Where exactly did it apply its pressure, gain control? Representations: of his interests, advantages and disadvantages, pleasures and displeasures; for the condemned man and for the spectators it is an object of representation.
By what instrument did one act on the representations? Other representations, or rather couplings of ideas; these pairings could function only in the element of publicity: scenes that established them or reinforced them in the eyes of all.
His role was to reintroduce the real presence of the signified. Producing this signified abundantly and visibly, and therefore reactivating the signifying system - it is with this coin that the offender pays his debt to society.
if you look back at old diary posts im expressing things in similar ways, just to untangle some thoughts, or rather to capture a moment or an angle of the tangle. but now the assent and recognition is a bother. i dont want to be taken seriously and i dont want your reception.
pretty annoyed with the way people talk about impermanence. it’s frustrating that people associate it with insignificance or that the appropriate attitude is one of detachment. something being “fleeting” is not particularly notable in itself, and the emphasis you place has a one-sided odor to it.
more generally, it’s just another instance of feeling rather alienated from my linguistic community. it’s all too thin, all too untextured. it makes me uncomfortable and isolated to use the same words as you.