The Voice

andy pink, ready for his close-up on the left side below the brow, teeth brushed, flossed, with character cleft chin in perfect position —

for all mentally ill people who have stayed inpatient on a psych ward, they will be familiar with The Voice. it is most likely a consequence of clinical burnout, but it is repulsive to hear, esp in the er when you might not be at your best. The Voice is, firstly, dismissive, it treats you as an object, like a number, and makes no effort to connect in a time of need and uncertainty. The Voice speaks to you as if you are simply a patient that must check a box on a form, and it also is palpably cold and demeaning. it's like the nurse is not looking at you when speaking. or she is talking past you. or you are not in the same room. it's crushing and lo you try to respond but it's a board in front of your face. subjectivity is entirely erased. the patient is either a child or a very elderly person, and we are stuck in a world that we cannot engage with in any real way. no wonder they always think we're crazy?

but the voice saturates other places in the culture besides hospitals. It is rampant in voice operators, retails clerks, bank tellars, frankly everwhere. phrases such as "thank you" and "may i help you?" and "what can i get for you?" — all of these, in their particular phraseology deviate from their own content. with the voice, there is a split between content and form. the content is usually right on — even if corporately encoded — but the form is: the voice. the form of the voice negates its content. what are you really saying in the split between content and form? essentially, i don't mean this, and that the caring does not care.

one of the great things about rich is that he doesn't have the voice, he has his own voice, and it is altogether awesome. as you might suspect, the employees who use the voice — care without caring — are being paid to say "thank you" and "may i help you?" and "what can i get you?" — they are frustrated in their jobs, they are alienated from them, and they do not like themselves or the other. rich loves his job. unalienated labor. impossible in the system, and really sexy.

rich:: saw a cute blond boy at the park this afternoon, med school, pediatrics. you might like to fuck him, and i might like to watch.

that's what i looked like in my 20s.

rich:: i think i misinterpreted the "singapore, singapore" on the wix twipla analytics. it was confusing because all of a sudden there was a double "singapore, singapore," which i imagined was reference to a boyfriend. although i am looking for a strictly open relationship, i thought perhaps if we get together you would be bringing your boyfriend over, and just wanted to let you know that i am looking for an open relationship, which would exclude that you have another boyfriend. i see that i may have misinterpreted that (hopefully), as i think wix twipla analytics has changed its ways, including two locations (say, one inside the other). got confused. hope you will come over though you can't come into the apt.

mic