A rant on wasted opportunity

[SLGDEV]

So if, hypothetically, bobody around him taught him accountability it's still all his fault and only pink liberal ***s would say otherwise, got it.

As for the first part, yes. It would be HIS fault and nobody else's. The problem with our society today is that no one accepts personal responsibility for his own actions or inactions. It is no big deal to THINK and realizes that no one owes you a living on a silver platter and that no one should be held accountable for your own actions other than you, yourself. That isn't rocket science. It is pure common sense and personal responsibility.

As for the second part, I don't characterize people in that way. I called them "bleeding hearts". This encompasses those who say "it is society's fault" and those who say "My Johnny can do no wrong".

I grew up in poverty in the slums of NY and early on (before age 10) devised a plan for myself. The result was that I became a professional (engineer, then programmer) and now have an upper middle class existence. No one helped me along the way. It was MY job to do so, and I did it. So can ANYONE else (who is not severely handicapped, that is). It is just too damn easy to say "the system is rigged against me".

BTW, I have voted both parties and am absolutely NOT a right winger. I just stand up for accepting responsibility for yourself.

 

[Tony2046]

As for the first part, yes. It would be HIS fault and nobody else's. The problem with our society today is that no one accepts personal responsibility for his own actions or inactions. It is no big deal to THINK and realizes that no one owes you a living on a silver platter and that no one should be held accountable for your own actions other than you, yourself. That isn't rocket science. It is pure common sense and personal responsibility.

As for the second part, I don't characterize people in that way. I called them "bleeding hearts". This encompasses those who say "it is society's fault" and those who say "My Johnny can do no wrong".

I grew up in poverty in the slums of NY and early on (before age 10) devised a plan for myself. The result was that I became a professional (engineer, then programmer) and now have an upper middle class existence. No one helped me along the way. It was MY job to do so, and I did it. So can ANYONE else (who is not severely handicapped, that is). It is just too damn easy to say "the system is rigged against me".

BTW, I have voted both parties and am absolutely NOT a right winger. I just stand up for accepting responsibility for yourself.

Geez man, you sound just like my Dad. "When I was a kid." Well when my Dad was a kid a guy could get a job at the local mill/factory and earn enough cash to feed a family. Mommy could stay home with "Johnny" and make sure he got to school on time. Going to school did not mean being a 1/4 of a million in debt when they graduated. When I was a kid I needed to get at least an associate's level degree to get a job in the local factory (mills were fewer by then) and mommy needed a part time job to subsidize the cost of having average stuff. When my kid grows up he will need to have one hell of a degree to compete for a job in the factory somewhere else because manufacturing has been shipped overseas. His wife will need to have a full time job to enjoy the same average stuff they enjoyed having as kids. Their kids will spend numerous hours at daycare or pre-pre-school. Meanwhile through the decline of the middle class from the time when you were a kid and my kid, the poor kid has had less and less opportunities to help him escape an impoverished community and even less of a chance of having a dad at home.

The responsibility will always belong to the individual because they are the ones who are going to cut from a team, lose a job, go to jail or end up dead but we are the ones who are going to pay that. It is our responsibility as a nation to level the playing field unless you are one of those that believe in some sort of social darwinism "Only the elite will survive".

You can sit there a preach about "when I was a kid" as long as you want but unless we attempt to understand the environment these current kids are growing up in and do something to provide them opportunities to aim for you are going to find yourself giving that "When I was kid" speech more and more often.

Btw: Beating the odds does not mean improving the odds is not an option.

 

[Ross12]

Hoo boy, we are on the fast track to the political forum in this one!

 

[Tony2046]

Hoo boy, we are on the fast track to the political forum in this one!

"Hey how about them Pats"

 

[RecoveringCowboy]

These are young men still half a decade from being fully-mature who have had everything they wanted thrown at them since they were 15. They've maybe even gotten away with **** they shouldn't have. They typically come from poor families, leaving them ill-prepared to handle a sudden influx of huge cash amounts, and have no real idea about what the world is like let alone what it is to be held accountable. Colleges bent over backwards for them, maybe even gave them stuff on the sly, and every day was like a party.

Even though they did have everything handed to them for years, still think they must have realized they have been given a gift that few will see and it's only for a few years, so make the most of it, and invest wisely. About 2/3 of NFL and NBA players go bankrupt 2-3 years after they retire. The last time the players were about to strike, the owners knew they could wait them out because most of the players live from paycheck to paycheck!

Then there are the hard-core idiots the OP mentions: Easley, Manziel, and Gordon.

 

[Froob]

I can't find the part of this post I'm supposed to laugh at, and I'm confused.

 

[SLGDEV]

Geez man, you sound just like my Dad. "When I was a kid." Well when my Dad was a kid a guy could get a job at the local mill/factory and earn enough cash to feed a family. Mommy could stay home with "Johnny" and make sure he got to school on time. Going to school did not mean being a 1/4 of a million in debt when they graduated. When I was a kid I needed to get at least an associate's level degree to get a job in the local factory (mills were fewer by then) and mommy needed a part time job to subsidize the cost of having average stuff. When my kid grows up he will need to have one hell of a degree to compete for a job in the factory somewhere else because manufacturing has been shipped overseas. His wife will need to have a full time job to enjoy the same average stuff they enjoyed having as kids. Their kids will spend numerous hours at daycare or pre-pre-school. Meanwhile through the decline of the middle class from the time when you were a kid and my kid, the poor kid has had less and less opportunities to help him escape an impoverished community and even less of a chance of having a dad at home.

The responsibility will always belong to the individual because they are the ones who are going to cut from a team, lose a job, go to jail or end up dead but we are the ones who are going to pay that. It is our responsibility as a nation to level the playing field unless you are one of those that believe in some sort of social darwinism "Only the elite will survive".

You can sit there a preach about "when I was a kid" as long as you want but unless we attempt to understand the environment these current kids are growing up in and do something to provide them opportunities to aim for you are going to find yourself giving that "When I was kid" speech more and more often.

Btw: Beating the odds does not mean improving the odds is not an option.

I agree we have to do things to make it better and more available for our children (and I have three grown children of my own). However, that is not what I was talking about. I was talking about the "its not my fault" syndrome that has taken over our society. We need to accept responsibility for ourselves and work to make our own lives better. My plan when I was young was to live at home, go to a commuter tuition free college, and then leave. That is what I did. My children have struggled, but they also have taken responsibility for themselves (and each other, too).

I am against the ridiculous cost of college. It is totally unnecessary to pay a professor to an extravagant salary to be in front of a lecture hall for one or two hours a week while his student assistants do all the paperwork so that he has the ability to "publish" so as not to "perish". Our education system is broken and needs to be fixed.

Yes, we live in a world economy, but we don't need to make it better for other countries at the expense of our own. Our tax code ENCOURAGES businesses to go overseas. That is absurd.

We also need to ensure that every citizen has access to medical care. To me that is right, not a financial privilege.

So, as you see, I am for "improving the odds". But, bottom line is that buck stops with the individual himself or herself. It may be harder than before, and we should work to improve that, but it is not insurmountable.

 

[SLGDEV]

Even though they did have everything handed to them for years, still think they must have realized they have been given a gift that few will see and it's only for a few years, so make the most of it, and invest wisely. About 2/3 of NFL and NBA players go bankrupt 2-3 years after they retire. The last time the players were about to strike, the owners knew they could wait them out because most of the players live from paycheck to paycheck!

Then there are the hard-core idiots the OP mentions: Easley, Manziel, and Gordon.

Really? Paycheck to paycheck? The minimum rookie salary this year is $435,000. I wouldn't mind living from paycheck to paycheck on that!

 

[RecoveringCowboy]

Really? Paycheck to paycheck? The minimum rookie salary this year is $435,000. I wouldn't mind living from paycheck to paycheck on that!

What they do most of us don't do is spend lots of that money on friends/family as if they will be making this kind of money forever....Bentleys, mansions, etc. Instead of investing.

 

[IcyPatriot]

"— Easley couldn’t participate in rookie minicamp because of “injuries to his ankles, arms, and wrists sustained when bitten by his pet pitbull two weeks before the draft,” according to Volin. Easley didn’t tell teams about the injuries before the draft."

"— Easley “ignored requests to rehab his injuries with the Patriots’ trainers, and instead did it on his own,” according to Volin. "

"— Easley would never listen to medical advice, a source told Volin."

For more examples, see: Report: Dominique Easley Released By Patriots For Unreliability, Immaturity

We're 100% in on Trollin-Volin quotes?
Globe is notorious for creating unsourced opinions and molding them into fact.

 

[Tunescribe]

PROPOSAL/CONTRACT: The NFL proposes to pay you tens of millions of dollars to play a game. With some stewardship of this money, you should be rich beyond most people’s dreams for the rest of your life. You will be the hero to your new hometown fans. Every head will turn when you walk into a restaurant or bar. Men will admire you. Women will want to be with you and many will throw themselves at you. Basically, your life will be one that every football fan would give their left arm to live.

CONTRACT STIPULATIONS: However, in return for those tens of millions of dollars and that dream life, there are a few minimal contract stipulations you have to agree to. You should not show up at the first day of work with with previously undisclosed severe injuries (say, from dog bites). You need to have some minimal participation in team injury rehabilitation activities. You need to at least pretend some slight interest in your team and its success. It is OK to party some, but don’t go off the deep end. Don't be partying the night before a game or show up at practice drunk. Don’t batter women. Don’t get caught doing drugs, and if you do and get suspended, definitely don’t get caught a second or third time. You can be a turd, but don’t be such an unbelievable turd that your team can’t stand you. Don’t get involved with criminal gangs. Don’t kill anybody.

Who among us wouldn’t run to sign this agreement? Making tens of millions of dollars, be everybody’s hero, having women throw themselves at you? And all you have to do is to somewhat behave yourself during the time of the contract? Who among us wouldn’t give almost anything for this opportunity?

And guys like Easley, Manziel, and Gordon (not to mention a certain MA prison inmate) can’t abide by these rules for a short time while they are making millions and millions of dollars? It is just unbelievable to me. I know they are young, but how could anyone throw away such an opportunity?

OK, rant over, I feel better. Back to our regularly scheduled programming.

I want Easley's money. Between you and me, I've got to have it.

 

[zydecochris]

We're 100% in on Trollin-Volin quotes?
Globe is notorious for creating unsourced opinions and molding them into fact.

A poster had asked how Easley had violated my "Contract Stipulations", and Volin article was the first one I could find, and it had the most details. I can't seem to find these same details reported anyplace else, so perhaps you have a point about Volin.

My goal was not to beat up Easley (really it was Manziel's actions that really set me off), but to point out if you have this amazing opportunity for the adventure of a lifetime as a NFL hero, and to become rich beyond most of our dreams doing so, how could you possibly not completely keep your nose clean and do everything you can to not screw it up?

I don't really know the details of why Easley was dumped by the Patriots, but after seeing some flashes from him last year (and the cap hit from cutting him) it is hard to believe that with different behavior he wouldn't still be a Patriot.

 

[meatface]

It doesn't matter one bit who else may have "contributed to it". In the end the SOLE responsibility for the individual is that individual himself or herself.

I am so sick and tired of the "bleeding hearts" who refuse to put the blame where it belongs!

SOLE responsibility

 

[Bledsoehasaring]

PROPOSAL/CONTRACT: The NFL proposes to pay you tens of millions of dollars to play a game. With some stewardship of this money, you should be rich beyond most people’s dreams for the rest of your life. You will be the hero to your new hometown fans. Every head will turn when you walk into a restaurant or bar. Men will admire you. Women will want to be with you and many will throw themselves at you. Basically, your life will be one that every football fan would give their left arm to live.

CONTRACT STIPULATIONS: However, in return for those tens of millions of dollars and that dream life, there are a few minimal contract stipulations you have to agree to. You should not show up at the first day of work with with previously undisclosed severe injuries (say, from dog bites). You need to have some minimal participation in team injury rehabilitation activities. You need to at least pretend some slight interest in your team and its success. It is OK to party some, but don’t go off the deep end. Don't be partying the night before a game or show up at practice drunk. Don’t batter women. Don’t get caught doing drugs, and if you do and get suspended, definitely don’t get caught a second or third time. You can be a turd, but don’t be such an unbelievable turd that your team can’t stand you. Don’t get involved with criminal gangs. Don’t kill anybody.

Who among us wouldn’t run to sign this agreement? Making tens of millions of dollars, be everybody’s hero, having women throw themselves at you? And all you have to do is to somewhat behave yourself during the time of the contract? Who among us wouldn’t give almost anything for this opportunity?

And guys like Easley, Manziel, and Gordon (not to mention a certain MA prison inmate) can’t abide by these rules for a short time while they are making millions and millions of dollars? It is just unbelievable to me. I know they are young, but how could anyone throw away such an opportunity?

OK, rant over, I feel better. Back to our regularly scheduled programming.

Im not really sure what you are so confused about. ****ed up people are ****ed up people. You cant tell someone who is a train wreck to act responsibly for a 10 an hour job or a 10000 dollar an hour job. They have problems. Talent or money have nothing to do with these things.

 

[SLGDEV]

View attachment 12700
SOLE responsibility

www.m-w.com

4
sole
adjective
Simple Definition of sole

• : only or single
• : belonging only to the person or group specified
  

 

[meatface]

www.m-w.com

4
sole
adjective
Simple Definition of sole

• : only or single
• : belonging only to the person or group specified

everyone is aware of the definition of sole but its also a flat fish

 

[PatsWickedPissah]

But that's not the sole definition of the word

 

[PatsFanSince74]

These are young men still half a decade from being fully-mature who have had everything they wanted thrown at them since they were 15. They've maybe even gotten away with **** they shouldn't have. They typically come from poor families, leaving them ill-prepared to handle a sudden influx of huge cash amounts, and have no real idea about what the world is like let alone what it is to be held accountable. Colleges bent over backwards for them, maybe even gave them stuff on the sly, and every day was like a party.

Then they hit the real world of the NFL where they've gone from everyone covering for them to having to answer for their actions.

Many of them are forced to grow up, some of them don't. But they aren't the only ones who had a hand in their becoming emotionally stunted manbabies along the way, their family and schools enabled them to behave like little ****s with no responsibility and get away with it.

It's no wonder that we have people who just can't handle it.

well said. The only factor that you omitted is that a lot of these guys are swarmed and guilt tripped by hangers on from their neighborhoods. This is particularly a big problem for NBA players where the difference between a guy looking for pick up games in playgrounds and an NBA player is often a matter of maturity and maybe some mentoring

 

[brdmaverick]

Posters certainly are not wasting the opportunity to rant. I think we can all agree on that.

 

[meatface]

This post makes me think of the people who whine about late round picks not working out every time

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