jpg?w=1140&h=855","banner":"https:\/\/images.podos.io\/fyj9jyybikuyeexrss2dk7wdeg8jubvn9hvjlc1mvfd0jnpv.jpeg.jpg?w=1920&h=1440"},"hidden":0},{"id":52780,"title":"The Sea Has No Memory of You","url":"\/blog\/does-the-sea-grieve-the-breaking-wave\/","urlTitle":"does-the-sea-grieve-the-breaking-wave","division":209850,"description":"...","published":true,"metaImage":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/images.podos.io\/re2f4actvcowc9ahva6em0fdc0rb8e8fkrpiyxw0pvllclmz.jpeg.jpg?w=1140&h=855","banner":"https:\/\/images.podos.io\/re2f4actvcowc9ahva6em0fdc0rb8e8fkrpiyxw0pvllclmz.jpeg.jpg?w=1920&h=1440"},"hidden":0}],"labels":[]}