I don’t want to be an ant, you know?

When I first read this quote, it stroke me like my feelings exactly about life in the UK. They way people treat you. As if acknowledging your existence with their eyes would have been a major intrusion in your psyche and a major discomfort for theirs… [My bold]

Hey. Could we do that again? I know we haven’t met, but I don’t want to be an ant, you know? I mean, it’s like we go through life with our antennas bouncing off one another, continuously on ant auto-pilot with nothing really human required of us. Stop. Go. Walk here. Drive there. All action basically for survival. All communication simply to keep this ant colony buzzing along in an efficient polite manner. “Here’s your change.” “Paper or plastic?” “Credit or debit?” “You want ketchup with that?” I don’t want a straw, I want real human moments. I want to see you. I want you to see me. I don’t want to give that up. I don’t want to be an ant, you know?

— Richard Linklater, Waking Life

• The video
• The full script