Compliance or engagement? The two extremes. There are so many unspoken rules to comply with what people frame as ‘the right thing to do’. Generally most people will avoid the term ‘compliance’ and just assume they are making the most appropriate decision. Although a lot of compliance is socially conditioned and if you go outside of the unwritten agreements you are a bit suspect.

It isn’t to say that being a tin foil hat wearing conspiracy theorist is not compliant but that the general narratives, though unspoken, are mostly upheld with little thought for the need to agree with whatever you feel is right by proxy. I am purposefully being vague because I don’t want this to be framed as uncompliant, suspect or even engaging. To my mind compliance is also the path of least resistance. That is all I want to express.

Compliance isn’t easy either, because to remain compliant requires knowing what you need to do to be compliant. Yes and no, if everyone is agreeing with you, you say the right things about touchy topics, you may just be socially conditioned. Although the word of the day is compliance. If a building is compliant to building codes, safety protocols, form and function then it is compliant meeting its stated aims of function. Then some kid comes along or even an adult and writes on the wall.

That is engagement first and foremost. This begs the question as to why engagement normally is passive and when active it is suspect for whatever reason. It is like if I have a counter narrative to what is seen as the most acceptable narrative. People don’t know what to say. It is awkward and generally the subject gets changed quickly. Ok so what I really want to say is why can’t we think on our toes? Why do we have to comply with narratives that we didn’t even build? All we can do is cherrypick and people don’t even realise that.