Comments on: Personal Stories http://www.breakingranks.net/weblog This blog seeks to raise public awareness of rankism. Fri, 25 Nov 2011 21:46:10 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=abc By: Maria http://www.breakingranks.net/weblog/stories/comment-page-1#comment-113212 Maria Sat, 21 Aug 2010 14:34:48 +0000 http://www.breakingranks.net/weblog/testimonials/#comment-113212 Great stories for the most part. However, this sentence leapt off the screen: "I’m now less prone to pull rank when addressing people who are lower in rank than I am." Yikes! I'd say this writer still doesn't get it. Great stories for the most part. However, this sentence leapt off the screen:

“I’m now less prone to pull rank when addressing people who are lower in rank than I am.”

Yikes! I’d say this writer still doesn’t get it.

]]> By: Robert Fuller http://www.breakingranks.net/weblog/stories/comment-page-1#comment-113138 Robert Fuller Tue, 20 Apr 2010 03:48:26 +0000 http://www.breakingranks.net/weblog/testimonials/#comment-113138 H.S. Student -- Yours is a most unusual and insightful story because, more than most of us, you see your own rankism. My story is not so different from yours. Most of us spend our life trying to prove to ourselves and others that we are superior to the people around us. It begins in grade school and carries on through college and graduate school and for the rest of our lives. If we can de-legitimize rankism, and gradually root it out of ourselves as you are doing, the time will come when we stop trying to put ourselves up and others down. Our dignity will then be secure. We will feel closer to other people, and fraternity will have a chance to take hold. Thanks for giving us this wonderful post. -- RWF H.S. Student — Yours is a most unusual and insightful story because, more than most of us, you see your own rankism. My story is not so different from yours. Most of us spend our life trying to prove to ourselves and others that we are superior to the people around us. It begins in grade school and carries on through college and graduate school and for the rest of our lives.

If we can de-legitimize rankism, and gradually root it out of ourselves as you are doing, the time will come when we stop trying to put ourselves up and others down. Our dignity will then be secure. We will feel closer to other people, and fraternity will have a chance to take hold. Thanks for giving us this wonderful post. — RWF

]]> By: a high school student http://www.breakingranks.net/weblog/stories/comment-page-1#comment-113135 a high school student Sat, 17 Apr 2010 05:40:48 +0000 http://www.breakingranks.net/weblog/testimonials/#comment-113135 I have quite a long story with rankism. Since I was a child, I have always acted and spoken as if I'm superior, and I would always respond to any challenges to my superiority by attempting to demean another's intelligence through aggressive arguing or even extremely veiled insults. I was the worse kind of rankist. I believe I learned to act this way through following the example of my parents. We would often have verbal battles attempting to prove each other's superiority. My need to prove my superiority caused me to seek any way in which I could do so. I would spend hours studying for tests so that when the tests came back and I had the highest grade I could continue to feed my delusion. Currently, I'm finding it very hard to break my past habits, and I have failed multiple times to catch rankist slurs before I say them. At the end of the day as I'm walking from school to my car, I try to remember all the times during that day that I failed to impede my own rankism in the hopes of furthering my ability to quickly decide whether a comment is rankist or not. This site has been very useful for helping me rid myself of my rankism, but I must admit that I did not take full recognition of my delusion until I saw a video in my Sociology class about blue-eyed and brown-eyed kids. A kindergarten class was told that the blue-eyed children were better than the brown-eyed children, and the next day they were told the opposite. My epiphany occurred when I observed a little girl who began to simply cry when she was told by her classmates that she was inferior. At this moment I realized that I had been putting down and damaging the important people in my life, and I'm beginning to think that some of these relationships are irreparable. I have quite a long story with rankism. Since I was a child, I have always acted and spoken as if I’m superior, and I would always respond to any challenges to my superiority by attempting to demean another’s intelligence through aggressive arguing or even extremely veiled insults. I was the worse kind of rankist. I believe I learned to act this way through following the example of my parents. We would often have verbal battles attempting to prove each other’s superiority. My need to prove my superiority caused me to seek any way in which I could do so. I would spend hours studying for tests so that when the tests came back and I had the highest grade I could continue to feed my delusion. Currently, I’m finding it very hard to break my past habits, and I have failed multiple times to catch rankist slurs before I say them. At the end of the day as I’m walking from school to my car, I try to remember all the times during that day that I failed to impede my own rankism in the hopes of furthering my ability to quickly decide whether a comment is rankist or not.

This site has been very useful for helping me rid myself of my rankism, but I must admit that I did not take full recognition of my delusion until I saw a video in my Sociology class about blue-eyed and brown-eyed kids. A kindergarten class was told that the blue-eyed children were better than the brown-eyed children, and the next day they were told the opposite. My epiphany occurred when I observed a little girl who began to simply cry when she was told by her classmates that she was inferior. At this moment I realized that I had been putting down and damaging the important people in my life, and I’m beginning to think that some of these relationships are irreparable.

]]> By: Josie http://www.breakingranks.net/weblog/stories/comment-page-1#comment-42982 Josie Mon, 28 Jan 2008 01:43:00 +0000 http://www.breakingranks.net/weblog/testimonials/#comment-42982 My story deals with the smoking bans and the residual "stamp of approval" by local government to enable a group of people; though (allegedly) large in numbers (the strong) to insult and degrade another group (the weak). While I am not in agreement with the ban: I would rather a much more "dignified" resolution, such as SEPARATE establishments, hotels, casinos, apartments, etc.: my issue is with the discrimination that has now been allowed. If one visits the TOPIX forums on smoking, they would come away with a blatant impression that antismokers now have the upper hand and are calling smokers uneducated, live in trailers, yellow teeth, wrinkled skin, and belong outside by the dumpsters (with the rest of the drug addicts). The claim that smoking is socially unacceptable is a claim by people who hate it,,,and the hate has spread to the smoker. I have no issue with understanding the concerns or offensive feeling nonsmokers have toward SHS; and I believe they should be able to enjoy a smoke-free environment. But, to completely slight the smokers (who are doing something very legal) to the point of forcing them out into the elements, is over the top. Thank you. My story deals with the smoking bans and the residual “stamp of approval” by local government to enable a group of people; though (allegedly) large in numbers (the strong) to insult and degrade another group (the weak).

While I am not in agreement with the ban: I would rather a much more “dignified” resolution, such as SEPARATE establishments, hotels, casinos, apartments, etc.: my issue is with the discrimination that has now been allowed. If one visits the TOPIX forums on smoking, they would come away with a blatant impression that antismokers now have the upper hand and are calling smokers uneducated, live in trailers, yellow teeth, wrinkled skin, and belong outside by the dumpsters (with the rest of the drug addicts). The claim that smoking is socially unacceptable is a claim by people who hate it,,,and the hate has spread to the smoker. I have no issue with understanding the concerns or offensive feeling nonsmokers have toward SHS; and I believe they should be able to enjoy a smoke-free environment. But, to completely slight the smokers (who are doing something very legal) to the point of forcing them out into the elements, is over the top.

Thank you.

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