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James Harrison returns trophies, says his sons didn't earn them (NFL Steelers)
CBS Sports ^ | August 15, 2015

Posted on 08/16/2015 8:40:50 AM PDT by SMGFan

"I came home to find out that my boys received two trophies for nothing, participation trophies! While I am very proud of my boys for everything they do and will encourage them till the day I die, these trophies will be given back until they EARN a real trophy. I'm sorry I'm not sorry for believing that everything in life should be earned and I'm not about to raise two boys to be men by making them believe that they are entitled to something just because they tried their best...cause sometimes your best is not enough, and that should drive you to want to do better...not cry and whine until somebody gives you something to shut u up and keep you happy. #harrisonfamilyvalues"

(Excerpt) Read more at cbssports.com ...


TOPICS: Culture/Society
KEYWORDS: jamesharrison
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I must add get rid of preschool & kindergarten graduation ceremonies too
1 posted on 08/16/2015 8:40:50 AM PDT by SMGFan
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To: SMGFan

Good man. . .excellent message.


2 posted on 08/16/2015 8:42:51 AM PDT by Hulka
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To: SMGFan

I remember when my son was playing baseball... about the time all this crapola started

There was an end of season game and meeting at the park, and ALL the kids lined up and got a trophy... it freaked me out that this PC nonsense had gotten that far.


3 posted on 08/16/2015 8:43:29 AM PDT by Mr. K (If it is HilLIARy -vs- Jeb! then I am writing-in Palin/Cruz)
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To: SMGFan
*applause*

Someone was raised correctly.

4 posted on 08/16/2015 8:43:34 AM PDT by Teacher317 (We have now sunk to a depth at which restatement of the obvious is the first duty of intelligent men)
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To: SMGFan

Uh oh! New in the running for bad dad of the year. What about their feelings? Did he ever think about that? Someone needs to call CPS. /s


5 posted on 08/16/2015 8:44:10 AM PDT by rktman (Served in the Navy to protect the rights of those that want to deprive me of mine. Kinda weird.)
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To: SMGFan

I like it.


6 posted on 08/16/2015 8:46:01 AM PDT by cripplecreek (Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.)
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To: SMGFan

Harrison elected not to visit the White House with the rest of the team after the Steelers won Super Bowl XLIII. Skipping the visit gained some media attention, as Harrison said that Barack Obama (who supported the Steelers in the game and considers his second favorite NFL team after his hometown team, Chicago Bears)[37] would have invited the Arizona Cardinals had they won: “This is how I feel — if you want to see the Pittsburgh Steelers, invite us when we don’t win the Super Bowl. As far as I’m concerned, he [Obama] would’ve invited Arizona if they had won.” [38] Harrison had also skipped the team’s visit after winning Super Bowl XL when George W. Bush was president
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Harrison_(American_football)#Arrest


7 posted on 08/16/2015 8:48:53 AM PDT by SMGFan (Sarah Michelle Gellar is now on twitter @RealSMG)
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To: Hulka

I wonder how we get to the point where everybody gets an award for something whether achieved or not.

How are we raising and training our children about life when we give all these meaningless awards?

A big part of raising children is our guiding them, and having them learn how to cope with life, including life’s disappointments and difficulties. In real life, not everyone gets an award. As they grow up, things will not always go their way. As adults, they will not always get the job they wanted, or be fairly judged on the job, or always have things go the way they wanted.


8 posted on 08/16/2015 8:52:12 AM PDT by Dilbert San Diego
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To: SMGFan

They give “participation trophies”???

I remember just getting a little green participant ribbon from our Field Day and feeling embarrassed being one of the really crappy kids that couldn’t buy a win.

Now they celebrate being s*it like it is an accomplishment.


9 posted on 08/16/2015 8:56:18 AM PDT by VanDeKoik
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To: Mr. K

Did you return his trophy?


10 posted on 08/16/2015 8:59:24 AM PDT by Jack Hydrazine (Pubbies = national collectivists; Dems = international collectivists; We need a second party!)
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To: SMGFan

Last year, my then 4YO grandson received his trophy for t-ball. He looked at it sourly and asked, “what’s this for? We didn’t win anything.” Lol


11 posted on 08/16/2015 9:00:01 AM PDT by Night Hides Not (Remember the Alamo! Remember Goliad! Remember Mississippi! My vote is going to Cruz.)
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To: SMGFan

Run this guy for pres, screw trump.


12 posted on 08/16/2015 9:01:06 AM PDT by longfellow (Bill Maher, the 21st hijacker.)
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To: Dilbert San Diego
I think it grew out of the “self-esteem” movement.

Self-esteem was placed above all things, that we are ALL equal (communist thinking), no one is better than anyone else.

This fragile self-esteem is the root of crime and lowering standards.

Criminals have the highest self-esteem of everyone, they KNOW they are great, they KNOW they deserve what everyone has it, so they take it.

Self-esteem is weak, self-esteem is easily bruised, self-esteem is crushed easily (and oft-times inadvertently). The result: violent criminal acts because some “feel” dissed and they must lash out to protect their precious self-esteem.

Self-respect, now that is another matter entirely. Self-respect is earned, self-respect is strong, self-respect is something that cannot be taken away by anyone other than yourself.

Just me talking. . .

13 posted on 08/16/2015 9:01:53 AM PDT by Hulka
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To: Dilbert San Diego

I will guess it started with participation certificates and became trophies. . Somewhere we confused how graduation ceremonies everyone gets a diploma but a few get extra recognition. The graduates in most cases earned the diploma.


14 posted on 08/16/2015 9:02:34 AM PDT by SMGFan (Sarah Michelle Gellar is now on twitter @RealSMG)
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To: longfellow

Trump would totally agree with him.


15 posted on 08/16/2015 9:05:09 AM PDT by aquila48
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To: Dilbert San Diego

“When all men are paid for existing,
And no man must pay for his sins”


16 posted on 08/16/2015 9:06:11 AM PDT by Anitius Severinus Boethius (www.wilsonharpbooks.com - Sign up for my new release e-mail and get my first novel for free)
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To: SMGFan

“Trophies For Everyone” is part of the “War On Masculinity.”

Eliminate the concept of competing and winning and you go a long way to undermining “Traditional American Manhood.”


17 posted on 08/16/2015 9:07:49 AM PDT by Awgie (truth is always stranger than fiction)
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To: Dilbert San Diego

How about those ‘perfect attendance’ awards that don’t mean jack squat? Sure, you were there every day, but did you make decent grades?

And what about those stupid bumper stickers?

http://www.sunfell.com/sticker.htm

Sticker Schlock

It started innocently enough: “My child is an honor student at [insert high school here].” It was a simple declaration of pride and honor for the really tough achievement of obtaining straight ‘As’ and the respect of the faculty at the school. Stuck to the bumper of the minivan, it proclaimed to one and all that the kid who rode in it was academically superior. And there it might have stayed, except for a 90s phenomenon called the self-esteem movement. Suddenly, it wasn’t fair that only smart kids got these stickers- singling them out would hurt the feelings of the kids who were not quite as smart. Along came the parental one-upmanship bandwagon, and younger and younger kids hopped on- junior high, elementary- even kindergarten. “My Child is a High Achiever.” “My Child is Extraordinary.” “My child Attends…” Soon minivans and SUVs everywhere sported these bumper brags about the academic and social perfection of their offspring. Stuck in traffic behind one of these behemoths plastered with ‘My child is…’ stickers, I quietly wondered if there were any ‘average’ kids left in the world. If you believed the bumper sticker propaganda, there weren’t.

Then came the backlash. “My child beat up your honor student” seemed to be the most popular. “My Cat is smarter than your honor student.” “My honor student can beat up your honor student.” The sticker brigade returned fire with more and more outrageous claims of their kids’ genius, self esteem and capability. I saw one that bragged that their toddler was potty trained at a certain daycare, and another that pointed out that they were the proud parent of an ‘accelerated reader’. What was that? An ADD kid on Ritalin? Or a third grader reading at third grade level? How times have changed.

My mother once told me that I was picking out simple words from the newspaper at the age of three, and was able to write, count, and read simple books in kindergarten. My teachers were amazed, but no one gave my mother an ‘accelerated reader’ sticker to slap on the shiny chrome bumper of our ’66 Chevy Nova wagon. Nor did they hand her a ‘Gifted Student’ sticker when I tested nearly off the scale in fifth grade on their intelligence tests. No, they just called her in and suggested that I skip a grade or two, which she refused to do.

It is just as well that she didn’t get any bragging stickers- my bullying peers would have used my smarts as yet another excuse to beat up on me. Yes, honor students do get beat up (I did), and the stickers proudly proclaiming this nastiness are in very poor taste.

Why all this emphasis on bragging to one and all about the academic prowess of kids? Is it part of this insidious ‘self esteem’ thing that rewards kids for putting their clothes on straight and tying their shoes? Or are our kids really that bad off? Should they be lavishly praised for doing ordinary things? Or, like me, ignored for doing extraordinary things? Both extremes are dangerous. Both can lead to unfortunate expectations- or the lack thereof. Give an average kid too much praise, and you get sloppy work and criminally high self-esteem. Give a gifted kid too little, and you’ll get uninspired work and low self-esteem.

My own bumper remains silent to the fact that I am a USAF vet, left-handed, eccentric, Pagan, and definitely above average. I’d rather people find that out on their own, rather than reading it on my badly in need of a wash bumper. I saw a bumper sticker that really put everything in place for me. It was tongue in cheek, but spoke volumes about the direction our culture is headed. It read: “My child was Inmate of the Month at the County Jail!”


18 posted on 08/16/2015 9:10:12 AM PDT by Jack Hydrazine (Pubbies = national collectivists; Dems = international collectivists; We need a second party!)
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To: aquila48

yeah but this guy sounds better.


19 posted on 08/16/2015 9:11:52 AM PDT by longfellow (Bill Maher, the 21st hijacker.)
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To: Night Hides Not

Sounds like the makings of a great conservative.


20 posted on 08/16/2015 9:13:10 AM PDT by Jack Hydrazine (Pubbies = national collectivists; Dems = international collectivists; We need a second party!)
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