Survival of… the Lowest Common Denominator | brokeGIRLrich
I spend a lot of time of the 1 train, and, adhering to proper NYC etiquette, I spend most of that time trying not to look other people in the eye.
So I check out the ads.
Recently one caught my eye that seriously made me go “WTF?”
It’s from the slew of PayPal ads that line the top of some cars and it said “No one is special because everyone is.”
PayPal: “No one is special because everyone is.”
Am I the only one who kind of gets a nasty chill from that? I mean, I already think it’s a problem that we never seem to encourage even a little competition from most people and I’m firmly on the side that only winners should get trophies, not just everyone for participation. I feel this mentality as a whole is a major detriment to America.
Don’t get me wrong, yes, yes, everyone is special. I agree with Barney (if anyone else remembers that giant, purple dinosaur). But even that song goes onto to tell you your special because of the things you can do. You probably are a kick a$$, awesome #1 super star of something.
But it might not be soccer. So just cause you showed up and put on the uniform does not mean you deserve a trophy. And you sure don’t deserve the same the same trophy as the team that showed up and destroyed you and every other team each Saturday morning on their way to first place.
However, I have no problem with rewarding people for what they are doing right. Did you have perfect attendance? Cool, you can get a soccer perfect attendance pin or something. Were you most improved? I actually think that’s one that merits a trophy of its own.
This ad was probably just meant to make everyone feel all good and shiny when they look at it, but it just rubs me the wrong way. And has a creepy dystopian, Brave New World feel to it.
This has been going on for a while. Everyone feeling entitled, being a special snowflake… it’s about time Paypal said it to give people a double-take, maybe it’ll wake everyone up
save. spend. splurge. recently posted…Is $200 now my minimum price point for any given piece of clothing?
I like competition. Growing up I generally won a lot, so it was hard to adjust at the start of my “real world” life, but hey, that’s life. There’s always someone better, there’s always someone worse.
Stefanie @ The Broke and Beautiful Life recently posted…The ALS Ice Bucket Challenge: Trivializing Disease or Doing Good?
Yeah that ad is totally weird. I also think it’s strange when they give trophies to every kid, etc. My kids I hope will fail a little bit from time to time because that’s how we learn.
Cat@BudgetBlonde recently posted…July Budget Results: Over But On Track
I think some of the greatest growth comes from failure. We can’t all be the best at everything, nor should we try. I don’t know where all of this stuff stems from, with teaching kids today that they are all special snowflakes and giving everyone an award just so they feel better. When everyone gets an award, where’s the incentive to do better and strive for more?
Lauren recently posted…Easy Productivity Hack for Freelance Writers
OK, I’m back. Not sure which email address I used to register on this site… trying this one.
I think you’re right — that failure is a good thing — and that’s EXACTLY why we should encourage kids to do things they suck at.
Suppose staying in soccer is a good thing. If we teach kids that being the one team out of 10 that wins the championship is absolutely the only thing that matters, do we think the kids on the 9th and 10th place teams are more likely to stick around and try to get better or quit entirely?
Mario recently posted…Hostels vs. hotels: Here’s how I choose the best type of accommodation for my trip
I don’t think we need to encourage winning as the only thing. That’s probably where the problem lies. But I do think we should encourage them to strive to be the best and the best should be rewarded.
I agree. I don’t think there has to be so much of a “YOU FAILED” stigma as there should be a “you need to try harder” mentality.
I think that ad is sad, but I also think it comes from a place of honesty. My hubby has been a teacher for almost 20 years and he said the last 10, there has been this dramatic change in schools where “celebrating mediocrity” has become the focus over rewarding and promoting actual work. I think that people are special and achievements are special and need to be treated as such, but there is a fine line between rewarding and rewarding too much.
Shannon @ Financially Blonde recently posted…Music Mondays – Least Complicated
Queue conspiracy theories:
It’s all part of the grand plan to turn society into mindless drones of mediocrity. I’m unsure whether I should include sarcasm or not.
ThriftyHamster recently posted…Taking The Reigns Of My Life, Lets Get Farming.
Sans sarcasm, I think.
I think the ad is trying to say that you don’t have to be special to use PayPal anymore. So whatever we each think our problem is, get over it, and go send PayPal some fee money.
Mario recently posted…My crazy-aggressive August 2014 goals, starting with paying off $3500 in debt
Haha, you’re probably right.
I was a sore loser as a kid, but losing helped me along they way. I realized I wasn’t always going to win. All 3 of our children have played team sports, we wanted them to experience being part of a team, the wins , loses, etc. Things have certainly changed. It used to be if you didn’t practice you didn’t play and you always put your best team on the field. Nowadays every kids plays no matter if he comes to practice or not and we have too many parents trying to relive their childhood through there children.
Brian recently posted…Book Review: Outsmarting the System
I find that alarming because it makes me wonder what sort of future leaders we’ll have if we make it ok to not work at things and just let everyone have a go – whether they’ve worked to become qualified or not.
I was just having a conversation with my producer about how his 7th grader is being bullied and all the parents are in an uproar, etc. Not that they shouldn’t be…please don’t get me wrong…I just wonder where exactly the line is between encouraging and protecting versus letting a person fail and learn how to get back on their own two feet, because in life there are going to be times when there is no one there to protect us, and we have to learn to fight. Do you know what I mean? I guess my answer is it’s a fine line.
Tonya@Budget and the Beach recently posted…Chasing My Hipster Dream on a Budget: Live Music for $10 or Less
I agree. And maybe, probably certainly, it’s easiest to vent about what’s wrong and right since I DON’T have kids I’m trying to instill any values in. But I do wonder how things have changed so much since Millennials and Gen X were kids. It really hasn’t been that long – and it doesn’t seem like we turned out all that badly.
What a strange ad! Beyond the “special snowflake” syndrome that it’s bringing up, it also just sounds like a strange sentiment coming from a payment processing company. I wonder if they’re just trying to come up with a friendlier image, but it seems pretty hokey to me.
Molly @ FeeHacks recently posted…How To Decorate On A Budget
They have several that are super strange sentiments as part of the overall campaign. A lot of them made me go “huh?” This was the only one that really made me go “WTF??” though.
I would get so angry as a kid when my basketball team would get a participation medal even though we sucked so bad. I would either give them away for throw them away.
If everyone tells you you’re awesome, then how will you know when you actually do something awesome?
Will @firstqfinance recently posted…20 Reasons We Should All Drive Manual Cars
Pingback: Blog Love: Meet-Up With Blonde on a Budget — Mo' Money Mo' Houses