Bribing and Cheating Your Way Through the System
Yesterday a major news story broke in which we learned that many wealthy parents, including some Hollywood celebrities, have been caught using bribes and other tactics in order to give their children significant advantages to be accepted into colleges and universities.
Oh, wow. Imagine that. Parents with lots of money used their resources to give their kids an unfair advantage. That’s new, right?
In other words, a story like this is nothing surprising as all. As long as people hold some sort of advantage, whether it’s money or favors or information or whatever, then at least some of them will use it to gain an edge over the competition. It’s low, it’s dirty, it’s shameful, but it can be extremely effective. That’s just a part of life no matter where you live.
Bribes aren’t always in cash.
We’ve seen this a countless number of times throughout history. Chances are likely that you know somebody who gained an unfair advantage simply because they had that type of parents. And you know what? In the end, it doesn’t even matter.
Back in middle school, I was on two football teams. For each team the head coach’s son got to be the starting quarterback, not because of talent, but simply because he was the coach’s son. We all knew they weren’t that good of players, but what could we really do about it? Nothing. Just focus on your position and help out your fellow players. Neither of those starting quarterbacks played football at higher levels, but for those couple of years they got to be the star of the team simply because of their fathers being the head coaches.
In college there were whispers and rumors about how a certain grad student was accepted into a Master’s program even though his grades weren’t at the minimum requirement. It was alleged that his father basically “paid a little extra” to get his son into the graduate school program. Backing up this claim was the fact that this particular student always wore rather expensive clothes, he lived in a nice apartment, but he didn’t seem to have a great deal of knowledge of the main subject for the graduate program. He was a great person, polite and friendly and not arrogant, but he simply didn’t belong in the program from an academic standard.
In a recent teaching position, my wife had to constantly deal with a nasty middle school student. This particular girl had horrible behavior and a poor attitude towards simple school rules. When she was given detention (or received bad grades which she deserved), she went crying to her mommy who just happened to be a faculty worker in the front office of the same school. Guess what happened? “Mommy” came down and harassed my wife every time her daughter severely misbehaved or received bad grades, using intimidating and bullying tactics to try to make life easier for her daughter.
In various other jobs I’ve personally witnessed co-workers receiving favorable treatment simply by “chumming up” and being buddies with the boss or those in supervisor positions. I also know of cases where young ladies intentionally flirted with their male bosses to gain edges as well. Everybody knew about it. Everybody saw it. And yet nothing was ever done as it was simply “part of life.”
People in a position of power have something desirable (admission to a school, better work schedule, a pay raise, a new job, better grades, etc.), and some people will gladly bribe their way (money, their body, friendship, attention, or even threats and intimidation) to what they see as success.
Those are just a few real life examples of bribes and unfair advantages off the top of my head. We’ve also seen this throughout Hollywood as well.
- In the movie Back to School, how does Rodney Dangerfield’s character get accepted into college so he can join his son? He donates a new building on campus.
- In Forrest Gump, how does Ms. Gump bribe / persuade the school official to keep young Forrest in regular school and not go to an institution because of his low IQ? She sleeps with him.
- In Billy Madison, how is Adam Sandler’s character allowed to go back through all of the school grades to prove he has the knowledge to succeed? His father bribes the school officials and pays for it.
- In Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, how does Draco Malfoy make his way onto Slytherin’s quidditch team? It’s implied that Draco’s father made it happen, whether it was through wealth and/or influence. Hermione replied that, “At least no one on the Gryffindor team had to buy their way in. They got in on pure talent.”
And speaking of Hollywood, how have so many actors and actresses allegedly “persuaded” producers and directors to give them a shot at success? By offering their bodies and using the notorious “casting couch,” in one form or another.
Why was Danica Patrick so popular (for a brief time) as a NASCAR driver? It certainly wasn’t because of her so-called success. LOL. Her record was pathetic and she didn’t win a single NASCAR race despite being placed on one of the best teams for six long years. She unfairly occupied that driver slot because of sponsors willing to pay and give her (and her racing team’s owner) tons of money. Her female body was propped up used as a marketing gimmick. That’s it.
Again, that’s just part of life. It’s certainly nothing new in any shape or form.
If a parent is in a position of power, or has something that can be used to gain an advantage, then at least some parents will do whatever it takes to give their kids an unfair advantage. It’s happened throughout history, and it’ll keep happening well beyond this point in time as well.
The bottom line is this — you either have the knowledge and talent to succeed in the real world, or you don’t. A bribe by your parents does not guarantee success in any way.