Like a Color Ban Policy

Every aspect of life is being stripped of color. At least that's how I see it. 

It's everywhere I walk to. It's everywhere I go. It's in the books, in the clothing, in the people, in the buildings, it's everywhere. I walk past the people down the street, and all I see is beige and grey; I don't see colorful clothing standing out. There are no bright colors because, apparently, they're out of fashion. Because some sad influencer decided that neutral colors were more pleasant to the eye. Because some greedy companies latch onto what people believe is fashion and waste a ton of money to spread the new fashion gospel. Because that's what's in. Because that's what people want, right? Because that's what's making the money right now.  

Those colors hold no personality. All I see is a bunch of copies of one person walking down the street. It makes it hard to distinguish one person from another when they all look the same. I say people are just dumb. They just follow the crowd blindly and end up just like everybody else. It's suffocating.  

They complain that nobody is different, that everybody is the same. They complain that there is no variety and that everything is boring. Oh, but when you try to stand out, when you try to change the status quo, you get shunned. You start to wear brighter colors; you start to break the sad-beige cycle; you start to embrace being unique. But in the end, you get stared at, pointed at, and labeled as crazy.  

Like I said, people are just dumb. I truly don't understand them. 

Color is stripped from childhood too. Apparently, brighter colors are causing illnesses in children. Or at least, that's what some random mom on social media said. Even children's clothing is less colorful than before, or is it just me? Their toys are even less colorful, and their schoolbags are all the same now. It just leaves me scratching my head in confusion. 

The same problem is in the restaurants that I used to frequent as a child. Gone are the bright colors that shone through the children's play area, only to be replaced with a sad, poor excuse of a playground. Is it me, or is the food sad too? It tastes awful, unlike anything from my childhood. 

Or is all this part of growing up? Maybe when you grow up, you start seeing less colors. I don't think that's fair. But maybe, that's how we end up making each other miserable. Because we stopped being children.

Or maybe it's a vicious cycle that we live in. Once we grow up, we refuse to see outside of what we think adulthood is supposed to be and the children of now will repeat the same mistakes tomorrow. 

Even the houses are the same. They look the same and my only hope is that at the very least they don't look the same on the inside. There's a shark known as the Homeowner's Association that dictates how your house should look if it meets aesthetic standards if the lawn is one inch too high if your dogs bark, if your door is too bright, if the color of the house is too much if it doesn't fit the standard if your trash can has stickers if your car is outside, if your car is inside if your backyard is not pure grass-- 

You get the idea. 

Nowadays, not even your home is safe from color theft. But unlike the other examples, housing has the "color police”. I understand regulations like trash disposal, housing upkeep, and all that, but they're just ridiculous at this point. 

Speaking of which, they left a fun letter on my doorstep. 

“Hello, neighbor! 

We have noticed that your red car is interfering with the view of our beloved community. Our Community Regulations state that cars should be within a range of colors to prevent view obstruction. No primary colors are allowed. We kindly ask that your car be put away in the garage while you are home, or we'll be forced to take matters into our own hands. 

In addition, your dog is not well groomed. We suggest you look into our Pet Regulations, Article Two, Sec. 2-9 for more information on pet appearance in our community. 

Furthermore, ginger cats are not allowed. They interfere with the aesthetic. Please refer to Pet Regulations Article Seven, Sec. 45-98 for more information on keeping them indoors. 

Sincerely, 

HOA” 

I glare at the letter, shrug, and discard it. It sounds absurd, I know, but they are serious about this. I look down at my hairy dog and my ginger cat. They look at me. They had no idea about the crimes they committed against the HOA. 

It's times like this when I want to grab a bucket full of the brightest pain I can find and pour it all over the houses, cars, and anything and everyone that stands in my way. It's times like this that make me want to dye my hair blue, but I know my boss will write me up for “breaking the dress code”.  

That's another thing. The headache-inducing white and grey cubicles with that annoying white light. I'm surprised I haven't gone blind yet.  

I believe the workplace is the biggest offender in the “color ban policy” thing going on. How did humanity evolve from working in open fields, gathering food and supplies, and traveling places to sell their goods... to being overworked inside a tiny office with no sunlight, no fresh air, and stress-induced depression? 

How is that supposed to make us happy? 

They light up absolutely everything in the office. Those white lights cause eyestrain, drowsiness, and headaches and personally, it makes me want to puke my guts out right on my manager's pristine white shirt. Sometimes, the workplace is so bland and so devoid of life, that it makes me want to tear up the only thing with color in the office. The blasted “You Can Do It!” cat poster. 

I know I'm not the only person in the world who feels this way about all those colorless issues out there. At this point, I might as well consider myself colorblind. 

My phone starts ringing. I checked the caller ID first and groaned in frustration when the name of the HOA president appeared on the screen. I don't answer. I'm already in a bad mood as it is and I truly don't want this woman to ruin my day any further. 

Almost as soon as the phone stops ringing, I receive a text. 

“Hi! Just a reminder to place your car inside the garage. Don't want you to get in trouble XOXO!” 

I looked down at my cat and dog, and they looked back at me expectantly. I grabbed my keys. I may just be one person and I may not be able to change how the world views color nowadays, but I can certainly stop some idiotic "Color Ban Policy" in my neighborhood.

“I'm going to the store to grab a bucket of paint. I'll be right back.”