Reply to Grinders and strivers and curators, oh my!

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I think the pejorative associations are kind of rooted in its English heritage.
In Britain, it is unseemly to strive. It all should come naturally. Think about all the British explorations that were so amateurishly executed with tragic and fatal consequences. All because one (the organizer) should not appear to be trying so hard.
Maybe it comes from their resignation to social class structure. Michelle Obama was derided as a striver by their press which is kind of hard to understand. Her work hard ethic and pull yourself up by the bootstraps is actually very American. I guess the British dont do that.[/quote]

I don't think the pejorative associations have to do with work ethic. Yes, that may have been true in aristocratic times, when the gentry didn't work, but this is modern America. Notice that when you describe a student as "hard working" most people would not consider this description pejorative. "Hard working" is a positive trait. There is additional meaning associated with "grinder" and "striver" as it applies to college students and that's the part that carries the negative weight. [/quote]

The additional meaning is ascribed by those seeking to devalue the hard work put in by other students so their students look better.

[/quote]

Nope. There is a difference, even if you refuse to acknowledge it. [/quote]

What’s the difference?[/quote]

Let’s take two hard working kids. Both Asian if you like. One loves physics and enthusiastically studies it. Genuinely contributes to class discussions, helps his friends when they struggle. Second kid doesn’t give a darn about linguistics but heard it was an undersubscribed major and his best shot of getting into Harvard. He’ll drop the major for something else that will get him to Wall Street. Will only talk in class if participation is graded or if the teacher is a letter writer. And why would he help his friends if they are competing with him in college apps. Which one is the striver? It’s not hard to tell![/quote]

And it's very, very easy to accurately diagnose this difference when someone mentions anonymous children you hear about on the Internet. [/quote]

You are definitely willfully misunderstanding things. I did not say it was easy to diagnose in real life. I’m sure the labels are misapplied all the time. I can’t tell the difference between a nerd (slightly positive meaning) and a striver (slightly negative meaning) unless I know the people well. But the distinction exists, and it is an easy conceptual and linguistic difference to grasp. This post is about why some terms have a negative connotation. Some of us are trying to explain the linguistic difference to you, but you insist on denying that there is a meaning difference between “hard worker” and “grinder/striver.” [/quote]

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