TotW: Finding subtexts

As anarchists, I expect we're all pretty good at finding ways that some normal things that people take for granted, speaking English (or whatever language), ways of relating, ways of story telling, et majorly cetera, train us or encourage us away from autonomy, creativity, empowerment. And sometimes maybe (seems much more rarely) encourage us *towards* those things.

For example I was walking next to a child care program, and listening and watching kids learn and play the game Red Light, Green Light, which obviously teaches red and green as stop and go, but also teaches what surveillance means, and so what sneaking means, and the control (and some limits to that control) of the person at the head of the group.

What are subtexts that you've noticed, either positive or negative, and what have you noticed about how they interact with each other? (The color caller of that game, for example, reminds me of a teacher at the head of a class, or a father at the head of a table. Of course there are significant differences--there will always be--but they still reinforce each other, as well.)

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Alarm clocks! I don't ask, "What is the time, I have to go to work"?. I say " Be gone evil tick-tock, your subtext, i.e " follow my ticking " and i plug my ears and get on with life untimed"!

i’m thinking of roads. not sure if it’s because the topic mentions traffic lights in a way, but i’m also reminded of JL’s recent topic about architecture and the discussion about the built environment, which is usually seen as backdrop, roads even more so. buildings can be shaped into symbols and script, but roads not so much.

“roadkill” is a curious term, it’s not a “carkill” or a “car-cass”. roads really do kill in many ways and are inhospitable strips that scar the land. then there is “road rage” and such scenes are similar to what a lot of normies imagine when they think of “anarchy”. “the streets” is a dangerous, rough and harsh place. the road to hell is paved with good intentions and all roads lead to Rome. “but who will build the roads?” a common gotcha 101 faq aimed at anarchists. and so on. subtext is roads are against anarchy.

why did the chicken cross the road? to get to the other side. but what came first? the chicken or the egg? to build a new world in the shell of the old. the road is the shell, shell is the gas station, also sHELL. the chicken crucified the road. the road must die so that the new world can crack through

the subtext of every text printed on a piece of paper is that whatever is expressed there is worth more than the lives of the pine, spruce, fir, hemlock, and a few other softwoods used to furnish 80 to 85 percent of all the wood used in the United States for papermaking. the subtext for toilet paper and other disposable paper items, such as packaging, is even more grim. it says that forests are trash

The subtext of the blue and yellow flags I’m seeing all over my town seems to be “isn’t it nice we all agree on something again”

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