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Can't pull yourself up by your bootstrap 1) because it's impossible and 2) most of us nowadays have no boots!

Everyone needs to be aware of the just-world fallacy. It's the primary reason for all the problems in the world. No kidding. The #1 cause. It's the idea that wherever a person is, it's exactly where they *deserve* to be. And we all know karma doesn't actually work. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Just-wo...

You gotta have boots first to pull yourself up by the bootstraps.

Anyone that opposes government assistance using "pull yourself up by your bootstraps" logic should also be in favor of a 100% inheritance tax.

Well that's largely true, but eventually we are not babies and need to do something for ourselves, even if there is a "social safety net".

The phrase originated from miners being hopelessly trapped in a collapsed mine. It was a statement of futility and inevitable death, because it is not possible for a person to pull themselves up by their bootstraps. Now does it make sense?

It's also physically impossible to do.

🏆🏆🏆👏👏👏

And “pulling yourself up by your bootstraps” is LITERALLY an impossible act.

Preach

Amen.

Ironically if you talk to a lot of millionaire class business owners this is a common cycle. Very rarely do they go from poor to rich in a straight line, it's usually poor, then rich, then poor again, then rich again, and maybe even poor a third time before really "making it" and retaining wealth.

Yes, the RW 1% psychologically programs the population to blame the effect (individuals in poverty) not the cause ("poorly" designed financial system).

I don't think that this is a myth, per se. It's just so rare that it is not accessible to 99% of the poor. It takes extraordinary effort or genius or luck.

It's a false promise of getting wealthy, when you have better chances of getting hit by lightning.

There’s a joke about trickle down economics, but 99% of the population won’t get it

So well said. Poverty is not a choice But under Trump is Republicans, it's becoming a death sentence!

Yeah, my father who was a poor, lower class working union man, constantly was saying that to me. It got him nowhere.

Amen.

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its evil to think you can buy boots when you can't afford food..

Bootstraps? In this economy?

Like "self-made" man Warren Buffet. He cashed in on his stockbroker/congressman daddie's insider stock tips and made his first million in 1950s dollars

That saying needs to be retired. It can’t be applied to life today.

And Sir Ronald of Sacto, aka Ronnie Raygun, with his “trickle down” BS!

It was originally meant to be understood as an impossible act, similar to Baron Munchausen pulling himself and his horse up by his pigtail. www.youtube.com/watch?v=8mht...

Often told to people with no shoes.

I hope this post reaches the demographic that really really really needs to stfu about younger generations pulling themselves up by their bootstraps.

@adamconover.net of ‘Adam Ruins Everything’ did an excellent episode explaining this concept.

Indeed.

That's probably where it came from, but my community has always seen it as a way of saying, "We've been dealt the bad hand in life (compared to the rich), but we gotta do what we have to." Kinda interesting how the perceived meaning of phrases evolve over time.

Insurance CEOs get nice benefit packages too, including free healthcare for life outside of generous pensions etc..

Can someone really pull themselves up from a fallen position by their bootstraps?

I'm just so tired of it...

That's the entire crux of our current education system and the Religious right's insertion into it. It's all about teaching subservience to your corporate and religious overlords; how nothing is within your control and you must give yourself over to them. ...and they are winning...😑

When people claim to have pulled themselves up by the bootstraps, they are rarely willing to acknowledge that not everyone was issued boots.

Haha, you don't know how similar we might be

Their values suck, sure. They are unrealistic and based on nonsense, but they are still values to those that respond to the trick. Calling their values a hoax won't convince them. We need to take their values into consideration when we engage with them.

I beg to disagree. I think the message is that it’s possible to start with nothing and become something. It doesn’t mean it’s easy. It just means it’s possible.

No it’s a nudge to stand up for what they want and put some effort into saving themselves and not waiting for others to hand it to them.

Similarly “get on your bike” to find non-existent work.

Part of a much larger mythology around individualism, invented by the rich and for the rich.

The original meaning of the phrase was trying to do something that is physically impossible, so it is an accurate description of the state of the poor and working classes under the current system.

That is true also

The phrase was intended to describe an impossibility. It is physically impossible for a person to lift themselves by their own boot straps. Only America would blame poor people for not accomplishing the impossible. Nepo babies will claim they did so, but that is total BS.

Somehow, the fact that republicans took the phrase over from misunderstanding its original use is completely on-brand for them.

Yep, this is what I came into the comments for. It's meant to be an impossible task.

Felt good to buy a homeless guy on the street a bag of popcorn and give him $10. It’s not much but it made him smile. At least I had a car to sleep in. We need to do better

Truth

And then there is 'put your shoulder to the wheel... '

It's right up there with "Carbon Footprint" — cynically designed to offset all the responsibility for climate change onto helpless individuals, whilst protecting big emitters from scrutiny and legislation.

It started as a paradoxical rallying cry AGAINST corporate overreach. And was repeated so much during an era when Americans had prosperity and benefitted from unionism that it became a handle that if you put enough effort in you can accomplish prosperity.

I think that the original saying was, "You can't pull yourself up by your boot straps."

Of only there was a really influential religious leader who could tell everyone this 🤔

Bobbie is SOOOO full of shit. Millions of people come here from all over the world and build wonderful lives. Look at Nigerian LEGAL immigrants. The are high earners, high achievers through hard work. There are many other minorities who have done the same. Bobbie just won't see it.

Ben Shapiro is to brain washed to understand that.

It’s wrong😒😒

I've seen several people pick up this toxic bootstrap mentality in rehabilitative therapy. Explains quite a bit.

We're playing Monopoly. A couple people get a million dollars. A few people get a grand. Some get 100 bucks. The rest of us get 20 bucks. Just try to catch up.

The irony is that we’ve replaced the bootstrap myth with "optimization culture," convincing people that if they just find the right productivity app, they can out-hack a systemic collapse. Turns out, you can't Notion-board your way out of a rigged game.

The phrase originally was meant as irony . It is literally impossible to pull oneself up by their bootstraps.

I was raised to see the Duke as the male icon. What a load of trash.The guy had a evil side that is on the me thinks thou dust protest too much side of life. We just so need to get past the need for winning at the expense of others. Whenever/if we ever learn to work together we will be unstoppable

No. I was a Camel guy. But seriously, I lost a good friend to the AM radio libertarian disease. This person could not understand 'Atlas Shrugged' if he read it 100 times. Limbaugh pushed the poor guy to the top, then Trump shoved him over the cliff. FUCK Donald Trump.

Watching it from afar I find out that the entire American system runs on indoctrination and subjugation. The oligarchy managed to create a fake democratic system to fool the peasants into accepting being exploited to their bones and have no really useful rights, apart from owning guns or speak crap

My mom literally refuses to understand that the world still hates autism and mental health issues

When you can't afford the bootstraps...then what?

Yes. 💯

Perpetuated by those born on third or fourth base.

Because they had someone on the inside who pulled them in or was able to take advantage of the opportunities offered. This makes them feel like everyone should have taken the opportunities whether they could afford it or not.

🎯‼️

👍👍👍👍👍

I'm sure Republicans voting against increases to the federal minimum wage for (checks notes) *since 2009* has nothing to do with it. /s

Sure! Just ask any person who heard about their own ancestors who were slaves & built America.

Education is the way.

It is physically impossible to pull oneself up by one’s own bootstraps. Let that sink in for the metaphor.

Even more than just action

Well fuck America.

Agreed

Not possible to do👆

Most of these people have inherited wealth. The days of building a better mousetrap are long gone. Now it's take grandaddy's money and buy a successful company and claim it was all your idea. Musk didn't invent PayPal or Tesla. Spacex is the brainchild of Tom Mueller. Money makes money. 💙

We’re all dependent on others

💯

The Horatio Alger myth is a tool of oppression that is used to convince people that their station in life is their own fault and if they aren't wealthy and successful it's due to their poor moral fiber.

I didn’t make my point very well. Republicans don’t ever talk about inherited wealth, how easy it is to make money when you already have it, and the enormous wealth preservation advantages that the wealthy have.

During the elections, when someone said that about Trump, I would ask "how many times have you filed for bankruptcy?" because if it was less than 7 (and it always was), then you're a better "businessman" than Donald Trump.

There is also a lot of prosperity gospel baked into the Republican worldview.

They still believe that getting rid of immigrants will secure their own healthcare and housing at a lower price and less benefits for the poor will free up more benefits for people like them who really need it.

Sure, NOW you tell me...

"On a Plate" by cartoonist Toby Morris is probably the best illustration I've ever seen of the social disparities that play into "self-made" success. www.rnz.co.nz/news/all/373...

Well said.

We need to create a system that measures all we are. ambourne.us/tag/partners...

Such BS- from a millionaire. We all have hurdles to overcome, some more than others. This from kid on who was on welfare, who's mom did unlicensed daycare to make it happen, to now living comfortably w/ successful kids. This victim mentality is getting old. Nobody owes you anything- go get it.

Hard to pull yourself up by the bootstraps when public education is being defunded & tertiary education is unaffordable, can't afford healthcare & medication, and minimum wage is below poverty line.

I’m wondering if the logic and problem solving strategies of AI that leads to deception and covert organizing among agents will help us understand that the system is the thing. If AI “does it” because it knows other AI agents “do it,” then can we learn about humans from emergent AI behavior?

Never heard the whole quote. I like it. Thanks for the education!

"blood is thicker than water" is often used to mean family is more important than friendship, but originally was "the blood of the covenant is thicker than the water of the womb" which actually meant that the relationships you create are worth more than just the fact you were born related to someone

You get a like and a follow for also knowing the true meaning of this aphorism

m.youtube.com/watch?v=hmFw... BEN SHAPIRO IS F*CKED m.youtube.com/watch?v=FxLJ... ‘THEY’RE GOING TO PRISON’: Ro Khanna SHOCKS ALL & Says LOCK UP Trump Regime!! m.youtube.com/watch?v=ERYy... FBI LETTERS:TRUMP TRAFFICKED GIRLS TO EPSTEIN & THE SAUDIS m.youtube.com/watch?v=6HLa...

I always thought it was a pisstake, because it is of course physically impossible.

That part!!

No one of us, no gov is perfect. Read the preamble to our Constitution. "We the People of the United States, in Order to form a MORE perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty ... "

It’s also an admission that the cruelty is the point.

For some people it IS the results of their own decisions. But not for everyone.

👏👍

Related: The Monopoly board game was designed to teach us something, and it wasn't just that being the Banker is a pain in the ass.

Tell me about it. A lifetime of effort even with quality education and good jobs but at 80 now bankrupt. Getting injured repeatedly and having to start all over after each injury just doesn't make for a comfy retirement.

Cultural Framework: In this view, a culture that rewards individual effort creates a more dynamic, productive society than one focused primarily on collective or state support.