Re: RC: winning mentality was reply to Tom Ivers re: re FEI

[Tivers@aol.com]

In a message dated 8/31/00 2:29:22 PM Pacific Daylight Time, 
CMKSAGEHIL@aol.com writes:

<< The outrage, as I read it, is not at those who want to win.  It is at the 
 continual put-down of those who do not share the same goals or the same 
 definitions of winning by a few for whom winning the few individual 
 world-class events seems to be the ONLY acceptable goal.  (And I note that 
it 
 is NOT the riders who do the work and earn the gold who are doing the 
 slamming...)>>

You, as usual, are reading different stuff than I am. All the sanctimonious  
weeping and wailing I see here is over "hot shoes". And the rest of your post 
reinforces that hand wringing, proclaiming that winning means just about 
anything you want it to mean. It doesn't, of course. When you attempt to 
change the meanings of words, you turn the language into plain babble. 

If your goal is to finish, and you do, then you can be said to have achieved 
your goal. That is, clearly, other than winning. If your goal is to win, but 
you finish second, then you have not won--by definition of the word. 

As in your downhill trotting post, you might convince some that "up" means 
"down", but, alas, not me. In the same vein, there have been some in the past 
that have tried to convince me that veterinarian means "professional". My 
experience tells me there is a clear distinction in the words. Some have 
tried to persuade me that caring means "doing the right thing". It doesn't. 

So, before we get into another long babblefest, let's bring out the 
dictionary and actually define the words we're attempting to twist into new, 
wonderful meanings.   

Webster:

Main Entry: 1win
Pronunciation: 'win
Function: verb
Inflected Form(s): won /'w&n/; win·ning
Etymology: Middle English winnen, from Old English winnan to struggle; akin 
to Old High German winnan to struggle and probably to Latin venus sexual 
desire, charm, Sanskrit vanas desire, vanoti he strives for
Date: before 12th century
transitive senses
1 a : to get possession of by effort or fortune b : to obtain by work : EARN 
<striving to win a living from the sterile soil>
2 a : to gain in or as if in battle or contest b : to be the victor in <won 
the war>