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Labeling and Unlabeling with Jonathan Pillot
(The Open Nesters Podcast Episode 45)
Episode 45 – Jonathan is an Enlightened Man with a Clear Objective
[Tessa] I met Jonathan Pillot on… wait for it… a dating site. Yes, there is a story there that I may share with you at another time. He has a supremely artistic nature. Film, images, ideas, words. And he is a person with a cause. Jonathan’s current mission is to implode outdated paradigms around the most paradoxical and charged global issue of our time: The Duality of Language. Words. Labels. This is his primary raisons d’être.
Labeling and Unlabeling
Jonathan, Amir, and I participated in a talk in Greenwich Village in October that centered on polyamory. It was an intimate talk, filled with highly interested New Yorkers. What fun! Amir and I got to know Jonathan through that event and subsequent chats. Which led us to the podcast interview that you are about to hear.
So What is UnLabelMe?
Every single one of us, at various times in our lives, has either been labeled or has labeled others through language and messaging, assumptions and generalizations. At UnLabelMe, we seek to destigmatize, unshame, and create pathways for a paradigm shift in consciousness around language. We believe that language, words and labels and how we use them contribute both positively and negatively to our lived experiences and how we create the future.

UnLabelMe is a social impact media company that is igniting a youth-inspired, intergenerational movement to implode outdated paradigms around the most paradoxical and charged global issue of our time: The Duality of Language. Words. Labels.
We are creating a platform for (truthful, respectful, authentic) self-expression. We use storytelling in all forms (words, pictures, music, film/video, live events) to create perspective, which enhances empathy, compassion and human connection in all of us, which has never been more needed by all of us. Entertainment, media + pop culture become our pathways to entertain + elevate. As we believe in the notion that “being social is as important as social media,” our live gatherings are as important as our online presence. We meet people where they are – in their truths + issues, on their platforms, in their homes, cities, towns, villages.
We hope you will come join us.
UnLabelMe
Jonathan’s Work (from Jonathan Pillot . COM)
“Here’s to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently. They’re not fond of rules. And they have no respect for the status quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them. About the only thing you can’t do is ignore them. Because they change things. They push the human race forward. And while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do.”
Tummler?
tumm·ler – noun
1. a male entertainer, as formerly employed by resorts in the Catskill Mountains, who combined the duties of a comedian, activities director, and master of ceremonies to keep the guests amused throughout the day.
2. any lively, prankish, or mischievous man.
3. someone who makes things happen.
Origin: 1930–35; Yiddish tumler – one who makes a racket.


Jonathan Pillot is more than a tummler; he is The Tummler. And while Jonathan is a “Connector” in that Gladwellian way, and his connecting and linking and matchmaking is a piece of what Jonathan DOES, it does not fully get to the essence of what makes him The Tummler. As much as what he may do, it’s more about who he IS at his core, who he has always been. At a time when technology has often created more disconnection from our “tribes”, when the extended family has deteriorated, and as a society, we have often become fragmented into broken, little pieces, JP is all about creating family, making and connecting community wherever he goes – person-to-person, nabe-by-nabe, hood-by-hood – doing whatever he can to glue together as many as possible. Anyone who enters his world for even 5 minutes gets it.
Labeling and Unlabeling. You can reach Jonathan on his website.
Resources for You
We want to provide you with support and many many resources for your own Open Nesting Journey. Our resource page has so much to offer as does our private discussion group on Facebook about queerness and other topics of interest:
The Open Nesters Private Facebook Group
- ask to join and we’ll let you in
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