Danielle+S’s+OpEd+Article

//by Danielle S.//**
 * "UNFAIR ADVANTAGES"

Hard work in America has been said to pay off, but from what I have seen around me, even the hardest workers stand behind the ones with the money and the right connections.

As we grow older favoritism is inescapable. In college, the professor bumps but Suzy Q’s C+ but not mine because she shows more cleavage than I do and her dad just so happens to be filthy rich. Or I go and apply for a job as an accountant but the other guy sitting next to me is best friends with the boss’s wife’s brother which immediately puts me in the S.O.L category, so now where do I stand? I have what it takes and I work hard to get what I deserve but since I don’t take the easy route laced with money, deceit, and bullshit I get pushed aside for playing by the rules.

I mean I know honesty has never really been a huge part of success in America for people like J.P Morgan or Vanderbilt who became successful by taking advantage of the vulnerable. They were by no means honest and I HATE the fact that everyone thinks these “shortcuts” help them get what they want. The only problem, it does. We allow it to. I do not tolerate bribes or using money (which I don’t have) to get what I want. Money is used as a manipulator these days and it’s disgusting.

As I have spent eight years of my life building up a strong softball career I have come to know my capabilities and limits and for some reason I thought my coaches this year did too. I was wrong. While I was put on Buena’s Varsity softball program with fourteen other girls, we were all competing for a starting position on the field and the favorites got as they wished. The starting pitcher and her family donate thousands of dollars to the program while the inexperienced two faced second basemen’s mother is long time friends with the coaches. Do they deserve these spots...that is not for me to say. But I can say this; I can do one hell of a lot better than what they are doing. What kills me is I feel like I only have two options. 1) Deal with it and just keep sitting on the bench or 2) Play the game and find a way to become a favorite. I guess what they say is true; it’s a dog eat dog world, eat or be eaten.media type="file" key="danielles-muckraker-0910.mp3"