Category: metonymy of Olympia (Page 1 of 4)

I’m not going to bother really trying to prove this observation with numbers. But, here’s how my headline reading brain had divided up the legislative coverage and use of the term Olympia:

• Crosscut is horrible. Replete with Olympia this, Olympia that.
• Most of the rest are okay. Usually “in Olympia” sort of things. The Seattle Times is the biggest example I can bring up in my memory.
• The Spokesman Review’s Spin Control blog is the best. They officially use the WAleg hashtag (minus the #) in their blog headlines instead of the classic “Olympia:” starter.

But, why is Crosscut the worst at using the term Olympia in a way that makes me mad?

For as much talk as their is about “a new model of journalism” (and I think Crosscut is doing a pretty good job at what they do), Crosscut was founded by a lot of well meaning people from a previous generation of Seattle well-doers.

And, I think that’s the point. Using Olympia as a shorthand for state government, the legislature or even the governor, seems to be a practice of people who have been around Puget Sound politics for awhile. Olympia is down there, its nearby, it is where politics on a certain level happen in this state.

Olympia is close enough to know it is there, but to also misunderstand.

The Spokesman Review, on the other hand, is literally geographically removed from this. Olympia is not nearby. It might as well (and historically likely could have been) practically been in another state. Olympia is not a placemark for people outside of the Puget Sound. So, when it comes to state government, or the legislature, they are literally the state government and the legislature.

So, if you’ve gotten to the end of this piece and you have no idea at all what I’m talking about, follow the “metonymy of Olympia” link directly under the headline and see how far you can read.

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 Welcome to Olympia zine

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.

Full size here.

Usually during the legislative session, I get a bit peeved when someone in media or government refers to the state legislature or statewide government as “Olympia.”

And, yes, I’m familiar with the term metonymy. I know that people sometimes use a specific word (like press) to mean something else (like news media). But, in this case, it is harmful. And, this week, when thousands of Olympians and Thurston County residents received layoff notices and our local economy is about to get cleaved, it is galling.

Facts gleaned from our county budget:

• Almost 25 percent of the jobs in Thurston County are state government jobs.
• And, those jobs are in particular, the high wage jobs in our community. The people with those jobs make up 34 percent of the wages in the county.
• Public employment since 2008 has dropped half a percent every year, meaning (despite increases in private employment) total employment has been flat across the county.

So, yes. It would suck. Not just for us who live in households partially supported by state government paychecks, but shutting off more than a third of the wage flow in the county would have devastating impacts.

It is worth pointing out that the now shuttered blog Olympia Views (here, here and here) has written in a much broader way about the social and economic impact state government has on us here.

So, when you’re writing about how the state government might shut down for a bit, and people in Olympia are going to be having lean times, please don’t say it’s Olympia’s fault.

Westboro Baptist Church (yes, those guys) are coming to Olympia next week.

There is going to be a response, seemingly especially to their second day protest at Olympia High School on Thursday (sorry, you have to log in to FB).

The reason they’re coming is pretty simple, the passing of the marriage bill last year in the legislature. It also makes sense that their first protest will be up at the capitol campus. But, what is surprising to me, is that they’re also bothering to protest at Olympia High School (and the auditors office).

They not only protesting Olympia as a name for the entire state government, but they’re also protesting Olympia as a home.

I’m not sure I’m going to bother to show them any attention, but I’ve heard through FB that some local churches will respond in person. Which, I feel is great. Its much better for actual people of faith to stand up to emotional haters like Westboro.

Welcome to Olympia kind legislature, crafty lobbyist, wise reporter, diligent blogger and temporary Olympia-area resident during legislative session,

Here is your handy guide to keeping me calm for the next 60 days or so. First, here’s your new word of the day: metonymy.

You’ve seen metonymy used before, even if you are unfamiliar with the term. Here’s a short definition:

Metonymy is a figure of speech used in rhetoric in which a thing or concept is not called by its own name, but by the name of something intimately associated with that thing or concept.

More on the actual mechanics of the word metonymy later, but first just a simple request. While you’re here in town, please do not say or write “Olympia,” when what you really mean is “state government,” “the state legislature,” “governor’s office,” or “legislative leadership.”

1. Why this is a bad idea (for liberals, conservatives and reporters)


I understand metonymy, probably more than most people should. I understand the purpose of using a specific term for a broad topic, like “press” for the “news media,” especially in a time when there are fewer and fewer “presses” in the “news media.”

But, the use of Olympia for “state government” or “state legislature” is a hugely inaccurate and damaging
metonymy, because it misstates the nature of our government.

Because we elect our representatives from proportional districts, most of the people who serve in the state
legislature come from the urban Puget Sound (not unlike the makeup of the Senate Transportation Committee). So in this example, its more like the urban Puget Sound telling Seattle to “drop dead.”

I don’t have a problem with language short cuts. I have a problem with language short cuts that are dangerous.

You see, I read a lot of political stuff and I keep an eye out for metonnymic uses of Olympia (or people
who I know do so for me now). And, I’ve seen a lot more liberals use Olympia to mean the state government or the state legislature than conservatives.

Might just speak to my reading list which has a lot more liberal outlets than conservative, but I don’t avoid right wing blogs and sources by any means. It just surprises me any time I hear a liberal use the metonymic Olympia.

And, this is why it surprises me and I think its dangerous: It gets back to the othering of government. That if your state government is “Olympia,” some distant crap-ass place where crazy people make decisions for you, you really aren’t to blame for what’s going on.

But, if Olympia is just another town, and the state legislature is made up of locally elected folks and the governor is elected by a statewide popular election, then we’re all to blame for what goes on inside our government.

Conservatives like othering government because they don’t trust government and don’t want it to work. You’d think liberals would be of a different mind.

But, it isn’t “those in Olympia” and it isn’t “Olympia’s” anything. Legislators are elected from communities all over Washington State.

While they may work in Olympia from time to time, they still come from places not near Olympia.

Calling the state legislator down the road from you as being “from Olympia” or part of “Olympia” makes
them a distant other that has little connection to you or your community. Which isn’t true.

2. You think I care about Olympia? Look what happens when you try to use Oly as a world to mean “state government”

I get all Oly-er than though:

Olympia is the capital of the state of Washington, identifiable on maps in classrooms and travel lodges nationwide. It is a city that every elementary school kid memorizes (do they still do that?) as a state capital of a state near the end of the list of states. It was the first state capital and through a hard fight with Yakima and Ellensburg, stayed the state capital. Now we have fancy greek type buildings on a hill. It is home to state agencies, even the ones that are in Tacoma. And, for a couple months or so every winter, we’re home to folks like Josh Feit, though we actually try hard to ignore them.

3. So Emmett, I agree with you. Your minor pet peeve is a horrible, horrible thing. How can I reform myself?

You’re in luck. Here are some tips on how to say Olympia in the context of Washington State government without being a bad person.

There are ways to the use of Olympia in regards to state government that is not metonymy.

Basically, the rule is you’re safe if you are saying “in Olympia” and not “Olympia did this.” So, if you’re making a geographic distinction, you’re fine.

For example, Sen. Steve Hobbs (of some place up north I guess):

I fought hard to carry out the wishes of my district,” Hobbs said. “When we come to a consensus as a community, I am able to carry our message to Olympia and work for the necessary results.

Sen. Hobbs’ example is great because he even cites “my district” and “to Olympia,” making the obvious point that although he works “in Olympia” for a few months a year, he is actually from somewhere else in Washington. This is often something missed or fuzzed over when Olympia is metonymized.

And, an update from Rep.Reuven Carlyle at MyBallard. The headline states “from Olympia.” The report
itself says things like “in Olympia” and “visitors to Olympia.”

Of course the trains leaves the tracks in the comment thread below when a commenter says “people in Ballard are compassionate and will enjoy giving their money to Olympia.”

God, don’t I wish.

Specifically at making signs that avoid my pet peeve. I am 100 percent sure Matthew Green (the real Matthew Green) chose that picture because he knew it would upset me. Why Matthew, why?!?

At least not on the blog. Twitter is where I’m letting off steam. But, there are a few things worth mentioning.