CULTURE

How the ‘Bootstrap’ Myth Weakens Workers

The dark reason we insist individuals can overcome anything

These are the work boots my husband wears every day, photographed on the railing of our backyard deck. (Photo by Michelle Teheux)

We Americans sure do love our rags to riches myths.

This is the land of opportunity and anybody can succeed if they work hard enough. Just pull yourself up by your own bootstraps!

Did you know that originally the term “bootstrapping” was used sarcastically to describe an impossible task? Yet now, the meaning has morphed into the opposite.

I invite you to give it a try. First, put on a pair of boots with straps on the back. Next, reach back, grab those straps and pull yourself up. It didn’t work? Huh. Maybe you need to pull a little harder.

Come on, man! You can do it!

Except of course it’s literally impossible

There’s a reason we tell people to pull themselves up by their own bootstraps even though we know it can’t be done.

It’s one of the ways people in power keep the rest of us from complaining that we’re being screwed. We keep trying and trying and blaming ourselves when we have trouble. Of course we blame ourselves. Who else can we blame?