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> get less than zero sympathy if they talk about having difficult lives You just proved this part.

by Olscore 10y ago

zyxley 10y ago
coldtea's point is that "difficult" when you can walk away from it and never have to work another day in your life, and "difficult" when getting it wrong means that your life and your childrens' lives are ruined for years, live in two entirely different strata of meaning.
- addicted 10y ago
  +++ Think about this way. Imagine if you could spend the next year absolutely any way you want to (within bounds of laws and human possibility and decency). Larry Page chooses to do his job instead of doing that. I can't imagine the unenviable parts of his job adds up to anything beyond a rounding error. The one part I can have some sympathy for is the lack of any sort of privacy (and the accompanying inability to go for a walk in the park by yourself), but those aren't the points mentioned here, and are worse for your regular TV/Hollywood types, who have less privacy as they are more recognizable, and much less money.
- bane 10y ago
  Let's be honest, a billionaire could walk away and their next several hundred generations wouldn't ever have to work and they'd all live very comfortable lives.
2muchcoffeeman 10y ago
Are you also suggesting that they should get some sympathy? Why?
- louprado 10y ago
  Because sympathy invokes inclusion and empathy. And reciprocity is human nature. This assumes said CEO is mindful and doesn't suffer from a mental disorder, like narcissism.
- Houshalter 10y ago
  Because they are a human being, and because wealth is not equal to happiness. It seems to correlate with happiness, but probably because wealthier people have less stress, and that's certainly not true for a CEO.
  - Chinjut 10y ago
    I think everyone deserves sympathy, because everyone is a human being. Larry Page's life as a CEO is surely stressful and he deserves sympathy for it. But I bet there are plenty of "poor single mother"s and "40-something factory worker"s with very stressful lives too, in many cases even more stressful than any billionaire CEO's. That can't be denied.
    - mchan 10y ago
      But think about the sort of pressure that would be on Larry's shoulders. If he quits, or makes the wrong decision, that potentially affects thousands of his employees, and their families. For a poor single mother or 40 something factory worker, their stress is more localised to their own family's well-being. I think the problem here is that people try to compare or value stress on a scale of entitlement. I don't think it's that simple. I agree everyone deserves sympathy, because at the end of the day, we all experience stress on some level. One person's experience of stress is never more valid than another's.
      - coldtea 10y ago
        >But think about the sort of pressure that would be on Larry's shoulders. If he quits, or makes the wrong decision, that potentially affects thousands of his employees, and their families. And yet, a vast majority of CEOs don't give a fuck about all this, and can destroy companies happily, and fly to another on their golden parachutes.
      - elmigranto 10y ago
        > If he quits, or makes the wrong decision, that potentially affects thousands of his employees, and their families. He is remarkable in every way possible, but I doubt this is true. World won't end, if he quits. Google and everyone in there will be just fine. Look at Jobs (and many other "irreplaceable" people), for example.

> get less than zero sympathy if they talk about having difficult lives You just proved this part.

by Olscore 10y ago

> get less than zero sympathy if they talk about having difficult lives You just proved this part.

coldtea's point is that "difficult" when you can walk away from it and never have to work another day in your life, and "difficult" when getting it wrong means that your life and your childrens' lives are ruined for years, live in two entirely different strata of meaning.

addicted 10y ago
+++ Think about this way. Imagine if you could spend the next year absolutely any way you want to (within bounds of laws and human possibility and decency). Larry Page chooses to do his job instead of doing that. I can't imagine the unenviable parts of his job adds up to anything beyond a rounding error. The one part I can have some sympathy for is the lack of any sort of privacy (and the accompanying inability to go for a walk in the park by yourself), but those aren't the points mentioned here, and are worse for your regular TV/Hollywood types, who have less privacy as they are more recognizable, and much less money.
bane 10y ago
Let's be honest, a billionaire could walk away and their next several hundred generations wouldn't ever have to work and they'd all live very comfortable lives.

2muchcoffeeman 10y ago

Are you also suggesting that they should get some sympathy? Why?

louprado 10y ago
Because sympathy invokes inclusion and empathy. And reciprocity is human nature. This assumes said CEO is mindful and doesn't suffer from a mental disorder, like narcissism.
Houshalter 10y ago
Because they are a human being, and because wealth is not equal to happiness. It seems to correlate with happiness, but probably because wealthier people have less stress, and that's certainly not true for a CEO.
- Chinjut 10y ago
  I think everyone deserves sympathy, because everyone is a human being. Larry Page's life as a CEO is surely stressful and he deserves sympathy for it. But I bet there are plenty of "poor single mother"s and "40-something factory worker"s with very stressful lives too, in many cases even more stressful than any billionaire CEO's. That can't be denied.
  - mchan 10y ago
    But think about the sort of pressure that would be on Larry's shoulders. If he quits, or makes the wrong decision, that potentially affects thousands of his employees, and their families. For a poor single mother or 40 something factory worker, their stress is more localised to their own family's well-being. I think the problem here is that people try to compare or value stress on a scale of entitlement. I don't think it's that simple. I agree everyone deserves sympathy, because at the end of the day, we all experience stress on some level. One person's experience of stress is never more valid than another's.
    - coldtea 10y ago
      >But think about the sort of pressure that would be on Larry's shoulders. If he quits, or makes the wrong decision, that potentially affects thousands of his employees, and their families. And yet, a vast majority of CEOs don't give a fuck about all this, and can destroy companies happily, and fly to another on their golden parachutes.
    - elmigranto 10y ago
      > If he quits, or makes the wrong decision, that potentially affects thousands of his employees, and their families. He is remarkable in every way possible, but I doubt this is true. World won't end, if he quits. Google and everyone in there will be just fine. Look at Jobs (and many other "irreplaceable" people), for example.