Kiss Chase
Isn't life a completely predictable and recitable account of all our memories?
Well, whether it is or isn't, we don't need to waste time on the consideration.
I want to talk about the law of diminishing returns. You all know what I think about money, so this is going to be a different kind of talk.
This is about the diminishing returns of what Freud calls the superego.
Freud’s superego is the moral component of the psyche, representing our internalized societal values and standards—learned from parents and culture[1][2][3][5]. It drives us to behave in ways that are seen as morally right, judges our actions, and can be a source of inner pride or guilt[1][2]. This “inner critic” mediates how we see ourselves and shapes our actions with rules, ideals, and prohibitions.
What image do we have of ourselves as we go through life, built on those around us, on the actions we take in response to society’s norms?
Take the playground—some kids play together in groups, gaining fun and validation from interactions between egos, while others go about it alone.
Take the clubs—some adults go to nightclubs together, as couples or in groups, all seeking a meaningful interaction between superegos, whether "band to people" (B2P) or "person to person" (P2P).
So where does the kiss chase come in?
My observation lies between the playground and the club.
Kiss chase, in the playground, was the desire of young girls’ superegos to chase their crushes—a social game reflecting early internalization of norms around attraction and pursuit.
By adulthood, particularly in nightlife, the roles are often reversed or complicated: social expectations demand the male become the pursuer, while both parties navigate a complex web of desires, image, and internalized rules.
At this point, GEOHOT's lyrics resonate:
So stop fawning, start yawning, and hit the floor just to dance
Fuck your hand and avoid the romance.
Withhold the dick, supply and demand
Flip the tables and make her beg to get in your pants.
So what of it? The Hegelian dialectic must exist in some form, right?
But if so, why lie about it? Why deny yourself the truth just because the superego wants it?
What's your name, can we fuck, you while out with your dick
While subconsciously the lady knows she's runnin this shit
I just want the truth.
and arise from sordid ashes
to come answering the call
I am crying from a bunker
that the truth can save us all
In the end, the dynamic between desire, societal rules, and personal truth is always at play. The superego, shaped through years of internalized expectations, acts both as a guide and a constraint, often diminishing the returns of genuine interaction as we become more aware of, and more beholden to, the codes we’ve inherited and the games we play.