Consent as the universal denominator Part 1 - Intro, ads
Consent is not just for sexual encounters
Usually when people talk about consent, it's in the context of "Could you have the morsel of decency to ask your potential-sexual-act-partner if they're fine with that kind of act?" but I have realized it expands WAAAY beyond that into almost everything in life.
Sidenote: people who mock this concept of making sure your partner-in-the-sack is willing to engage in such-and-such act give me the creeps. Not gonna go into that whole can of worms, but just wanted to drive-by hiss at creepy fucks. (Pun not intended.)
First of all, I am some sort of neurodivergent, and I have some sensory issues: misophonia (sensitive to sounds), hypersomia (sensitive to smells), touch aversion, I am easily distracted by all stimuli, and get easily anxious by things I am unable to recognize and assess. I'm a fucking trainwreck, I am fully aware. My contractually bound life partner is a goddamn saint for putting up with my shit every single day.
We're back on ads?
Let's start from the lighter end of things. Ads have always irritated the shit out of me. They're designed to grab your attention by any means possible. This means they have a strong incentive to make ads loud, bright and annoying, and this is part of the reason why I loathe ads: they make me overstimulated and anxious.
But what I have realized through decades of self-reflection, discussing with various mental health professionals, and discussing with a bunch of friends:
It's mostly about consent. (For me at least)
Suddenly out of nowhere, I'm being pelted with the horrifying consumerism propaganda, trying to psychologically manipulate me into buying completely irrelevant, worthless, unnecessary shit that I have no interest in. They assault all of the senses they have the technology to do so with, and cause me actual, tangible harm. Even worse is when they force me to stop whatever the fuck I was doing to harass me, and I am horrible at mode switching, it takes me ages to get back to the rails I was on, and tanks my mood.
This is why I wanted to talk about ads in one of the previous posts, because it's actually very important to me to control that aspect of my life, as it causes me stress, anxiety, and affects my mood negatively. It's not just me being an idealistic anti-capitalist (which I am, but that's beside the point) but that it's actually making my life worse.
Walking ads
You know those guys standing in every fucking corner of every mall ever at all times, who try to sell phone subscriptions, electricity contracts, newspaper subscriptions etc.? I have a secret:
I don't have any fucking respect for those people.
I mean, I get it. You're young. You need a job, there's no jobs, you need money. I truly do understand. I don't care. I don't respect you, or how you have sold yourself to the beast of advertisement. I am including telemarketers in this category as well, not to mention door-to-door salespeople. Do note, that this does not mean I treat them like shit. Basic decency is the default, unless they don't reciprocate it.
I am truly sorry if you are hurt by this, but...
Fuck. You.
I hate you, and what you do. You are all I hate about ads, but masquerading as a human. You actively make my life worse. You make me loathe the time I have to spend at any store, because I have to now try and remember what the fuck I was doing, and avoid the gauntlet of people bothering me, trying to manipulate me into buying shit.
There is a spectrum and nuance to this, obviously. If I have my headphones on, and I'm not looking in your direction at all, that's a big hint that I'm not open to whatever you're offering. Most get this, and I'm fine with those people. But the ones who step in front of you when you don't acknowledge them to try and get you to stop? Those people I have violent fantasies about. I'm not a violent person in any sense, but I truly, truly want to punch you in the face if you do this.
Going a step further, if they, on top of this, don't respect my first "No." I am going to become considerably less nice, and it's their fault. I am going to insult them, I am going to call them out for being pieces of shit, and I am going to give them the finger. I don't even feel bad about it.
This whole thing kind of derailed into me ranting and fuming, but hey, you should've expected it, honestly, that's on you if you don't like it.
At this point in writing this, I realize this is about to become an extremely long post, so let's stop here and continue next time. Sorry for the tease, but I infuriated myself writing this, and am now exhausted. I think shorter posts more often, long topics split into parts, is an easier format to read as well.
Teehee, post-tease
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