Dirt is Just Matter Out of Place
“Dirt is matter out of place. If it’s on my boots as I walk into your home, earth is dirt; if it’s in my garden where I tend to my vegetables, earth is valuable soil. Mayonnaise may be welcome if it is in a jar. But once it gets on my shirt, it is messy. Saliva is is healthy and normal, helping us to break down food and keep our voices lubricated and at the ready to speak. Spit is grotesque and disrespectful.”
I first came across Mary Douglas’ phrase that ‘Dirt is matter out of place’ whilst reading Shamus Kahn’s article of the same name in Vestoj Magazine earlier this year. Writing about how certain rituals and symbols from culture and fashion have their meaning changed by virtue of who is wearing or performing them, it’s a great way to think about the power of context as a driver of meaning.
The phrase came to mind this morning as we saw Farmers descend on London in their tractors in protest at the changes to inheritance tax. Not unfairly, they claim that no farming equals no future. Not unlike the protests of Just Stop Oil. A different cause perhaps, but certainly a common aim and a common strategy. The desire for a sustainable future. And a willingness to cause disruption in the name of publicity for their cause.
More concerning for me is the way this commonality is expressed by certain parts of the media. One group is portrayed as a hard working group of people, protecting their livelihood. The other, mindless vandals causing wanton destruction to property.
