The Paragraph

Original essays, literary criticism, and illustrated reflections on society and everyday life.

The Door Marked Exit

A person ready to leave faces looping velvet ropes while a smiling attendant gestures towards another circuit near a closed exit door.
Leaving was simple. First, a short journey through our reasons to stay.

The helpfulness in this scene is what makes it uncomfortable. Nobody is physically preventing departure. Every additional turn can be presented as assistance, an opportunity or a chance to reconsider. The freedom to leave survives in principle while growing expensive in practice.

I think a service reveals something about its respect for us at the moment we no longer want it. A generous entrance is easy to design; a generous exit asks the organisation to accept a choice that does not benefit it. We should be able to change our minds without having to prove exhaustion. Sometimes the most convincing expression of care is simply opening the door.

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Read alongside: The Disappearing Exit.

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