Take away their Super Bowl victory…
That’s right, strip them of their success, show that rules matter.
But we don’t anymore in America.
That’s what the underclass doesn’t understand…the level of cheating that goes on by their overlords, the rich and famous, the corporate titans, the sports stars. They keep telling us we’ve got to work harder, to be like them, to make it when the truth is they’ve had advantages and have greased the totem pole so we can’t climb it and all the while keep uttering duplicitous statements that keep us off our guard.
Kind of like Lance Armstrong.
You know who’s a national hero? Greg LeMond. LeMond won the Tour de France when Americans weren’t paying attention. He went on record that Lance doped and he lost his bike deal, he was demonized, his life was ruined.
Because if you stand up against the winners in today’s society you’re a loser.
Kind of like Edward Snowden.
Do you think the appeals court would be saying the NSA went too far if it weren’t for Snowden? Of course not, justices are human, not infallible. The law is malleable, they sway with the wind.
Actions matter. Identities matter. Yet somehow in the dash for cash and fame these concepts have been plowed under.
Take high speed trading.
Michael Lewis writes a book about what most people can’t understand and the only ones who do excoriate him, believing if they say enough negative stuff the story will go away.
And that’s the truth.
Kind of like Tom Brady.
You need an edge, everybody in America needs an edge. A thumb on the scale. A way to make sure they can win. If you don’t think the game is rigged against you you’re not playing.
It starts with schools. The best and the brightest don’t even go to public school, they have you agitating for voucher systems while their kids go to Andover and Exeter, places you’ve never even heard of. And their progeny get into the Ivys because they did too. And if they didn’t, they donate a building. Of course you can’t get into Brown if you’ve got 1000 on your SATs, but if your numbers are in the ballpark and your daddy writes an eight figure check, VOILA, success!
Welcome to America, where there’s a way around everything. It’s who you know and what they can do for you, but it’s the denial that bugs me.
When I grew up the worst thing that could happen was to bring a note home from school.
My parents would hit me, literally. Today if a kid brings home a note a parent goes to the administrator and says it can’t be true and threatens to sue. Don’t ask me how things changed, but they did, and this culture is permeating our entire society.
No one can take any responsibility. And when caught, they get on their high horse and deny it. Sometimes the truth comes out – but usually years later – after the perpetrators have garnered the victory and the spoils.
Not to mention America loves a redemption story.
We’ll give you a second chance if you say you’re sorry. But that rarely happens anymore, unless you’re a celebrity who makes a non-PC statement and goes to rehab.
What, is this the USSR, with re-education camps?
I’d like a re-education camp.
One in which schools teach people how to think as opposed to getting the right answer on a test.
One in which you learn how to read and write, because in the digital age those are even MORE important!
One in which public universities are funded to the degree private ones are. So a degree from UCLA or Berkeley is equivalent to one from Stanford – how it used to be.
One in which you can pay your bills by doing an honest day’s work. I’m not saying people shouldn’t try to improve themselves, but without people to do all the service jobs we’ve got no economy, never mind a society.
Now it’s great that Ellen Pao sued Kleiner Perkins. The venture capital firm won, but it lost. Because the truth is they did keep women down. And now every venture capital firm will be hesitant to do this in the future.
However if Tom Brady and the New England Patriots skate on this no one will be dissuaded from cheating in the coming years.
At least they nailed A-Rod.
He equaled Willie Mays‘s home run record and no one cared.
Because the truth is we don’t care about liars and cheaters.
But if we pay Asian contractors a living wage, our TVs and computers will cost a fortune.
And if we penalize the Patriots our lives will be empty with nothing to believe in.
Baloney.
People rally around the truth.
That’s what art used to provide. Before we lionized second-tier charlatans like balloon animal artist Jeff Koons and celebrated Taylor Swift for her marketing efforts, trumpeting her success on the anemic sales charts when everybody is streaming.
That’s right, Swift is the queen of YouTube. Leaving Spotify was irrelevant, because it’s got few subscribers. Want to make a difference, Taylor? LEAVE YOUTUBE!
Taylor took a stand alright, one that benefited herself.
Ain’t that the 21st century?
And the only reason I mention her is at least you know her. Becoming world famous is nearly impossible these days. The opportunity is there, but the success rate is incredibly low.
Read this article about how hard it is to become a YouTube star:
But you won’t. Because you just wanna believe if you work hard enough and believe in yourself you’ll make it.
Hogwash!
The winners have an edge, AND THEY’RE KEEPING IT!
Man, LeMond got SCREWED. And then Armstrong tried to screw him more.
And he did completely NOTHING wrong. That’s messed up in so many ways.
Another excellent article in my opinion. Lewis says they are STILL doing it!!
The costs of education for a blue collar family are prohibitive.
There is no reason for college to be so expensive. The reason it is so expensive is because:
a) Students are subsidizing research and other activities unrelated to teaching.
b) Students are subsidizing a layer of bureaucratic employees (such as “Deans of Diversity”) who, at best, do nothing and at worst, foment racial and gender hatred.
c) Many schools have enormous endowments, so big that they could practically let students attend for free. NYU’s endowment is 3.5 billion dollars. That’s bigger than the cash reserves of some small countries. Columbia’s is 9.2 billion. Harvard is 36 billion. Instead of using that money to make education affordable, they sit on it. This is a common theme throughout the halls of Academe.
What a racket.
“My parents would hit me, literally. Today if a kid brings home a note a parent goes to the administrator and says it can’t be true and threatens to sue. Don’t ask me how things changed, but they did, and this culture is permeating our entire society.
No one can take any responsibility. And when caught, they get on their high horse and deny it. Sometimes the truth comes out – but usually years later – after the perpetrators have garnered the victory and the spoils.”
Dead on the money.
I didn’t really think too much about it except to listen to the ESPN guys say Brady would probably get 2 games, but hell, you might be right. Take the trophy.
God, what a moron. blue collar “family”.
Sheesh…
Don’t beat yourself up, Chuck (up Chuck, funny); we know what you meant. 🙂
I do admire your desire for correctness, though.
🙂
yes you’re right chuck ….the reasons you brought up about college being
expensive are correct…but the biggest ones are:
1. FREE MONEY: go to college and the government will give you loans
for 100,000 to get an education. So the private trade schools and private
and public universities raised their tutions because students didn’t care…
they got their money from the voernment and never thought ho they
can pay it back. The schools never cared…just raise tuitions because the
studnes thought they had FREE MONEY.
Now we face a huge correction…because those people (including
well to do doctors/lawyers/politicians) aren’t paying back those loans
and the government is on the hook for 1.3 trillion dollars.
And when this entire casino game goes bust because theres no one
repaing those loans…we’ll hit another recession worst than in 2008……
It’s coming….get prepared…..the nation is on track to have some
huge financial problems when this occurs.
The apocalypse is at hand. I agree Harley.
chuck…those schools with billions don’t sit on their money…they get
wall street to invest the money for them and make even more money.
And when we have the next bust they’ll lose that money…only the next
one will be bigger than 2008. In fact….2008 will seem like a small
blip compared to what is coming up!!!!!!
Teriffic rant. Spot on.
In my opinion we’ve litigated the public conscious to the point of no return.
Go ahead. Admit even a hint of responsibility for your action/inaction and ten lawyers will line up to send you to bankruptcy, jail, or both.
Excellent rant! My wife is a teacher in a highly rated public school district in the KC metro. The utter lack of accountability from parents when it comes to their children’s behavior is sickening. The teacher is almost always wrong, and the child is right. There are students in 3rd and 4th grade who regularly crap their pants, and still don’t know how to wipe their own asses. Children are an inconvenience to most parents, who are bought off with video games, iPads, cars..whatever it takes to keep them quiet. No form of self reliance or responsibility or accountability is taught. Kids are growing up to be spoiled, entitled, little bastards who have NO idea how to make it out in the real world.
Not a bad rant yourself, Guy.
Pathetic. (The situation, not your rant.)
I taught in the KC School District for a very short while in the late 70’s. Your comment would have been correct in the 70’s as it is now, sans the technology reference.
+1
The effects of “Bullying” are often in the news. “Bullying” has a whole new meaning, if your kid goes to a school in the KC School District.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l-zttPCDqYU
Violence in the KC School District was no joke back in the 70’s and it is deadly serious now.
Agree with othrs…the next generation wants the easy way to the upward path.
They are spoiled…but soon they’ll see for themselves that we’ve ledt them
on f*ckedup situation they’ll have to deal with. How bad have we screwed up
things…just waait….the young’uns won’t know what hit ’em…….
Maybe I didn’t read closely enough or maybe I’m just confused.
On the one hand, nobody takes responsibility anymore (which I agree is true).
On the other hand, the lower class can’t get ahead because the “winners” won’t let them. Isn’t that essentially refusing to take responsibility for your lot in life?
Yeah, college is expensive…if you can’t afford it, then learn a trade (plumbing, for example), take business classes at JUCO (not that expensive) while working, and eventually open up your own plumbing company. Or I guess you could just stay on welfare and complain that life just isn’t fair.
And I hate to say that the school you went to doesn’t mean squat. A motivated, intelligent person is going to succeed even if they went to Bumf*ck U.
An entitled dipsh*t might make it solely through networking, but that’s got nothing to do with the kids we’re talking about. So someone else has it easier, big f*cking deal.
I think that the point he is making, is that it is not an even close to an even playing field. Although I agree with your comment, the fact that the cost for college is way, way out of proportion is noteworthy.
Harley is right. The Government subsidy of colleges is just as necrotic and twisted as the Government’s subsidy of the welfare state with many of the same results.
Tom Brady is the best ever NFL quarterback, he has ‘lived’ at the Super Bowl his entire career, nobody else has done that, nobody. He is handsome, has a celebrity model rich wife that is beautiful, and is a fun guy…likeable, decent, never in trouble…so LETS FIND A REASON TO HATE ON HIM AND BE TROLLS, right. Give me a break the air out of the balls meant nothing, everyone adds air or takes some out….really…didn’t seem to hurt his second half against Colts or his show in the Super Bowl…God I think we have much bigger issues in the NFL, like players doing crime daily and by the score..this is not an issue. I wish everyone was as straight as Tom. Stop it already.