(06-16-2016, 12:28 PM)RTBoss Wrote: I just read a very elaborate defense of the victimization of America. Maybe it was E2 that helped clear some of that kind of thinking away for me.
People ultimately choose to make their lives difficult. I have compassion for those who get "caught up," in the system - but being a person who has always sought a solution to my problems, my sympathy only goes so far.
If we keep blaming anything outside of our ability to make choices, we give our power away to the system. I don't care what was stuffed into my head my whole life, I make the decisions.
I'm sure it's tough to be an entrepreneur. If it were easy, everyone would do it. Not everyone is made of the stuff it takes to walk that path. But, regarding what I said in my prior post, you took what it said and extrapolated it into something that wasn't there. I didn't make a single comment concerning people who make decisions to improve their life. I also never said don't attempt to change the system. I promise you though, the people who DO feel entitled (don't try to tell me it's just people who are angry life doesn't live up to expectations b/c we've all been lied to) aren't the movers and shakers that will get it done.
I know so many people - close friends - who don't lift a finger to help themselves. They have their hand held out while they make poor decision after poor decision crying "Woe is me!" Even to suggest something bordering on self-improvement and I get stonewalled with excuses on why it can't be done.
Is it wrong to suggest that some people could do with a little more appreciation for having first world problems? There are people who are genuinely born into a sh*t life here, but when someone who grew up in a hovel in war-torn poverty can cross the ocean, learn a new language, and make due in a system that's completely foreign to them - how is it possible to not feel a little inspired by that?
No, what you read was an educated counter to the black-and-white thinking you're engaging in and presenting it with a pious, holier-than-thou messiah complex.
First and foremost, I'm going to point out that I'm a black man who grew up in poverty in the dregs of the American historic south. Where I lived, black skin meant you were automatically lowest on the social ladder. At least black women had vaginas, so racists could use them as human sex toys -- that utility alone put them in the rung above us. Despite the fact that I possess a genius level I.Q. in deductive reasoning, I still dealt with my pink-skinned peers treating me as inferior.
Despite that adversity, I managed to graduate high school with honors, and obtain an associate's degree, two bachelors degrees and am in the final stage of earning my master's degree. At 22, I was a marketing exec making well over $100k. And now, after realizing that I HATE working for someone else, I've dropped out of the workforce altogether and started my own business, which I've managed to make profitable and sustainable in about six months. All of this is verifiable. In fact, I've shown many of you who PM'd me asking for more information about entrepreneurship.
So please continue discarding my viewpoint and experiences as a mere "defense of the victimization in America." [/sarcasm]
I ain't no f*ckin' rookie.
No, there's a certain demographic in America that tends to believe that their perceptions and experiences is the de facto DEFAULT, and that everyone should conform to the underlying framework that builds THEIR reality.
This is based on two factors: One, ignorance of the deeper, hidden strata of American socioeconomics and two, an attempt to place oneself above others (if they'd only work as hard as I did, maybe they'd get somewhere).
But, let's look at a particularly interesting situation: Anyone here interested in trading stock for a living? Well, unless you're able to maintain a balance of $20k, your ability to do so will be extremely crippled. Whenever your balance falls under $20k, you lose the ability to do round robin trades, where you purchase a security and sell it within the same day. You're subject to a "T + 3" rule, where you must wait three days for the trade to "settle" before you're allowed to trade those securities again.
Is it a coincidence that $20k is generally the HIGHEST amount the average American will ever keep in their bank account? And keep in mind, you can't just have $20k -- you have to stay ABOVE it. If you're able to keep more than $20k, you can trade at will, or on margin, and profit from the small price fluctuations that occur in a day.
Think no one does this? Go Google "High Frequency Stock Trading" Guys, I couldn't make this shit up. HFT is a trading method employed by the big boys, where they'll make TENS OF THOUSANDS of trades a day at lightning fast speeds (I believe the figure is like, 75% of all trades are HFT) to capitalize on small changes in price. Like, these dudes go through epic battles just to be a few miles closer to the NYSE so the already unimaginably fast signal can got a few fractions of a moment faster. And they make BILLIONS each year doing this.
Meanwhile, as the average American citizen, you're completely locked out this profitable system, among others. Google "The Panama Papers." Google the truth about the Federal Reserve. You guys do realize that the Federal Reserve, the organization that governs the flow of money is NOT a governmental entity. It's an "independent organization" within the government. Congress has limited oversight over the reserve. Consult Dr. Googleman if you don't believe me.
Does this not make you lift an eyebrow? Does this not make you question some of the decisions you've made in your life? Does this not make you wonder, "what other systems are in place that are gently pushing me to make... odd decisions?"
Saying, "don't be a victim" is little more than an empty platitude. There's no actionable steps. You're not enlightening anyone. It doesn't make you enlightened. Go look at the sales page for BASE 5g -- look at the intense amount of programming needed to guide you on the path of breaking free.
Yes, it's very inspirational that a person can come from another country and succeed, but that doesn't address the problem with American victimization. "Entitlement" is a boogeyman. It means nothing. There's a deeper issue that goes beyond that.
P.S. The funny thing is, the notion of "entitlement culture" pretty much confirms the notion of socioeconomic and political systems. Of course, when you flip the argument back around, they yell OMG CONSPIRACY THEORIST! The double-think is astounding.
