Doc Searls Weblog

My life

Do some stuff
Sleep like a dog
Do some stuff
Sleep like a dog

Or watch the play from a seat close to a door

“Hell is other people.”—Jean-Paul Sartre

Philosopheasy explains,

What makes another person’s gaze so powerful? According to Sartre, we exist in two radically different ways.
In our own minds, we are a “Subject.” We are a limitless current of intentions, possibilities, memories, and dreams. We are not a fixed thing; we are a constant process of becoming. When you are alone, you experience this freedom most purely. You are the author, director, and star of your own reality.
The moment another person looks at you, however, you are ripped from that role. Under their Gaze, you are instantly transformed into an “Object.” You become a thing in their world, defined by external properties they assign to you: “tall,” “serious,” “well-dressed,” “nervous.” Your infinite inner world collapses into a finite, external label. And the most terrifying part? You have no control over what that label is.
Their perception becomes a prison. Their judgment, even if unspoken or indifferent, builds the walls. Every encounter, then, is a silent battle for subjectivity. Who gets to be the free consciousness, and who is forced to become the defined object?

But what if the look is of love? Of acceptance and understanding? Of respect? Of easement toward your privacy and personal space? Does Sartre leave room for Whatever? Guess I need to read No Exit again.