LJ Idol Week 7- No True Scotsman
Lets start with a brief story, an amusing little anecdote (your mileage may vary) to set the tone. Names have been changed to protect the guilty. I once was sitting in a living room with a woman named Princess Gracielda (if you are gonna make up a name from whole cloth, why not go all the way). The Princess was on the phone with a phone sales representative for Neiman Marcus. Neiman's, if you don't know, is a Dallas based, very high end, retailer. Anyway, the Princess was ordering a 100 dollar Christmas Ornament (at least it would be safe, the Princess hasn't put up a tree in a decade). She was boring the sand out of the operator, clucking approvingly about “the sort of person who shops at Neiman Marcus” while this (endless) conversation was taking place I heard a sound outside. The repo man was taking her (very modest) car out of the driveway. The Princess, so desperately wanted to be the sort of person who shops at Neiman's...but most of those people don't have to worry about the Repo Man, and their servants don't either.
Another friend made and lost a fortune in the Stock Market, he was on the streets for a couple of weeks because he would rather look for a “backer” than do a 9-5 and potentially be something other than a stock trader.
Before you think I am tearing down people like the Princess, I admit I do it too. If you ask me what I do for a living, I probably will at least mention sub-teaching, but I will couch it by saying I am a graduate student (nuh-uh....I flunked out, two semesters ago...it was a stressful time but that's another entry). I also might mention I am an actor and a writer. I don't delude myself that I am a professional level talent at either of these things. None of my 150 pairs of socks (I am the Imelda Marcos of socks) were purchased from the proceeds of my acting and writing. But I have put in the hours, and I think I am (at least hazily) qualified to wear the monicker.
Lots of the people I do community theater with think they are “Broadway ready”, most are pretty good, but I would be damned sad to pay 150 bucks to see them act instead of 20. Some of the people in this contest think they are “Professional Writers” maybe they are, some even have books out to prove it. Couple of those books are well loved mainstays of my bookshelf. Still, I bet their day job selling time shares puts a lot more bacon on their table.
Again you might think I am making fun of these people and I am really not. I hear people howling because people on welfare have cell phones, and I know it is just because they are working hard and struggling and want, damn it, for somebody to be way worse off than them. They want to be “the middle class” and who wants to be “the working poor” it sounds way too much like “the walking dead”.
No, I want everyone to keep all their identifications, especially the ones they have worked hard for. But keep some for where you are, as well as where you want to be. I've been happier since I stopped fighting against the “bad labels” that go with me. Drunk? Sure. Fat? You bet. Underachiever? I define the word. That doesn't mean I have consigned myself to those things always being true.
I am aware that with stuff like “writer” and “actor” you really have to say it, before you can be it and self-esteem is important. But a basic grounding in reality, while definitely medicinal tasting, is usually a good thing. As long as we keep space for the words we dare to dream.
Another friend made and lost a fortune in the Stock Market, he was on the streets for a couple of weeks because he would rather look for a “backer” than do a 9-5 and potentially be something other than a stock trader.
Before you think I am tearing down people like the Princess, I admit I do it too. If you ask me what I do for a living, I probably will at least mention sub-teaching, but I will couch it by saying I am a graduate student (nuh-uh....I flunked out, two semesters ago...it was a stressful time but that's another entry). I also might mention I am an actor and a writer. I don't delude myself that I am a professional level talent at either of these things. None of my 150 pairs of socks (I am the Imelda Marcos of socks) were purchased from the proceeds of my acting and writing. But I have put in the hours, and I think I am (at least hazily) qualified to wear the monicker.
Lots of the people I do community theater with think they are “Broadway ready”, most are pretty good, but I would be damned sad to pay 150 bucks to see them act instead of 20. Some of the people in this contest think they are “Professional Writers” maybe they are, some even have books out to prove it. Couple of those books are well loved mainstays of my bookshelf. Still, I bet their day job selling time shares puts a lot more bacon on their table.
Again you might think I am making fun of these people and I am really not. I hear people howling because people on welfare have cell phones, and I know it is just because they are working hard and struggling and want, damn it, for somebody to be way worse off than them. They want to be “the middle class” and who wants to be “the working poor” it sounds way too much like “the walking dead”.
No, I want everyone to keep all their identifications, especially the ones they have worked hard for. But keep some for where you are, as well as where you want to be. I've been happier since I stopped fighting against the “bad labels” that go with me. Drunk? Sure. Fat? You bet. Underachiever? I define the word. That doesn't mean I have consigned myself to those things always being true.
I am aware that with stuff like “writer” and “actor” you really have to say it, before you can be it and self-esteem is important. But a basic grounding in reality, while definitely medicinal tasting, is usually a good thing. As long as we keep space for the words we dare to dream.