Mediocrism

66Mustang

I don't know if that's a word, but I kind of mean it to mean the opposite of "elitism"

I'm not against anti-elitism, like most people, I've benefitted from that loads of times as there are lots of areas where I fall short and need support!!!!

However, is it right to go so far towards making sure people don't need to be good at things, to the point where we discourage people who are above average at something??

I think a good example is body image. I strongly believe that people shouldn't feel bad about their body or be obsessed with body image. I'm glad to see that society is slowly adopting this mindset. However... if someone DOES decide they want to put loads of effort into keep fit and stuff, I don't think they should be vilified for having a good body

Everyone is mediocre at most stuff in life, but we all have our own unique handful of things we are good at. We can't all be good at the same things but I think the things we ARE good at should be celebrated equally, even if they are not the same

What do people think??

onedayatatime

I do like your discussions @66Mustang.
I see nothing wrong with being medicor at something or even admitting to being a bit rubbish at things. A single objective, task or skill does not necessarily define who we are as a whole. But I personally think there should be a bar, a standard, where we can define greatness, exceptional skill or talent and that should be rewarded and celebrated.
By lowering that bar, to pacify the majority of all of us medicor, I think may discourage the exceptional or the very best and not identify them as easily.
Like you said, we all have a different set of skills. I actually enjoy trying new things and learning my own strengths and weaknesses. Some of us may discover talents that are personally rewarding and some might find talents financially rewarding..
On the whole, I think where a standard of "exceptional" has been set, in whatever field, those people should be equally applauded and recognised as all being exceptional people.
I think we do have a culture of building people up and knocking them down. Perhaps there's something in that, maybe because in some fields we haven't set the bar high enough.
Gosh, I hope I didn't misinterpret your question. You got my brain thinking though. I hope I haven't offended anyone by getting the wrong end of the stick.

Jimm_Alumni

I agree. I think the main crux is just don't be negative towards people no matter what. Everyone has different things they find important, such as looks, we shouldn't vilify people for caring a lot about it or vilify people who don't care that much about it. If it's not negatively affecting anyone else it shouldn't be a bother.

I do find it can be a bit of a British culture thing sometimes. At least it's not something I've noticed in other cultures yet. I sometimes feel there's still quite a strain of "know your place" or "don't stand out" that stems from how strict our class structure used to be. It's not as strict anymore, but there's still that undercurrent of trying to keep others "in their place".