Some things we don’t do. And some things we categorically do not do. We say NO out of integrity. And we say NO as an act of power we have as consumers. The strictness of a NO can have different forms, it can change, and evolve.

There are plenty of NOs one might want to conduct, for example, the denial of taking part in events or watching and discussing the games of the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, the refusal of joining the mandatory school trip to go skiing in the Alps, or categorically not catching an airplane for the sake of fun.

For some NOs we have labels. For example, saying NO to the consumption of meat is called having a vegetarian diet. There are, however, not many words for most NOs we encounter. Thus, we lack linguistic support in the inner and in the outer. This is why one’s NO might remain quiet, it might not yet be clear and not yet categorical and thus not yet inspiring and powerful.

We may even end up doing things we don’t actually want to do. We find ourselves in front of the TV watching Germany against Japan, legitimizing what we don’t want to legitimize. Or we find ourselves on the ski slope with our classmates, because it was beyond our horizon that we could say NO. And we might still fly to distant beaches because we have not yet made our NO with such confident and clear resolve. In those cases, we do not yet have a word to guide us. And as we do not yet have a word to communicate it, we cannot verbally distance ourselves from certain practices or inspire others to do the same.

Even though it’s highly unlikely but nevertheless not impossible to evoke change: here is the attempt of a contribution, a linguistic idea to be able to give names to all these NOs that have no label yet. NOfifa22, NOski, NOairplane could be such linguistic constructs. These might be a starting point of certain movements, mindsets or alliances. Since language is alive, these terms will change. Maybe the initial cryptic NOsomething will then become mature and change into a term more suitable for everyday use.

Use the NOsometing-terms you stand behind in your email signature, your Instagram bio, on graffitis, in love letters, in your spoken language. Everywhere. Put this poster on your wall. Wear the hat you fold out of it in public. Explain the concept. Inspire others. Most importantly, achieve strength and clarity for yourself.

If you think the idea of NOsomething should go viral, follow (at)yeswesayno on IG and register here. Doing so increases the chances of this small contribution will not be a flop, which in turn increases the chances of the global change needed will not be a flop.

Contact and contribute

We will contact you only in case this movement becomes a movement. If not, we won’t. And apart from that, we won’t do anything with your email.

Idea by SUEDHANG Kaffee. Impressum.