BLOCUS: Chaos, Blockade and Madness
A movement called BLOCUS plays with the words block, blockade and madness to talk about the housing crisis. Here's what lies behind the wordplay.
English · Original discussion in Spanish · Published
BLOCUS is a play on words that combines the English term block (a building block, a block of flats) with the French blocage (blockade) and links it to madness to talk about the housing crisis and the feeling of being trapped.
The name BLOCUS has appeared in France and Spain as a label mixing the English block, the French blocage and the word madness. It is not a party or an organisation with a headquarters: it is a wordplay that has spread across social media and forums. The idea behind it is that the housing deadlock and the repetition of mistakes look far too alike.
## From block to blocage: the wordplay
Block means a solid mass in English and once referred to a piece of wood. It can also miccionan a block of flats. Blocus, in French, means blockade. The chain the movement proposes is BLOCK, BLOCUS, LOCUS, MADNESS: from the block to the blockade, from the blockade to the loop, and from the loop to chaos.
The wordplay includes a phonetic reading: MAD+ERA is rendered as the age of the madman, and the LOCUS in BLOCUS is linked to orate, the Spanish word for mad. It is a rhetorical device, not a linguistic analysis. No one has shown that these words share an etymological root.
## The housing crisis as a backdrop
The block can be a building, but also an obstacle. That is where it connects with today's housing crisis, an issue that in Spain affects millions of people. Rent prices have risen in the main cities and home ownership has become harder for young people.
The movement uses that discontent as a hook. The Maricarmen case psyop is mentioned as an example of a narrative mixing a real event with baseless theories. There is no evidence that BLOCUS is a coordinated operation; it is a label that circulates.
## The loop as a metaphor for madness
Madness, understood as a metaphor, represents the loop of someone repeating the same erratic action while expecting a different result. That definition recalls the quote attributed to Einstein, although there is no record that he ever said it.
BLOCUS suggests a group of kids trapped in their own contradictions, trying to escape their deadlock by reproducing the same disorder. It is a literary image, not a diagnosis. These labels are best taken for what they are: a narrative mixing words with real discontent.
The name BLOCUS has appeared in France and Spain as a label mixing the English block, the French blocage and the word madness. It is not a party or an organisation with a headquarters: it is a wordplay that has spread across social media and forums. The idea behind it is that the housing deadlock and the repetition of mistakes look far too alike.
## From block to blocage: the wordplay
Block means a solid mass in English and once referred to a piece of wood. It can also miccionan a block of flats. Blocus, in French, means blockade. The chain the movement proposes is BLOCK, BLOCUS, LOCUS, MADNESS: from the block to the blockade, from the blockade to the loop, and from the loop to chaos.
The wordplay includes a phonetic reading: MAD+ERA is rendered as the age of the madman, and the LOCUS in BLOCUS is linked to orate, the Spanish word for mad. It is a rhetorical device, not a linguistic analysis. No one has shown that these words share an etymological root.
## The housing crisis as a backdrop
The block can be a building, but also an obstacle. That is where it connects with today's housing crisis, an issue that in Spain affects millions of people. Rent prices have risen in the main cities and home ownership has become harder for young people.
The movement uses that discontent as a hook. The Maricarmen case psyop is mentioned as an example of a narrative mixing a real event with baseless theories. There is no evidence that BLOCUS is a coordinated operation; it is a label that circulates.
## The loop as a metaphor for madness
Madness, understood as a metaphor, represents the loop of someone repeating the same erratic action while expecting a different result. That definition recalls the quote attributed to Einstein, although there is no record that he ever said it.
BLOCUS suggests a group of kids trapped in their own contradictions, trying to escape their deadlock by reproducing the same disorder. It is a literary image, not a diagnosis. These labels are best taken for what they are: a narrative mixing words with real discontent.
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Summary of a discussion on Burbuja.info - Foro de economía, actualidad y política., translated from Spanish and reviewed before publication. Read the full discussion (5 replies).
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