Reply to HenryM
Hello HenryM.
With regard to what Donald Trump may or may not think about my view on ‘losing’: I do believe he would not have a clue about my perspective on the subject , even if he was willing to listen (which I doubt!)
I feel sure I have touched on this subject before , but just in case it was omitted from our conversations I will repeat it, if only because it offers another opportunity of sharing a rhyme.
In modern societies, the context of ‘losing’ is usually coupled with someone else ‘winning’. This would be in a framework of an achievement ‘game’ – usually to do with some kind of dominance factor.
Within these ‘games’ the ‘winner’ can be viewed as deliberately manipulating to make someone else ‘lose’. Quite often, this happens when the potential ‘loser’ doesn’t even know they are part of a game-playing scenario. (There is a sense in which Donald Trump would probably know about this strategy as he seems to live his life by the ethos of such behaviour).
This type of dominance behaviour I would label as ‘bullying’, and therefore I would not view the target as a ‘loser’ but as a ‘victim’(of a possible ‘crime’ against humanity).
‘Losing’ is also often associated with so-called sporting activities where people actually volunteer to be part of a ‘competition’, in the full knowledge that they might be a ‘runner-up’. This I can understand, even though in many sports, the competition is ‘rigged’ so that the strongest, or more adept, will be likely to win ( & therefore make someone else ‘lose’).
I actually enjoy watching some sports, but my interest lies not in who ‘wins’, but in who (of the competitors) achieve their PB. (Personal Best) This is a statistic that has often been left out of the publicity aspect when reporting on such activities.
Whilst this type of competitive behaviour has become ‘normalised’ and ‘enjoyed’ by many participants and spectators, it nonetheless carries with it the philosophical and (less than ethical) elements of dominance and bullying that underpins much of the unacceptable behaviour that seem to permeate almost every aspect of modern societies. (Again, Donald Trump gives the impression that this is the sort of behaviour that he understands and enjoys).
However, individuals such as myself, view the ‘game-playing’ scenario as an abhorrent and unnecessary form of bullying that should be criminalised rather than applauded and rewarded.
This is why I think that people like Donald Trump would be unlikely to appreciate my views on the subject.
Just to round up this very brief exposition of my much lengthier thoughts on the subject, I will leave you with a rhyme which indicates how I deal with ‘game-playing’ in a way where my game-playing strategy is to deliberately ‘gift’ the appearance of ‘success’ to the opposition. This way they think they have ‘won’, and I come away knowing that I have ‘achieved my goal’.( which, by my definition, cannot be defined as ‘losing’.
Of course, not many people will agree with this perspective, but this might be because they are blind ‘followers’ of societal 'fashion', rather than striving to be independent thinkers.
Best wishes
Bill
TO LOSE AND YET TO WIN.
Winners always think they’ve won
when once the game they play is done.
For them the secret of success
must be to win and to impress.
It is their focus and their aim
to be the winner in their game.
These people are not altruists
for them, no other game exists.
I understand this sentiment
but find it an impediment.
For winning means that someone’s lost
and therein lays the hidden cost.
For me there is a subtle charm
to live my life and do no harm.
So, why would I put someone down
or be the cause of someone’s frown.
There is a certain satisfaction
that can flow from selfless action.
So, I have made a specialty
of losing games with subtlety.
When people start to play a game
they think opponents play the same.
They will assume ‘all’ want to win
within their game or discipline.
But I don’t want to win at all
for that might make another small.
So, if I am obliged to play
I contribute a different way.
I make out that I play real hard,
but it is really a charade.
My aims within the games I choose
is to make sure that I ‘lose’.
B. Withers 2012
(In: A Rhyming Cookbook. 2013)