Documentation as Survival (noun, praxis of resistance)

Documentation as Survival (noun, praxis of resistance)

Pronunciation: /ˌdɒkjʊmɛnˈteɪʃən æz səˈvaɪvəl/

1. The act of preserving lived reality in the face of institutional erasure.

Not merely record-keeping, but a conscious strategy to defend against misrepresentation, gaslighting, and procedural harm.

2. In SWANKian usage:

A sacred ritual and daily necessity. The handwritten margin against bureaucracy’s amnesia. Every screenshot, email, complaint, and FOI request becomes part of a survival archive—evidence not only of what was done, but of who endured it.

Tools of the Trade:

1. Dated emails to no one, just to prove it was felt.
2. Chronologies more coherent than case notes.
3. Formal letters with informal fury between the lines.
4. Folders titled “Just in Case They Lie Again.”

Function:

To turn the personal into proof. To build a record so dense, even negligence can’t misplace it. To survive what systems are designed to forget.

Etymology:

Born in the silence left by unanswered complaints and misquoted assessments. A form of memoir for the wronged and meticulous.

See also:

Paper Warfare, Whinging (reclaimed), Trauma by Protocol, The Grand Whinge, Records That Matter More Than You Do