"used as a crutch"
Sandra Dodd
I've been saying for years that if someone uses an idiom or a phrase that's not their own individual words, that they're not thinking clearly. Holly and I are doing a presentation this weekend on TV and Movies and what can be learned from them. Last week I found an old discussion from 2001 in which someone had said she didn't want to be using TV as a crutch, or some such, and I had responded.
But yesterday when we were polishing our notes, that jumped out at me. To use something as a crutch...
I've had a broken leg and a broken ankle in my adult life (no broken bones as a kid) and crutches are no joke, and people won't use them when they don't need to. With crutches, I could get myself out of bed, or in; in and out of chairs; to the toilet and back. But when I don't need crutches, I don't use them.
So I went to poke around and see where that phrase came from.
From a definition online:
An assistive cane is a walking stick used as a crutch or mobility aid.
Like all crutches, it is used as a mobility aid by an injured or disabled person.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Found all this, though (and what's there is cut and paste, except my comments are ***like this*** (Sandra)
Debate topic: Racism is used as a crutch/weapon by minorities
VR should never be used as a crutch: Nikon SLR Lens Forum
Whenever you see the word “there” used as a pronoun, you can be sure it's being used as a crutch to hold up a weak and passive sentence.
Swim Junk: Beneficial or a Crutch?
The question of whether creation and evolution are compatible is another matter altogether. Regardless of how we each personally feel about that matter, let’s pray that it not be used as a crutch to support apostasy, or that which is deemed necessary to the vitality of a young person’s walk with Jesus.
"Injury won't be used as a crutch" (name of an article on a sports team with an injured player; odd)
http://articles.philly.com/2001-03-29/sports/25328092_1_gagne-and-recchi-flyers-coach-bill-barber-john-leclair
For Rollins, faith in God is often used as a crutch (quoting Marx, as well as virtually every atheist the world has ever known).
***I don't think that's quoting Marx; he said "opiate," not "crutch," as far as I know.***
Personality typing can be a crutch. It can make you believe something about yourself (maybe true at the time), and prevent you from growing.
***OK! That one is being used thoughtfully. Here it is in context.****
Personality typing can be a crutch. It can make you believe something about yourself (maybe true at the time), and prevent you from growing. A crutch helps you to take pressure off a leg, that is not strong enough to stand on its own. But belief that your leg is weak is not going to allow it to become stronger, because you will never use it. I myself used personality typing to understand my weaknesses. Which is great. It helped me understand myself, but what if I use my Type as an excuse for my behavior?
Instead of accepting yourself ask having weaknesses, why not accept your ability to recognize your weaknesses? So you may work on them, so you can choose to act accordingly in your own self interest? Just because I'm an ISTP doesn't mean I'm confined to that personality type and not capable of anything beyond it.
But yesterday when we were polishing our notes, that jumped out at me. To use something as a crutch...
I've had a broken leg and a broken ankle in my adult life (no broken bones as a kid) and crutches are no joke, and people won't use them when they don't need to. With crutches, I could get myself out of bed, or in; in and out of chairs; to the toilet and back. But when I don't need crutches, I don't use them.
So I went to poke around and see where that phrase came from.
From a definition online:
An assistive cane is a walking stick used as a crutch or mobility aid.
Like all crutches, it is used as a mobility aid by an injured or disabled person.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Found all this, though (and what's there is cut and paste, except my comments are ***like this*** (Sandra)
Debate topic: Racism is used as a crutch/weapon by minorities
VR should never be used as a crutch: Nikon SLR Lens Forum
Whenever you see the word “there” used as a pronoun, you can be sure it's being used as a crutch to hold up a weak and passive sentence.
Swim Junk: Beneficial or a Crutch?
The question of whether creation and evolution are compatible is another matter altogether. Regardless of how we each personally feel about that matter, let’s pray that it not be used as a crutch to support apostasy, or that which is deemed necessary to the vitality of a young person’s walk with Jesus.
"Injury won't be used as a crutch" (name of an article on a sports team with an injured player; odd)
http://articles.philly.com/2001-03-29/sports/25328092_1_gagne-and-recchi-flyers-coach-bill-barber-john-leclair
For Rollins, faith in God is often used as a crutch (quoting Marx, as well as virtually every atheist the world has ever known).
***I don't think that's quoting Marx; he said "opiate," not "crutch," as far as I know.***
Personality typing can be a crutch. It can make you believe something about yourself (maybe true at the time), and prevent you from growing.
***OK! That one is being used thoughtfully. Here it is in context.****
Personality typing can be a crutch. It can make you believe something about yourself (maybe true at the time), and prevent you from growing. A crutch helps you to take pressure off a leg, that is not strong enough to stand on its own. But belief that your leg is weak is not going to allow it to become stronger, because you will never use it. I myself used personality typing to understand my weaknesses. Which is great. It helped me understand myself, but what if I use my Type as an excuse for my behavior?
Instead of accepting yourself ask having weaknesses, why not accept your ability to recognize your weaknesses? So you may work on them, so you can choose to act accordingly in your own self interest? Just because I'm an ISTP doesn't mean I'm confined to that personality type and not capable of anything beyond it.