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Mickey Z
Cool Observer
the Department of Homeland Security.
Thursday, August 12, 2004
Human Traffic Skills
While reading “The Culture of Make-Believe” by Derrick Jensen...this passage stood out:
“Attempting to maintain complete awareness of the fact that each person has a history, each one has preferences, each one has hobbies, causes me existentially to seize up, like an engine run too far in the red. I can feel my internal pistons begin to tap, then knock, and I know I’ve got to slow down. I can’t always be aware of the fact that my postal carrier was once a child, nor that the bank teller might have bunions. All of this is one reason I live in a small town: To navigate within cities demands intense objectification in defense of one’s sanity.”
Reminded me of something the zoologist Desmond Morris wrote:
“In the busy streets, you develop human traffic skills of amazing dexterity. In crowded buses, trains, and elevators, you acquire a blank stare. You have eyes only for those you know. This enables you to enjoy the varied delights of the big city while mentally re-creating a personal tribe existence.”
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