Glass Ceiling & Crab Mentality

Glass Ceiling generally refers to an invisible barrier preventing the upward mobility of persons belonging to a particular race or gender in an organisation. But it is also curiously present in family circles. Every family has its own priorities & sets of values, not necessarily always the best. But they are as zealously guarded as a family heirloom & members of the family are strongly discouraged to step out of the boundaries, even if by doing so, they may become better & more accomplished & rounded human beings. The Golden rule here is to encourage only those activities which bring wealth or status into the family. Other creative pursuits are firmly discouraged.

One activity towards which attitudes have dramatically changed, is sports. A few decades ago, indulging in sports was considered as a form of vagabondage. Now that a few sportspersons have become wealthy & famous, the attitudes have taken an U-Turn & one can see parents dropping off their children at the sports grounds, even paying hefty coaching fees!  It is not that people have become fond of sports, but only they have become enamoured of the wealth & fame it is expected to bring! (not alas for the majority)

The earlier mentioned family imposed "glass ceiling" has its corollary in the apocryphal story of live crabs in a basket. It is believed that the basket need not be covered with a lid, because if any crab tries to escape, the others pull it down!