THE LITTLE AGITATOR
12-23-2021
Did you earn a nickname in your childhood? you know, like a mobster, sticky fingers or tattle-tale ? Some nicknames are freely given merely to shorten names; Elizabeth become Beth, Edward becomes Eddie. There are nicknames dragged from the mouths of aggravated parents in place of a curse, as patience wanes. Such nicknames only work to guide a child’s behavior to the extant they understand all it definitions. Children are quite literal, unlike adults who have learned to use nuance to avoid consequences of unwise words and actions.
My nickname was “ The agitator”; at first “little agitator”, and as I grew older simply “agitator”. In my childish mind agitator had only one meaning: the central post in the washing machine which swished water around to remove dirt from clothes and allow it to be washed away. I found it quite a compliment to know my effort to wash away the dirt hiding others’ motivations, true belief behind their statements, and misleading or misguided behavior was recognized. It was a puzzle why Mom seemed so upset when praising me so often and so relentlessly. This “little agitator” looked for dirt everywhere to wash it away with words. I washed it out of the house, the playground, the schoolroom until everyone could cleanly and clearly see the uncomfortable truth.
The older I got the more I realized it had been meant not a an encouragement but as an effort to block my truth seeking. Stirring up the dirt to wash it away is not always a sound practice around mothers overwhelmed by small children who care not for the daily bath. Politicians and leaders fear a bath as well.
Too many of us prefer to hide behind the dirt. Too many of us allow others to hide as well. We fear our own hypocrisy, I think. Entire industries exist to heap more dirt on the truth of who we are. Sometimes dirt is thrown merely to entertain and distract us from what lies beneath the surface. Those seeking to hold on to their wealth develop artificial turf, and artificial dirt, to create an artificial world where they can hide their greed and their misdeeds.
Nicknames last forever. I claim mine gladly. I am “ the agitator”. Throw your clothes in the hamper and start the wash. It is time we came clean.
annarino writes 