The goal
is to avoid harassment.
But no harassment
means no joy either.

[Harassment] can mean nothing more
than the excessive proximity of the other
with his/her desires and fears and pleasures.
The other is Ok
as long as he does not intrude
as long as he/she is not really other.

The central human right in late capitalist society
is the right
not to be harassed.

-Jacques Lacan

I am reminded of the well known quote from No Exit by Jean Paul Sartre: Hell is other people. One would think this describes our condition, as a society? I mean the sense that another is crowding our space…

Naturally we’ve absolutely no experience of these individuals so we imagine “they” all are active members of a category of harassers… You know, the gays, the Hollywood elites, the trans guy or gal on a hard quest to become the gender they’ve felt themselves to be, etc., etc.. Oh, I cannot leave unmentioned those present because they fled hunger, violence, the terror of South and Central American countries. We imagine they came in order to harass, taking our jobs which they do for less than the minimum wage. “They” are different than us.

But wait, how could they not pour their breakfast cheerios into a bowl more or less exactly as I do morning by morning?

A bit of reflection discloses that harassment is a vapor of our imaginations.

The line within this Lacan quote that intrigues me most is the thought that individuals whose experiences, whose views are different than are mine, are necessary to expanding my sense of self, to the rise of my enjoyment. No difference and no friction – means no joy either!

Want to avoid boredom? Do you desire stimulation, new interests? Then, take the time and the trouble to say hello to someone in proximity.

If you tired of having hot dogs, everyday, “same old, same old”. Try a taqueria today and say hello to the individual that serves you. They have a backstory…

I am not talking about Taco Bell!