Welcome to Olympia legislators, reporters, lobbyists, staffers and other hangers-on! Here are just a few simple rules. We’ll get through the next few months, just:
1. When you’re talking about the state legislator, the governor’s office, the governor himself or a state agency (of any sort), don’t say Olympia.
This is metonymy (press as media, etc). I know what it is. I don’t like it and you shouldn’t do it.
2. Its okay to say “down in Olympia” or “I went to Olympia to…” but I’d still rather you not. They’re so darn close to “Olympia wants to raise our taxes” that its better just to be more specific.
Why is this a bad thing? Just to recap:
1. State legislators are elected by people all over the state. They happen to come to Olympia. Pretty simple. Lay the blame (or credit) on the feet of who deserves it. The people who vote, from all over the state.
From the Metonymy of Olympia Archives:
Welcome to Olympia 2014 graphic
The very first Metonymy and Olympia post from 2007 (!)
Holy crap, I just realized I’ve been on this kick for eight years! Man, I am pretty insufferable, aren’t I?
I suppose it begs the question as to why this sort of thing bugs me so much. Why does a random political headline writer going all “Olympia to Seattle: Pay Your Own Bills” bugs me so much. Probably because I don’t see Olympia as a particularly political town. That we’re anything special in regards to government.
Sure, obviously, I know a lot of people who work for state agencies, the legislature or something else related. But to me, that’s more like everyone in town working for just the one big employer in town. Its where we work, not how we live.
Also, it isn’t like the way we live here is as some cabal looking to screw the rest of the state. The people who make the actual decisions (guess what) are elected every two or four years and come from out of town.
So, welcome to Olympia. Don’t say Olympia.
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