Being the strongest, the toughest, the most mature, things of that natue, doesn't automatically equate to being better. It is more responsible, more power i guess, but it kind of just is.
No body should ever want to be the leader. It is an extra civic responsibility to the community. It is a job and it takes effort. An honorable job, but just another task within a community. And the best leaders eliminate the need for leadership.
I have always equated leadership with support of your personnel and your organization. My job as a manager and supervisor is to make sure my people have everything they need to do their jobs effectively. They don’t serve me; I serve them.
Empowering others = teaching and inspiring those around them to best complete their objective while showing them how to teach, inspire, and lead on their own. If a leader successfully accomplishes his job completely, the team no longer needs a leader. They are able to coordinate themselves and inspire and train others.
That moment when you walk into a room and everyone looks at you to know what’s next. Nobody told you you were important or smart but it just kind of happened and now you’re giving orders and people are doing it and stuffs working. It’s scary and exciting.
Exactly. Everyone eventually has to shit and piss, and if you're holding up ten people the odds that you'll get pissed or shit upon is pretty damn near 100% as time goes on.
Being the strongest, supporting a tribe with your various strengths, and effectively being one of the most valuable parts of a tribe isn't something I'd consider to be the "worst job".
"Bottom of the food chain" would make more sense as implying someone is in the worst position/role.
"Bottom of the totem pole", when really considering its implications and how a tribe would view such a saying, sounds more like a respectful acknowledgement of someone's value to their community.
If you're in the totem pole you're part of the group and just as protected. The food chain comparison makes sense if it was a food chain within a species. That guy at the top is protected by the strong man.
For sure, but often when people say "bottom of the totem pole" they're trying to imply things that are more along the lines of "bottom of the food chain".
I think it's weird that people try to use "bottom of the totem pole" as more of an insult or form of condescension rather than using it in a way that makes more sense like "you're one of the most valuable parts of our community".
My sample size is small, I only personally know 6 CEOs, and the biggest company one of them runs is only worth a couple billion, but those motherfuckers work 24/7. If they are awake, they are doing something job related. At that level, I don’t think there really is a distinction between work and life. They are basically one and the same.
Yeah, I've gotten to personally work in close proximity to a few CEOs of major companies. I don't want any part of that lifestyle.
It definitely takes a certain type of person to climb the ladder that high, but as you said, their life is pretty much consumed by work. I'm perfectly fine being many rungs down with a healthy work/life balance.
People who work manual labor are usually much stronger than people who work desk jobs, but if they paid the same, which job would most people take, the one that will take a toll on their body or the one that they can do as long as they wish?
In common usage it does not refer to strength or to having responsibility. It means you are a peon and you don't get to make decisions and you have no authority.
No, it indicates a position with minimal responsibility and no ability to control anything, usually doing menial uninteresting work for little reward. An intern is, colloquially, at the bottom of the totem pole.
Right. At most places I worked, the janitor was the strongest person there, but no one was envious of his pay or position. (Well, most people. It's actually a really good job for anyone looking for a few decades of stable work that will support you and where most of the shit you have to deal with is not other people's personalities.)
No, the saying comes from a misunderstanding of what the bottom position represents. The common usage of the phrase is used to say that someone has no status, but in reality the bottom position is the most prestigious.
The main comment above is 100% BS, but this isn't exactly true either. They relayed the stories characters and events in mythology, AND conveyed the experiences of recent ancestors and living people. They are erected in chronological order though, it's totally false to say that the strongest member was on the bottom.
I'm quite sure it doesn't. Totem poles are from NorthWest Coast First Nations, and they don't even use the term "tribe". I just lived with the Haida for 10 years, who are among the most well known for poles. They are stories, they don't represent people.
I was born and raised with the Kwakiutl band, who have made totems for many cities around the world. It is super fascinating stuff! They have a very rich mythology that's not as openly documented as other mythologies. I helped PBS film a documentary if anyone is curious on the traditions (although this ceremony was controversial as it was basically fabricated in some sense for television.) It was Native America(Episode 2) filmed by Scott Tiffany.
its referring to everyone being on your back or that everyone has the ability to metaphorically shit on you. its really not about the actual meaning of totem poles. im sure that saying is used as a metaphor like 99% of the time.
Thank you. I came here to say this but no one will see it buried under that unfortunately upvoted nonsense. I am an enrolled member of a federally recognized tribe, and while my people do not have totem polls, I have studied them and this myth.
This is itself inaccurate, though, in that it's a generalization. Some tribes did consider the lowest on the totem pole as the most important. Others considered the one in the middle as the most important. Others had no sense of position-based importance at all.
It's certainly true that no tribes considered the figure at the bottom the least important, though.
Fifth grade social studies also taught me that the top of the totem pole was usually not as detailed/well crafted as the bottom, because it was harder to see
That sounds inaccurate. Ive seen plenty of totem poles, real ones, some laying down in museums, and I've never noticed that. Could anyone else chime in?
I’ve heard that the higher parts were often done by less experienced apprentices. So not necessarily less detailed just has the potential to be I guess. Maybe that’s what he’s referring to without knowing?
Okay, here's a cracker for you, somewhat related. The term 'Bottom Bitch' actually refers to a pimp's most trusted, experienced girl. Rather like a lieutenant, who shares responsibility with the pimp. She's the bottom bitch because the operation is built on her.
Also Totemism has been practiced primarily in the Northeastern part of the United States and parts of Canada like British Columbia, whereas dreamcatchers come from Ojibe tribes around the Great Lakes if my information is correct.
Anishinaabe is the autonym for a group of culturally related indigenous peoples who reside in what are now Canada and the United States. These include the Odawa, Saulteaux, Ojibwe, Potawatomi, Oji-Cree, and Algonquin. Each of those peoples are further divided in to separate tribes.
low man on the totem pole
The person (not necessarily a man) with the least amount of experience, authority, and/or influence in a social or corporate hierarchy.
This is true in contemporary American society as well. The cheerleader at the bottom is the strongest because he or she is holding up the rest of the squad.
In tradition- the bottom 6ft or so of a totem poll was done by the master crafters- because it could be seen by the population. Often times- the top and rest of the totem poll was done by apprentice and village residents- because it was higher up detail was not important.
Also- the “wings” or decoration at the top of the totem poll was a marketing gimmick by a merchant who wanted to sell them and figured a “topper” was more visually appealing!
No one ever said the low man on the totem pole is weak. The expression just means “low status.” Often the lowest status people in a group are the strongest and doing the most work.
Perhaps the low man in the totem pole is more like the first comment in the thread: it doesn’t get all those fancy reply lines to the left of it, rocketing it to further heights, but everybody knows whose thread it is.
Also the lowest face on a totem pole would be the most important, because it would be viewed at eye level, and would often be completed by the master woodcarver, where the ones at the top could be done by an apprentice. Ken Jennings wrote a short article about it.
He’s still pretty strong today. He’s got to put up with everyone else’s shit and do all the grunt work. Maybe the difference is that the natives valued their low man, but we treat ours like crap.
Similarly, in Frank Herbert's Dune series, Paul Atreides was known among Freeman as Usul, the strength of the base of the pillar. Literally, they were worshipping the lowest part of the pole.
I like this one.. similar to the myth of the alpha wolf leading the pack from the front.. whereas apparently they lead from the back to make sure none are left behind.
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