Tricolor of Collapse

You know that the reality is fake and many people around you are aware of it too. Leaders know, decision makers know, celebrities know. And they know that you know. The economy as a religion or a cult bypasses all reason, morality or laws of nature. The "monied elites" control the fake narrative.

But the unbearable pull of normalcy keeps us from discussing this with others as they might not know. We need something to help us realize that we are a legion. And something that tells others that we are aware.

The Tricolor of Collapse is a sign that you, as its wearer, acknowledge the possibility of global societal collapse and are willing to discuss both the predicament and the ways it might still be avoided.

Without coming together with different, or even “wrong” kinds of people, we don’t stand a chance.

To wear this you must try to treat everyone as human, invite conversation on the extinction and the end of the world, look beyond familiar divisions toward the physical limits of the world, concentrated power, and the forces that try to keep the reality fake.

The Tricolor of Collapse flag with horizontal orange, teal, and black fields on a light gray background.

Fake world and the evolution of pills

The “Tricolor of Collapse” is a symbol of the inevitable collapse of the global human society if the arc of humanity stays in its current trajectory. Or perhaps even in the case where we can change the trajectory.

Wearing this color combination is an individual/personal statement that you acknowledge this and, in the spirit of the rainbow colors, agree to being a safe human being to discuss the collapse and the possible means of avoiding it.

1 - I take the extinction and the end of the world personally

The first statement is “I take this shit personally, as it affects me, my close ones and everything else on this planet. I will try to avoid hiding behind the systemic level, my labcoat or whatever enables the mild status quo”.

2 - Do unto others as you would have them do unto you

The second statement is safe human being: this means that when carrying this outside the event, you’ll treat everyone as a human. Even if they follow the wrong leader, party or ideology. You’ll make a statement that without coming together with different, or even “wrong” kind of people, we don’t stand a chance. Whether the end of the world happens or not. This is an accessible version of safer spaces. You do not need to learn the color of pills, pronouns or the different versions of the rainbow flags, even if you’re encouraged to do so, should you have the capacity to do so. Do unto others

3 - In a boxing ring the economy gets knocked out by the laws of nature

The limits of the physical world: by wearing these colors outside the event you’ll make a statement that the hidden systemic change is most likely not enough (besides it seems to be heading in the wrong direction on many levels at the moment) and we need a reduction in consumption that does not make a substantial benefit for well-being in terms of efficiency ratio between consumption harms and the actual well-being it generates. You acknowledge that the human trait of social comparison and social deprivation (the envy factor and the perceived normal) must be ruled out in determining the true sources of well-being.

4 - They moneyed elites

You’ll also agree that the current trajectory of humanity is being orchestrated by a very small number of humans holding almost absolute power.

“But even if completely unfiltered bad news was arriving from the scholarship and experts, we would not likely give it suffifcient attention because we live in a culture that has been shaped by the interest of the moneyed elites, both past and present.”

- Jem Bendell (Breaking Together)

The Tricolor of Collapse flag with horizontal orange, teal, and black fields on a light gray background.

Tipping Point 26

In this first case (Tipping Point 26) the lanyards and some stickers will be provided for free from a purse of an individual who has taken this personally.

In the future the lanyards will be loaners for any event talking about the end of the world, sustainability, extinction or any other topic closely related to the human predicament so that only the non-returned and reusable lanyards will be charged. Any event willing to generate their own “swag” based on the tricolor is encouraged, as long as the main points in this document can be agreed upon.

The backstory behind the colors

It started as a conversation between friends. "What if we could identify the ones thinking like us out on the streets?" Conversations over different media and a few ideas. In the end a "managerial decision" was made to perform the first iteration. The colors are easy to replicate in lanyards, stickers, DIY t-shirts or fabric patches. Feel free to modify or even create a new symbol that can spread. We want to know you from the crowd.

The colors on the flag come as an iteration of the pills of a fake world from The Matrix, stolen from Baudrillard, and the plural of other stories about the blindfolded humanity walking off the cliff. Yrjo Kallinen with his “Elämmekö unessa” speech or Escape from the Freedom by Erich Fromm. Adam Curtis or Aleksey Yurchak and Hypernormalisation. The pig satisfied and philosopher in pain by John Stuart Mill. The Power of the Powerless by Vaclav Havel.

The red and the blue being merged into a teal “conventional” pill where opposing factions argue about the mundane, without really daring to state the root cause of the trajectory or the future everyone would like.

The black pill being the greed, addiction and narcissism that seems to, without exceptions, grasp the human soul once enough power accumulates, just as in Animal Farm.

The orange being the extension of the scope of public discussion to the full range of humanity.

Once the tricolor, and the future iterations of it, start appearing on the streets the fake reality can start cracking. At least by showing or spotting this you can take comfort in knowing you’re not alone.



“The smart way to keep people passive and obedient is to strictly limit the spectrum of acceptable opinion, but allow very lively debate within that spectrum.”

- Noam Chomsky (Currently canceled human being)

Let’s start living in the truth and break the fake

The Tricolor of Collapse flag with horizontal orange, teal, and black fields on a light gray background.