vocab review: "movement"

The word "movement" has been getting a lot of play lately, what with Occupy, for example, and for those closer in to me, in the yoga world, by Sianna Sherman's Manifesto Movement of May.  I've been sitting here in my house grumbling to myself about how I think this poor word, movement, is being sorely misused, like it's getting the Hot Topic treatment and becoming available in every mall, rendered utterly meaningless and sadly, woefully powerless.

Remember how I did that Death Midwifery training back in March?  I was so stoked to learn about home funerals, because I'm interested in death, but also because of what's happening with my sister.  I thought I might be able to be of assistance to her and her husband, but that didn't come to pass.  I ended up only taking the first part of the three-part-series, even though I went into it 100% certain that I'd do all three.  Why?  Well, besides the fact that it was by far THE Worst Organized and Facilitated Workshop I've ever been to in all my life (and not cheap, either), because all of the verbiage about the home funeral movement totally turned me off.  The woman teaching, the self-appointed founder of the home funeral movement, kept referring to the fact that the movement is in its infancy and that she'd been at it for 17 years. Wait, 17 years?  It ain't infancy after that long, lady. It ain't moving.

You keep using that word.

I do not think it means what you think it means.

Last week at lunch, Reba asked Sacheen her thoughts on the Occupy Movement and I've been pondering Sacheen's response ever since.  When asked what she thought of Occupy (and mind you, this was not a formal interview, this was a lunch of berries and cheese and honey and delicious coffee cake, this was casual chatting as the tea steamed on the table), I remember Sacheen saying something like, that the difference was that what she was involved in, the expansion of the Civil Rights Movement of the 60s and 70s to include Native American Rights, had a clear focus.  It was, she said, about something, about one thing: civil rights.  It wasn't this enormous umbrella for everybody's cause and hackey-sack (OK, I added the hackey-sack part).  Since then, I've had other conversations with other people, and one person said that the problem they had with Occupy is that the only thing that's clear is what the They is about.  The Us, what we stand for, the 99%, that's unclear as hell.

My problem with it, though, has always been one of language.

I know, I'm so totally anal, but it doesn't make any sense to me to put these two words together -- occupy + movement -- and expect it to mean anything at all.  How can it?  Those two words -- occupy, aka reside, take, hold, seize, inhabit + movement, aka the act of moving, trend, change -- put together just windshield-wiper each other to zero.  In other words, for me, one (residing, taking, staying) and the other (moving, changing) cancel each other out completely.  Is the point just to Occupy?  Then what? That's the part that interests me, the Then What.

Like I said, it could just be me, with this word-problem.

I had a similar reaction recently when Sianna announced her Manifesto Movement of May.  Sianna is one of the most respected teachers in the Yoga Formerly Known As Anusara.  She was the heir-apparent to John Friend, the founder, traveling the world and teaching, leading workshops, spreading the yoga across the globe.  From the time the Anusara shit hit the fan in early February to the beginning of May, she didn't say much, as hundreds of teachers gave up their license to teach under the Anusara brand, unwilling to be associated with John's callow business and personal practices.  She remained quiet.  She continued to teach and didn't make any official pronouncement.  Which was notable since teacher after teacher after teacher posted their resignation, blogged about their heartbreak and disappointment. 

Then on May 1st, she announced the Manifesto Movement of May, which has its own website and encourages people to come up with their personal manifesto and post it.  When Sianna announced this, I heard a ripple of, wait, she was quiet for three months, then comes out with this?  With this? What is her position?  She has since resigned, but for a few weeks, it was a bit weird.  Everyone was waiting, and then finally, she quit.  

But here's the thing, the whole idea of Manifesto Movement rankled me.  Guess why?  Not because I have a problem with manifestos.  As I posted to Facebook when the Manifesto Movement was announced, my whole damn life is a manifesto.  Nope, you guessed it.

To me, Manifesto + Movement doesn't mean anything.

Again, as with Occupy, I got hung up on what we're saying when we put the word Manifesto before the word Movement.  What is the point?  Manifestos don't move.  Any good movement needs a manifesto, but manifestos themselves do not a movement make.  Especially when it's everybody's individual manifesto.  Sure, maybe the point is a grand movement for self-realization, but that's what the yoga is for.  Or maybe it's just hackey-sack.

I know I'm just going to sit here grumbling by myself on this one, but that's OK with me.  I just kinda hit a point with the over-use of this word, the sad way any power has been stripped away from it.   Especially when there are so many causes that really could benefit from the coming-together of masses of people with a clear purpose to create much-needed social change.  The way we're using the word just feels like such a dissipation, a cheapening, really.

But what do I know?  Maybe the whole world will really change thanks to the Occupy Movement and the Manifesto Movement and they'll be good enough the share the spoils of this sunny revolution with me even though I sat here bitching about their choice of words.  It could totally happen.

XX

Comments

[Martine]

Let's add another gate to the Four Gates of Speech. 5) Are you using words correctly?

[Ariane]

Oh dear, that's a good one! Might get very quiet! ;>