I guess it is very interesting to think about that analogy, cause I never fully thought about that.
The camel was miserable before.
Which means the camel tried to last through it until it broke the camel’s metaphorical back. Which I guess also tells me that if someone says that to me, they are saying someone suffered through something way too long until they finally reacted. I never really thought about it as a hint that you didn’t have to bear something, you could have spoken up earlier already.
This explanation might be too detailed but I just realized that so maybe this is interesting to someone else.
It’s not really making a comment on whether they could have addressed it before it broke the camel’s back either. It’s simply saying this is the last slight I will take.
If you go through life not ever taking any bs, you definitely will not be able to hold a job. Or function in general really.
Your first paragraph makes a lot of sense to me.
The second paragraph I have a very different opinion on, because there’s a difference between patterns of abuse and having to deal with a shitty situation a few times. And although there’s people who don’t take any shit and will fit you for small inconveniences, there’s also a lot of people who have learned to endure almost every situation for way too long.
My mom has been working overtime for years and I’m scared she’ll get overwhelmed eventually. Every one of our band mates got bullied in school and just endured it. A school friend told me he was the black sheep in an Asian family and he just had accept it. I’m sure he’s way past his limit but he’ll still try with them. A friend of mine has a dad with narcissistic tendencies and a mom with major health issues and an aunt who almost killed her multiple times intentionally already. I tend to not speak up because sometimes I get it wrong and it fucks me up in major ways.
As you can see I know a lot of people who wait way too long until they change things, and if they spike up a bit more, they could be holding a successful job and maybe even keep their sanity. Goes to show that everyone is different and every social dynamic is unique.
It’s fascinating to read it so aptly described. I thought it was obvious what the saying meant. That’s why it is usually said to express exasperation. When someone has already endured a lot of abuse, it takes only but a minor inconvenience or minimal annoyance to finally drive them beyond the treshold of tolerance.
That’s the image, even such an insignificant weight as that of a straw is capable of breaking someone if they have been overburdened for long already.
The equivalent expression in my language is “the drop that filled the glass”. As with the camel, the glass was already full, it just needed one more drop to reach its limit.
Well well, aren’t you the optimist.
