The Massage Pundit

A couple of weeks ago, I attended the World Massage Festival in Berea, KY, and I must say it was the best massage-related event I have ever been to. Held at the college in Berea, it was a long weekend full of education, entertainment, food, fun, and fellowship.

The keynote speaker for the event was Paul St. John, a well-known educator in our field; he’s had a successful career spanning decades. I’ve never personally made his acquaintance, so I certainly don’t have anything to say about his character. I’m sure he’s a perfectly nice man, or he wouldn’t have enjoyed the longevity he has as a bodyworker and educator.

What I will say is that Mr. St. John seized the moment to promote his opinions on the government, and his perceived loss of our rights and our freedoms for a solid half-hour. Other than making the statement that he used to travel to Germany twice a year to teach massage, there was nothing in the speech about massage. About ten minutes into it, I was sitting there thinking, “dang, I thought this was supposed to be about massage.”

Politics has a part in what we do–and I report on that here all the time. Legislation and association activities affect us. We expect political discussions at AMTA conventions, professional association gatherings, and state board meetings. The World Massage Festival has specifically been promoted as a different type of gathering–one with no politics. Mike Hinkle, the owner of the Festival, started the WMF because he wanted to provide an inexpensive alternative event that has nothing to do with politics. Knowing that made listening to St. John’s rant even less appealing; maybe he wasn’t informed that politics aren’t allowed at the WMF. I’ll bet he was informed right after the speech.

A day or so after the Festival, I received an e-mail from someone informing me that they had attended a class of his over twenty years ago, and that the same thing happened in the class.

Am I politically opinionated? Heck, yes. My husband and I are on opposite ends of the political spectrum and we don’t even discuss politics in our house, lest it deteriorate into an argument.

I can’t recall preaching any sermons about the government when I’m teaching a class, or giving a presentation, but if I was going to say anything about it, it would be a one-liner here or there, or two minutes relating some kind of news that’s pertinent to the subject at hand.

When someone is paying me to teach a class, they shouldn’t have to listen to me going on and on about my gripes about the government during the class time that they have paid me to attend. When I am paying to attend a massage event, I shouldn’t have to listen to it either, unless there is  advertising beforehand that the presentation is all about “Government Reform” or something along those lines that I could choose to attend–or not.

Everyone is entitled to their own politics and their own opinion, including Mr. St. John. However, I thought his hijacking the keynote speech to make a political diatribe was inappropriate, and so did many people in the crowd. He actually got booed and shouted at. It really put a damper on the atmosphere of love and light that permeated the gathering.

In all fairness, he had a couple of supporters…two of the inductees into the Massage Therapy Hall of Fame gave him kudos when they were accepting their awards.

I know that a lot of massage therapists are interested in health care in general as well as health care reform. It’s just my opinion that most of us present for the keynote speech would have liked to hear him talk about his vast experience with massage and bodywork, instead of being subjected to what sounded like a filibuster on the senate floor. There were also a lot of massage students present, and I wondered what kind of impression they were getting at what was no doubt their first big massage gathering. I think it was the wrong place and the wrong time. Just my opinion.

Laura Allen