Go to law school, be a jerk
No, no, this isn't a post about how I hate all law students and how lawyers are assholes. It's about me!
A couple of weeks ago I was in the library and happened to glance at someone else's laptop as I was walking by. She was sitting down to start the paper she had to write for Con Law II (taught by the same person who is Prof. Employment Discrimination). She was looking up the definition of "strict scrutiny" on wikipedia. My immediate thought: "Damn, I wish I was in her class because I'm smarter than her and we need people at the bottom of the curve. Specifically, people other than me." Yeah, I know, I'm not proud, but that's the kind of thing law school makes you think, even when you're not all that concerned about your grades anymore like you were a year or two ago. Hey, don't tell me you haven't thought the same thing, or something along similar lines at least once because this says I'm not alone in thinking this way.
posted by some guy @ 1:09 PM
3 comments
3 Comments:
I have honestly never thought such a thing. This is NOT what "law school" makes people think, it's what law school has made "you" and other dissatisfied people think. i'd love to see a post where you explain your decision-making process re: going to law school. My theory is that those who are this bitter and unhappy in law school did not make the decision with all of the facts in hand.
Whaa. I am really good, but my grades don't reflect it. All those other people are lucky. I work hard and I don't get anywhere. Whaa. It is the schools's fault. Whaa. I only take classes with smart people, and they throw off the curve. Whaa. Why doesn't anything work out for me? Whaa.
Law school is a petri dish for relative deprivation. I don't think Some Guy is alone. Generally, there is a competitive mentality in law school that results in people sizing up each other. Most rewards associated with law school are distributed due to high-level competition. It's no surprise people will become hyper competitive as they adapt to the law school environment. I feel anonymous' attempt to trivialize this experience is unwarranted. It's good to be cognizant of this behavior and bad to be entirely ignorant of it. Some law students unknowingly become perpetual jerks because they get immensed into the competition. The cognizant can take steps to change their feelings or simply acknowledge that cooperation is more beneficial than competition in the long run. Although, most lawyers value aggression. I suspect they really mean assertion, which is odd considering how lawyers like to nit-pick over usage.
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