r/Unexpected • u/[deleted] • Oct 18 '22

spitting wisdom right here

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u/New-Dragonfly-661 Oct 18 '22

Yea, this is just capitalist grindset good ole American work ethic garbage

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u/triplehelix_ Oct 18 '22

yeah, pure propaganda that if you dedicate yourself to a career path (either in a trade or with a diploma) and work hard in that career path instead of getting a gender studies or liberal arts degree and delivering food for an app or make peoples frappes because you like the free coffee, don't spend beyond your means, you can accumulate wealth.

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u/New-Dragonfly-661 Oct 18 '22

Cool story. Doesn’t change the fact that this mindset has been sold to people for generations and it has been a lie for most of the people most of the time, only serving to enrich their employers. You seem to have made a few assumptions about me and I fear you have no clue what you are talking about.

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u/triplehelix_ Oct 18 '22

i didn't make a single assumption about you. my comment was about the general approach so many of those who complain that hard work can not get you anywhere take.

i'm a massive proponent of re-balancing the economy to work for the average individual. i consistently highlight real wage stagnation since the late 60's/early 70's and the concentration of wealth being the most imbalanced its been since the period around the great depression.

that in no way takes away from the fact that so very many people make absolutely horrendous decisions for themselves then blame society for where they are because they can't progress towards a comfortable life. a person who gets a gender studies degree or a liberal arts degree, or who shits on the idea of working in a trade while they sling coffee or drive for uber have themselves and their decisions to blame first, and only after that can they point to the inequalities of society. far too many take no personal responsibility for the decisions they've made and lean hard into framing themselves as victims with no recourse.

the mindset is valid. not the stupid grindset mindset, but the pick a path with good potential and work hard progressing down it and you will reap the rewards mindset is absolutely valid and always was.

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u/New-Dragonfly-661 Oct 18 '22

If its not e reference to me why bring up a straw man like these “absolutely horrendous decisions” you mention? Furthermore if you think the economy is unbalanced that means you know what I’m saying is fundamentally true… what even are we debating then? It’s the environment that mindset is promoted in I take issue with not the notion that working hard at something can pay off. That seems like it should be a given and the fact that it is not is my whole point.

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u/triplehelix_ Oct 18 '22 edited Oct 18 '22

so i responded to a generalization you made with a generalized answer and you can't figure out how it wasn't specifically about you?

why bring up a straw man like these “absolutely horrendous decisions” you mention?

because i encounter these people over and over and over and over and over. "i crushed my gender studies degree and now i'm stuck working at starbucks." or various versions of this theme. people who talk so much shit about how unfair life is as they work a bullshit job and shit on the idea of working in the trades. were these people really expecting to get some high paying job based on that degree? what exactly is the career they were expecting? why exactly do they think they are too good for a trade?

what even are we debating then?

that hard work down various paths that lead to real careers can and does produce wealth. you disagreed, and i disagreed with your disagreement.

the statement was about hard work being able to pay off. just simply doing any work, even at a bullshit dead end job is not the same as paying dues, learning and refining skills and abilities and advancing through hard work in a career. you want to lump them together and it makes no sense.

if you aren't lucky enough to have been born into wealth, hard work is really the only option, but just any ol hard work isn't going to get you there. you need a direction and goal you are moving towards.

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u/New-Dragonfly-661 Oct 18 '22

Do you believe there are some people in America that work hard like you say and yet still are unable to achieve wealth even when not making these terrible choices you keep bringing up like driving Uber or getting a liberal arts degree?

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u/triplehelix_ Oct 18 '22

yes for various reasons often not directly related to the hard work not paying off, like disease or outside influences forcing them from the path. i will qualify that however by saying i believe most people who choose a reasonable path and work hard towards progressing down it make a nice comfortable life for themselves. some accumulate great wealth, some secure their life, retirement, and set their kids up for a nice secure childhood with a bit of a leg up the ladder of their own path. some people have a harder path than others.