Loser?

In my room at Uni (22 years ago to be precise) on the wall was a strange cryptic sticker with the inscription "Loser?". No one ever knew what the word meant or what it celebrated/denigrated. It just stayed there staring at you and was either a grim or amusing companion depending on your mood at the time. It was especially a sad reminder of your inadequacies when you got dumped by a girlfriend, when you were broke (as was constantly the case), when you had just flunked an exam etc.

It was particularly poignant for me when I went a particularly difficult period in my 3rd year, not wanting to go into any extensive detail, it was an extremely difficult time all round and which I emerged from with the help of close friends like the Pedantic Paediatric Surgeon, the World Bank Wunderkind (who by the way ought to stop being so stingy and get married...and be miserable like the rest of us). and the Nerveless Neurosurgeon. I used to stare at that darned sticker and many thoughts would go through my mind, predominantly what or who is a loser? Are Losers born or made? What are the innate skills required to qualify for Fellowship of this genre? Is it a permanent state of being or merely a transient phase for which we are all destined to transit (Prince William excluded of course....alright I'll leave the poor boy alone, he's got enough to contend with, the poor sod, being 2nd in line to the Throne and having a posh, fit girlfriend, lots of cash and so on and so forth..)

Those were the 80's, the decade of the Yuppy, Dynasty, Michael Milliken, Donald Trump and symbolically- Gordon Gecko. The decade of the Big Bang and the Wall Street revolution. A decade when wealth was revered as the New World Order, even shoulder pads came to symbolise the seeming invincibility of the Uber-Race- the Winner! This was a season when no quarters were taken or given, a rapacious period when social consciousness or corporate responsibility was a text-book concept espoused by bearded academics with bushy beards, sandals and thick glasses. By the 90's however and with the collapse of property and stock markets and the end of the cold war the 80's buzz had lost its gilt edge, not to speak of the fallen heroes of this era Milliken in particular who went to jail, Trump who went Bankrupt etc That is some sort of background, but this post is not about history.

The movie The Pursuit of Happyness set me thinking about this concept in more detail. Whats is the conventional description of a loser. In modern terms, definitions include:

a. A lazy under-achiever; or indeed b. A hard-working under-achiever; c. A person experiencing a bout of ill-fortune; d. A person who has consistently failed to achieve at any or one particular activity. The next question being what is achievement and what in what context can there be said to be a failure to achieve and indeed to what extent can an individual who fails to attain the Fellowship of the Guild of Losers.

Achievement: Defined by the Cambridge dictionary as:

1.something accomplished, esp. by superior ability, special effort, great courage, etc.; a great or heroic deed: his remarkable achievements in art.

2.act of achieving; attainment or accomplishment: the achievement of one's object.

Okay then , from my limited knowledge of these things I would presume that what constitutes achievement would depend on what part of the landscape you're located. In one end of Los Angeles, achievement is measured by your Bank balance, Real Estate portfolio, status and profile, now in the other end of LA, its measured by the amount of Bling on your person, the number of times you've been in Jail, the gang you belong to, the cash you flash - and not your Bank balance (since certain earnings are not passed through the Banking system). In the UK similar disparities apply depending on whether you live in Hampshire or Hackney. In parts of Africa, a man with only one wife is seen as a bit of a loser, likewise an honest Civil Servant who diligently does his job, retires quietly without amassing corrupt millions/a Swiss Bank account and who lives off his pension in retirement, is viewed with a measure of incredulity (ask my Dad he'll tell you). In simple terms, achievement is viewed in the context of the location.

However I've noticed a common thread around the world in terms of the achievement index- money. In one form or the other, its all about money, money is achievement whether you're a Stockbroker in New York, a Gangster in LA, a Farmer in Africa or Trader in Mumbai, your society measures your achievement by the extent of your wealth. Its a simple fact.

Money - or its acquisition- is a measure of effort in most societies and the more you have the more the measure of your effort and/or ability. So by consequence a measure of lack of achievement is thus err...lack of money. Basically society's general statement is if you ain't got it, you're a loser. You may be an extremely Intelligent Scientist, but in the broader index, your prominence or measure in society is far less than a tanned, quiffed city gent in the employment of an Investment Bank, whose bonus alone would fund the budget of the Scientists Research Lab. By collateral argument, society would value a Jade Goody or indeed a Shilpa more than it would a Primary school teacher in Tower Hamlets. In fact to use a simple analogy, Jade Goody is valued more as a vacuous celebrity than she was as a hard-working (if rather dim Dental Nurse). An obscure High street Immigration Solicitor representing genuine Asylum-seekers or a Legal Aid Family Lawyer who represents vulnerable women and children is valued far less than a Corporate Lawyer in a Magic circle Firm. Simple fact- try explaining to your Bank Manager that your income from your Legal Aid practice is slightly more than £1000.00 a month and the question you're asked is if you're actually a Solicitor. I draw no final conclusions, the argument is of course far more complex, however these are simple facts.

There is tendency in human beings to seek superiority over others. Self-actualisation is a fundamental human need, this is indexed to the achievement of attaining society's objective. Hence you cannot think of yourself as being rich or cool or good-looking without the comparators of those who are poor, un-hip and quite frankly- ugly. Its part of human nature and manifests itself in different ways. Either in our need to define others as Losers or indeed to show how above such base thinking we are.

There has been a counter-culture of glorification of the Loser. Listen to Becks single and get a feel for what I mean. Beavis and Butthead, Homer Simpson and Waynes World being examples of Generation X' reaction to the "Winners" Hegemony. Basically a middle finger at society's definitions of achievement, hence the glorification of the hapless William Hung (remember him). This is not necessarily new, the whole Hippy Movement being based on the same premise.

A personal view would then be that a the only criticism that I would levy on the basis of achievement is that one has a duty to exert oneself to realise the potential of whatever gifts you are born with to whatever extent your circumstances allow you. The crime is in not trying in my view. Having said that the argument is not watertight, how many gifted persons fail to achieve on account of the opportunity just not existing. It would be absurd to criticise an over-worked single mum for not realising her potential as a Mountain climber or a middle-aged dad, who's spent most of his years working to support his family- not succeeding as a Jazz Singer.

Everyone has a story and all our circumstances differ, where you are today may not be where you'll be tomorrow or the next. I once met a man whose ragged appearance totally disguised the fact that he had been a successful Bank Manager a few years before, he was about to sell the last piece of Land he had to keep his kids in school and had walked about 13 kilometers to pick up the cheque from my office, I've never forgotten this. Take a walk around a homeless shelter and speak to a few of the down and outs. Amongst them you shall find former City Bankers, Solicitors and Army Officers with glittering careers and status.

All it takes is a twist in your circumstances (in many instances for which the person had no fault) and its amazing how things change. Make a wrong Investment decision or be made redundant and sometimes Financial problems occur, Bankruptcy follows, which cause family break-down, which results in depression and sometimes drug and alcohol use and the rest is anyone's guess. Remember for one second the drunk who fell asleep on a Railway track, a few months before he had been a successful Company Director, with a family, by the time he was found on the Railway track, he had lost everything and was caught in a spiral of drink and depression.

The Movie the Pursuit of Happyness- being based on a true story- was very moving even though there were a number of glaring inaccuracies therein- such as the age of his son and the fact that in real life, he was actually paid $1000.00 during his Internship, also it failed to mention that the mother of his child was his mistress, with whom he had cheated on his wife. The fact however is that his life showed two things:

a. If you have a gift/goal, fight for it and never allow yourself to be discouraged;

b. A man/woman's condition at a given time is never a measure for where they might be tomorrow, never write off anyone.

Now to answer the question- Loser? The answer is in you, if you accept the title then it fits, life in this circumstance is based on choice. Everyone has a gift and a part to play on this earth. Cynical as I may be in general, I genuinely believe this.