# Are Americans becoming ... wussies? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [April 1, 2010, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-americans-becoming-wussies/534536 "2010-04-01T04:56:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hentor_the_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2010, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-americans-becoming-wussies/534536/41 "2010-04-01T16:11:32Z")
I think making up lists and fretting about what “they” are doing is itself wussy. Why should anyone care if some kids get corrected in blue ink, or don’t get Valentine’s cards? I think preferring red ink and Valentines’ cards sounds pretty suspect. Black ink and not expressing platonic love among schoolchildren via Spongebob sound like much more manly things, don’t they? ---
**Author:** ![Patch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a183cd/32.png) [@Patch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patch)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2010, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-americans-becoming-wussies/534536/42 "2010-04-01T16:18:02Z")
> [@Perciful](#): > > They got rid of Dodge Ball… That was my one of my favorites…😕 Dodge Ball, Suicide, Smear the Queer, Crack the Whip… gone, all gone… ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Palo\_Verde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/65b543/32.png) [@Palo\_Verde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Palo_Verde)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2010, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-americans-becoming-wussies/534536/43 "2010-04-01T16:20:24Z")
Did you know the Boy Scouts were invented because there was a great fear in the early 1900s that kids were becoming too wussy. So they invented a program to teach boys the great skills that they thought would anti-wussify them, like how to build a campfire, how to put up a tent, how to whittle, etc. The fear that our children are weak is an old one. ---
**Author:** ![begbert2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/begbert2/32/3357_2.png) [@begbert2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/begbert2)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2010, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-americans-becoming-wussies/534536/44 "2010-04-01T16:28:22Z")
Having read the OP and not the rest of the thread, I have to say he hasn’t provided evidence that americans are turning into wussies. He’s provided evidence that they’re turning into _morons_. There is a difference. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2010, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-americans-becoming-wussies/534536/45 "2010-04-01T16:35:22Z")
The OP is just a big nasty silly who deserves a good slap! ---
**Author:** ![Chessic\_Sense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7c8e57/32.png) [@Chessic\_Sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chessic_Sense)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2010, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-americans-becoming-wussies/534536/46 "2010-04-01T16:40:43Z")
I still have my baseball trophies from the 7y.o. leagues. They’re actually sitting out on my trophy/award shelf, right along side my various military awards and chess trophies, which by comparison, actually took some effort and determination to earn. Those trophies didn’t wussify me. They filled me with pride then, and with nostalgia now. If anything, they toughened me up. Perhaps you should consider the trophies not as making a child feel special, but instead as making them feel like badasses. Then maybe you’d understand why they won’t wussify kids. > [@llcoolbj77](#): > > And my girls have a ton of “metal,” as we coaches like to call it. 😃 I wonder if it’s just you saying they have “metal”. I bet the other coaches are saying they have a lot of “[mettle](http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mettle)”. > [@mettle](#): > > 1 a : vigor and strength of spirit or temperament b : staying quality ---
**Author:** ![Find\_Friends](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c37758/32.png) [@Find\_Friends](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Find_Friends)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2010, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-americans-becoming-wussies/534536/47 "2010-04-01T16:42:45Z")
> [@Whambulance](#): > > Very good points you all are bringing up. Thanks for the discussion. > [@Whambulance](#): > > I’ve been reading the forums here for 6 or 8 years and have rarely posted but my buddies and I got into a heated debate a few nights ago that I’d like your opinions on. > > The overall theme was that here in the U.S., really since WWII, there has been a general movement of the people toward being … well, wussies. > > There is such a stark contrast to how our parents and grand parents were raised and the majority of differences I can find as to how we turned out have them fairing far better in work ethic, family and personal responsibility. > > Some recent examples in the media: > > … > > The list is endless. > > I didn’t include links because my point wasn’t to debate the validity of each story, just to gather a general consensus as to whether others were troubled by this. > [@Whambulance](#): > > Very good points you all are bringing up. Thanks for the discussion. I really have no idea what you are “on about” or the so-called points of others on this thread who ageee with you. But more to the point, I’m going to recommend against this kind of thread. Not only isn’t anything like this even remotely factual and objective, it only serves to generate more negativity. ☹ And, maybe it’s beside the point, but it happens that I was already having a bad day. [spoiler]Happy April 1st! (I had an early start on the gags shortly after 8 pm EDT, at an authentic British pub down the street, because one of their clocks is set 4 hours ahead of EDT, making it “April” already, and the wait staff appreciated my creativity, but that’s for a MPSMS thread. 🙂 ) I agree with much of what you said (I only wish, though, they had deleted dodgeball before my high school years!) and some of the examples wouldn’t have just surprised people coming of age just a few decades ago, they would have been completely dumbfounded by them. \*\*\*- Numero Uno Wussie-American! \*\*\*[/spoiler] ---
**Author:** ![Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hentor_the_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2010, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-americans-becoming-wussies/534536/48 "2010-04-01T16:43:33Z")
It seems to me that these types of complaints, and they seem to come up with great frequency, aren’t built around the idea that we are turning into wussies so much as they are a fear or dismay that we are losing the ability to really let some kids know how much they do suck. I mean, as llcoolbj77 pointed out, participation awards are generally limited to little kids in rec leagues. Same with Valentine’s cards - I don’t remember doing them after fourth grade or so. It just seems odd to me how bent out of shape some people get about generally losing the chance to emphasize to a 9 year old that he or she sucks. Rest assured people - life will provide plenty of opportunities for people who are not good at things to get the message loud and clear. We aren’t suffering any as a society by not taking every advantage to make sure crap kids feel it as much as possible. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2010, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-americans-becoming-wussies/534536/49 "2010-04-01T16:44:40Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > So we’re agreeing, aren’t we? On a social level, preparation is not necessary for those things. Wussies prepare. Real men rush in headlong without regard for the consequences. > [@Marley23](#): > > 1980 was 30 years ago, and I suspect some things have changed. For one, how do you think the public sees investment bankers given the recent financial crisis? I thought the public always thought they were douchebags? I mean unless you were another banker or a golddigger. > [@Whambulance](#): > > 1. An Elementary School in Trumbull, Conn. forced the faculty to no longer grade test papers in red ink because it was too stressful for their children. The principal has ordered them to use more soothing colors. Other schools are following suit. I grew up near there. In all fairness, we thought Trumbull were a “bunch of fags” since I was in grade school. This mearly confirms it. ---
**Author:** ![Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hentor_the_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2010, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-americans-becoming-wussies/534536/50 "2010-04-01T16:49:16Z")
> [@msmith537](#): > > I grew up near there. In all fairness, we thought Trumbull were a “bunch of fags” since I was in grade school. This mearly confirms it. Probably because they spent so much more time teaching spelling. I wish I had some red ink. ---
**Author:** ![Perciful](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/b38774/32.png) [@Perciful](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Perciful)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2010, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-americans-becoming-wussies/534536/51 "2010-04-01T17:12:48Z")
I think there are many valid points as to why Americans are becoming wussies in this article. It isn’t any one persons fault. Like another poster said she has to pass every student regardless if they do the work well or not. I think new technology may play a role too in being an electronic babysitter. [http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/71422/is\_america\_spoiled.html?cat=9](http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/71422/is_america_spoiled.html?cat=9) ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2010, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-americans-becoming-wussies/534536/52 "2010-04-01T17:27:55Z")
> [@Perciful](#): > > Like another poster said she has to pass every student regardless if they do the work well or not. Did you notice she was talking about _a school in China?_ ---
**Author:** ![Whambulance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e9a140/32.png) [@Whambulance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whambulance)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2010, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-americans-becoming-wussies/534536/53 "2010-04-01T17:37:48Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > \*Seriously, _wussies_? Are we in fourth grade? Believe it or not, I couldn’t find a better word to suit my point. The definition fit my mood precisely - ‘_a person regarded as weak, ineffectual, overly sensitive, etc.; a wimp_’ ---
**Author:** ![Whambulance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e9a140/32.png) [@Whambulance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whambulance)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2010, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-americans-becoming-wussies/534536/54 "2010-04-01T17:44:35Z")
> [@Sailboat](#): > > My father was raised in the Depression and was awarded a Bronze Star in the infantry World War II. He would have kicked my ass\* for spelling “brake” the way you did. > > \*verbally I meant that they should take … a break … and USE the … brake …dang. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Whambulance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e9a140/32.png) [@Whambulance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whambulance)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2010, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-americans-becoming-wussies/534536/55 "2010-04-01T17:48:48Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > All the trouble, grief and carnage in human history was made by non-wussies. or this: “The nation that makes a great distinction between its scholars and its warriors will have its thinking done by cowards and its fighting done by fools.” -Thucydides ---
**Author:** ![Whambulance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e9a140/32.png) [@Whambulance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whambulance)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2010, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-americans-becoming-wussies/534536/56 "2010-04-01T17:55:08Z")
> [@even\_sven](#): > > It’s also disingenuous to say this is some kind of US-only thing. > > I teach in China, and trust me the “every child is a special star” thing is alive and kicking here, despite whatever breathless news reports may be telling you about how “great” the Chinese education system is. Oh, I did assume it was a global phenomena, I just didn’t want to make any claims that it was based on my inexperience with other cultures. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2010, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-americans-becoming-wussies/534536/57 "2010-04-01T17:56:40Z")
> [@Bosstone](#): > > Example: An early car owner would need to know a lot about his car and be able to work on it himself to fix at least minor problems which could crop up too frequently for a mechanic to feasibly deal with. Now, cars run so well that most of them can go for over a decade with only one or two oil changes a year and routine maintenance. Why bother to learn how to change oil when you need to do it so rarely that it’s simpler to pay $20 for a 30-minute job? A person with that attitude (I admit I am one) isn’t going to know jack about changing oil, and working on cars isn’t a skill they’re going to teach their kids. Especially when changing your oil is about the messiest job you can attempt, and the mechanic virtually without fail will have a hydraulic lift or similar arrangement allowing easy and comfortable access under the car. Also, you have to recycle the old oil if you do it yourself. Your premise reminds me of an anecdote I read about one of the first automobile owners in L.A. He decided to drive out to some nearby destination, like Pasadena or Santa Monica. Naturally the car broke down en route. When the mechanic learned that he’d been planning a 30-mile drive, he said, “Well, what did you expect of machinery anyhow?” No doubt about it, the early cars broke down early and often. From old movies one definitely gets the idea that chauffeurs could do a lot of their own maintenance and repair work, which I imagine isn’t any more the case today than it is for people who drive themselves. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2010, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-americans-becoming-wussies/534536/58 "2010-04-01T18:04:37Z")
> [@Patch](#): > > Dodge Ball, Suicide, Smear the Queer, Crack the Whip… gone, all gone… ☹ I was in ES from 1964 to 1969. I was nearsighted and uncoordinated so I didn’t do well at most team sports, and I didn’t like them. But dodgeball was one game I liked and was pretty good at. The game could be fast, but it wasn’t rough, probably because the red playground balls that were common in grade schools at the time were pretty soft to begin with. Did you actually play Crack The Whip? I thought that went out around 1930. My father remembered playing it as a kid; he said everyone wanted to be the kid on the end. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2010, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-americans-becoming-wussies/534536/59 "2010-04-01T18:12:14Z")
> [@Whambulance](#): > > Believe it or not, I couldn’t find a better word to suit my point. The definition fit my mood precisely - ‘_a person regarded as weak, ineffectual, overly sensitive, etc.; a wimp_’ Aside from the word sounding immature, I thought it was funny that you were calling people wimps while using a word favored by wimps. It’s the version of pussy used by people who are trying not to offend. Doesn’t affect the discussion, but it amused me. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2010, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-americans-becoming-wussies/534536/60 "2010-04-01T18:12:38Z")
> [@msmith537](#): > > I was reading an article a few weeks ago about Army training. They were saying that not only are kids less physically fit, most of them have never been in a physical confrontation in their entire lives. Probably a good thing anyway. The repercussions of a fistfight, however valid and genuine the argument between the fighters is, are much more severe than they were generations ago. In the old movie _Boys Town_, Pee-Wee has a fight with the new arrival at the end, everyone else just laughs it off, and they end up being the best of friends. But it’s not like that any longer. IMO the problem isn’t that fighting isn’t allowed anymore, but that a truly suitable replacement hasn’t been devised. Just walking away and smouldering with anger for days or weeks isn’t violent, but neither does it provide the chance to stick up for yourself, and neither does it resolve the argument. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-americans-becoming-wussies/534536.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-americans-becoming-wussies/534536.md?page=4)