---
contentType: annotation
title: Welcome to Normland — note 6
annotationTarget: /essays/welcome-to-normland#footnote-anchor-6
newsletterUrl: https://chaosmap.substack.com/p/welcome-to-normland#footnote-6
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image: /images/chaos-map-share.jpg
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**PARALYZE**: The dark side of PRESERVE. Our preservation instincts kick into high gear when threatened — we get roasted on social media, our country goes to war, our children reject our worldview, or a group hero falls from grace. Group trauma can trigger seeing all potential social change as a DEFCON 1 threat, even when it might positively expand and enrich our social relationships. Playing PARALYZE may slow down but never ultimately stops social change. It’s up to us if we want to be part of evolving our social fabric in a healthy way or like a deer caught in headlights about to be run over by the next generation’s norms.

[Return to passage](/essays/welcome-to-normland/index.md#footnote-anchor-6)