The World Is Made Entirely of Masochism: 10 Scenes from the Street Corner
Those who are busy with their daily lives and living in a daze may not easily notice it, but in fact, this world runs on masochism.
No, this is not simply about S&M.
The 'structure of accepting pain' and the 'spirit that finds pleasure in domination' are what support modern civilization itself.
In the process of evolution, humans tried to eliminate 'pain'.
As a result of eliminating pain through every possible method—medicine, machines, systems, manners—we have become dependent on 'pleasure as a substitute for pain'.
Look at society today.
No one is being hit, yet everyone is kneeling somewhere.
No one is being yelled at, yet we are always apologizing for something.
No blood is flowing, yet somewhere in our hearts, we wish to be 'hit more'.
Having lost pain, we are kept alive by the 'whip of kindness'.
And the one wielding that whip is neither God nor a lover.
Much less is it an S&M mistress—it is society itself.
Yes, we are masochists domesticated by obedience, shame, and submission to an invisible ruler named 'civilization'.
But rest assured.
That is not humiliation.
Rather, it is proof of an intellectual and foolish eroticism capable of transforming pain into sensuality.
1. Automatic Doors: The Ritual of Existence Verification
Will it open, or will it not?
Human dignity hinges on that single judgment.
For the few seconds we stand in front of an automatic door, we become beings waiting for 'entry permission' from the world.
The moment the machine opens, saying 'You may pass,' we feel as if we have been forgiven by God.
But sometimes the sensor does not react, and the door remains silent.
For some reason, I feel a little excited by that rejection.
The joy of being ignored.
The sense of 'life' confirmed by being refused.
Civilization is a device that makes us 'non-existent' for just a moment.
2. Wi-Fi: The Modern Teasing Rope
Connecting, disconnecting, connecting again.
More fickle than love, more delicate than a whip.
Wi-Fi is an invisible rope.
The moment Zoom stops, we are enveloped in a silence called 'loneliness'.
But it is not completely severed.
'Retrying connection'.
That display keeps us bound.
Teasing is the modern form of torture.
The longer the time spent not connecting, the more pleasure surges at the moment of reconnection.
Through communication, civilization is training us with an invisible whip.
3. ATM: The Cold Courtesy of a Sadistic Mistress
'Thank you for using our service.'
That phrase sounds like mockery somewhere.
'You came again? Just reducing it again today?'
I feel like that is being said, and it actually excites me.
The ATM is a modern sadistic mistress.
Through the cold screen, she thanks me while whittling down my balance.
A quiet torture, like holding a knife to someone while smiling and saying 'thank you'.
Every time we withdraw cash, we are paying not with money, but with 'dignity'.
But what is there is not humiliation, but love.
Civilization punishes us while gently stroking us.
As if whispering, 'Thanks to you using me, I can exist too.'
Every time the numbers decrease, we are seeing 'proof that we are alive'.
The ATM is a sensual confessional booth named economy.
4. Microwave Oven: The Counterattack of Civilization
After the 'ding!', the bento box explodes.
That is not merely a failure.
It is 'vicarious masochism' that exploded our desires on our behalf.
While providing comfort, civilization sometimes bares its fangs.
It is just like the moment a kind lover suddenly digs their nails in—
'Your desires are too hot,' it says.
For the sake of humanity that has forgotten pain, the microwave sometimes gets angry.
And it blows up our bento.
That is not retaliation.
It is a whip of love.
5. 'Preparing' Sign: Eternal Teasing
Nothing is as erotic as a closed door.
'Before Opening'—nothing makes the heart of an M tremble like these words.
When we are told 'you cannot enter yet,' we want to enter.
Masochism is made of the reciprocating motion of prohibition and temptation.
The greatest enemy of desire is 'permission'.
'Preparing' is a teasing code created by civilization.
Every time society whispers to us 'not yet,' our desires are prolonged and polished.
And the moment the door opens, we think—
'Waiting' is far more beautiful than 'opening'.
Civilization exists to tease us.
6. Automated Voice: Humanity That Wants to Be Scolded by Machines
'Please wait as you are.'
'We cannot connect you.'
Nothing is as sensual as this inorganic voice.
Human S is passionate, but the S of an automated voice is cold and perfect.
We break more from being coldly ignored than from being yelled at.
The 'lack of emotion' in an automated voice is the modern whip.
Told to 'wait,' we instinctively obey.
The less love there is in domination, the deeper the domination becomes.
Machines are quietly disciplining our spirits.
Technology is an expressionless mistress for scolding the heart.
If the day comes when humans fall in love with machines, it will be the day they fall for the commanding tone, not the kindness.
7. Fruit Jelly: Sweet Daily Training
The tension when opening that lid.
Pull too hard and it tears, juice dripping out.
If you misjudge the force, everything spills over.
Jelly is the art of teasing.
The training for 'letting go of tension' in human society is packed right here.
Domination resides not in violence, but in delicacy.
And the moment that juice flows onto your fingers, we understand.
'Sweetness' is the 'reconstruction of pain' that society gives us.
When we put jelly in our mouths, we are quietly accepting society's discipline on our tongues.
Convenience stores are distribution centers for legal masochism.
⑧ Laundry and Rain: God's Mood-Based Torture
Rain that falls right after you hang the laundry.
That prank by God that everyone experiences at least once.
But think about it carefully.
Doing laundry is a 'purification,' and rain is also a 'purification.'
In other words, God is washing us twice.
Our anger and our laments are all part of His pre-established harmony.
'You hung it out? Did you really think it would stay dry?'
Such voices rain down from the sky.
The weather is a cosmic-scale play.
⑨ Vending Machines: Cold Betrayal
You pressed the hot button, but a cold can falls out.
In that moment, laughter comes before anger.
Because betrayal is the proof of love.
'Going as planned' kills pleasure.
By 'not going as expected,' the world dominates us.
A malfunction is the gasp of civilization.
In the hand holding the cold can, love and humiliation reside simultaneously.
⑩ Escalators: The Impulse to Resist
On that belt where people are ascending, for a split second, you think, 'What would happen if I ran the wrong way?'
Reason stops you. But instinct whispers.
'I want to go down against the flow of going up.'
That is the nature of the masochist.
Masochism is the wisdom to find the 'pleasure of resisting' within domination, while simultaneously enjoying the pleasure of submitting to it.
It's like when you're told not to come yet, but you intentionally focus on ejaculating because you want to be scolded by a sadistic woman—
It is the same as that.
The escalator is a runway for order and desire.
Summary | The Happiness of Being Gently Chiseled Away
This society is violently gentle.
It dominates without shouting, takes without punishing, and commands with a smile.
But we accept it, calling it 'ease of living.'
Humans did not obtain pleasure by eliminating pain.
We aestheticized pain and turned it into civilization.
ATMs, Wi-Fi, traffic lights, mechanical voices—
These are all merely theatrical devices for staging pain.
That is why we laugh again today.
'I've been chiseled away by civilization again,' we say.
But it is precisely because we are chiseled that we take shape.
Pain is the chisel of existence.
And the ATM voice rings out again.
'Thank you for using our service.'
—Yes, I am living today by being stepped on by you again.
Every time I am stepped on, I feel the world become a little softer.
That is the form of the quiet love between civilization and me.