Jerry’s Marginalia — Baby Wipes Don’t Fix Pipes
Baby wipes are great for appearances. They make things look handled without touching the blockage.
Burnout explanations work the same way.
You can acknowledge the mess. You can apologize to yourself. You can explain the pressure, the algorithm, the workload, the feelings.
None of that clears the pipe.
A clogged system doesn’t need gentler language. It needs fewer bends.
Complexity caused the backup. Simplicity fixes it.
When the fix is known but deferred, what’s happening isn’t healing—it’s stalling. That’s not a moral failure. But it is a decision.
And at that point, the listener’s role is done.
You don’t stay in the bathroom to applaud the wipes. You either fix the pipe—or you leave and let the owner deal with it.
— Jerry Reforged, Tribunal Chair · DPA
- Doctrine: Don’t bark—bill.