You may say I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one, I hope someday you'll join us, and the world will live as one
I'm sick of jargon, especially acronyms. They are everywhere! At work: IPT, PJP, CRM, ERP, yada, yada, yada. Driving around: OBX, HI, W, blah, blah, blah. I was even at a party recently where someone asked me if I was part of the OLN crowd. Huh? Apparently OLN is Our Lady of Nazareth Catholic Church, of which I am obviously not a part as I had no idea what he was talking about. I've been trying to understand why we have this need to create acronyms for everything from our work to where we vacation to even the President of the United States. It doesn't help bring clarity to the situation.
I've come to the conclusion that what it does is create a sense of belonging and superiority for those in the know. Sort of a club based on what jargon you know. Most people today don't feel very connected to their communities or families, they don't belong to social clubs the way they used to. Many are also very insecure in their jobs and their place in the world. But as social beings we still have the need to connect and to be part of a group, so we do this by putting an OBX sticker on our car and letting other people that vacation in the Outer Banks know that we are part of their group (even if we don't really go there, we are at least in the know about the Outer Banks). We spout acronyms at work to show that we are in the know (although I've found that usually the folks that are spouting the most jargon and acronyms have the least real knowledge of the subject at hand) and to make the folks that may not be familiar with the latest buzz words feel a bit out of the loop.
It's all just a little sad somehow. It would be great if we could all just strive for clarity and universal understanding, instead of building these little kingdoms of "knowledge". If we all were so full of self confidence that we could communicate (really communicate) with each other without feeling threatened in any way. And maybe I'm just blowing it out of proportion, maybe the folks with OBX stickers really just love the Outer Banks and want everyone else to know that. If so, fine. But if the reason that the sticker is on the car is because the neighbors have the sticker on their car, then maybe the OBX sticker should be replaced by the one I saw the other day that I really liked - BFD.
John Lennon / Imagine
I've come to the conclusion that what it does is create a sense of belonging and superiority for those in the know. Sort of a club based on what jargon you know. Most people today don't feel very connected to their communities or families, they don't belong to social clubs the way they used to. Many are also very insecure in their jobs and their place in the world. But as social beings we still have the need to connect and to be part of a group, so we do this by putting an OBX sticker on our car and letting other people that vacation in the Outer Banks know that we are part of their group (even if we don't really go there, we are at least in the know about the Outer Banks). We spout acronyms at work to show that we are in the know (although I've found that usually the folks that are spouting the most jargon and acronyms have the least real knowledge of the subject at hand) and to make the folks that may not be familiar with the latest buzz words feel a bit out of the loop.
It's all just a little sad somehow. It would be great if we could all just strive for clarity and universal understanding, instead of building these little kingdoms of "knowledge". If we all were so full of self confidence that we could communicate (really communicate) with each other without feeling threatened in any way. And maybe I'm just blowing it out of proportion, maybe the folks with OBX stickers really just love the Outer Banks and want everyone else to know that. If so, fine. But if the reason that the sticker is on the car is because the neighbors have the sticker on their car, then maybe the OBX sticker should be replaced by the one I saw the other day that I really liked - BFD.
John Lennon / Imagine
posted by r.m at 4:23 AM
2 Comments:
Maybe some of it has to do with the fact that most people are obsessed with speeding things up, saving time, getting it all done.... takes too long to say things... must abbrevivate, make shorter, save time, save breath. AHHHH!! Really folks just need to slow down, smell the roses, and enjoy life :)
I totally agree about the belonging/exclusion idea. I've always thought that acronyms and jargon are a way to wield power over people who don't know them. Which is why I try really hard not to use them when normal English will do :-)
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