4 ms·
Just to offer a slight counter-point re: privilege. Where I grew up, telling someone "I want to go to vocational school instead of college" was no different fr
by gthtjtkt 10y ago
Just to offer a slight counter-point re: privilege.
Where I grew up, telling someone "I want to go to vocational school instead of college" was no different from telling them "I want to be a prostitute when I grow up". Hell, even joining any form of armed service was extremely frowned upon.
In many cases, this led to otherwise bright, gifted people becoming "failures" because they were too afraid to do what they wanted and instead followed the socially acceptable path (college) where they never had any hope of succeeding. They struggled to finish useless degrees they never wanted, earned a decent chunk of debt in the process, and ended up with soul-crushing jobs, the main benefit of which was the fact that they earned enough money to continue showing up at their soul-crushing job for many years to come.
Hooray, privilege!
- BigJeffeRonaldo 10y agoBeing against military service sounds like the 110iq librarian in a town full of low 95 iqers. Some of he smartest kids I know (many from very good backgrounds) went west point then 11b and now are flying up management fast track in some prestigious industries. Many kids from poorer backgrounds have also done the same, but they weren't in my peer group. Aristocrats and elite political families send their kids to do military service. Sounds like middle class +1 standard deviation nonsense attitude was prevalent there
- riot504 10y agoExactly this! I joined the military at 17 and turned 18 during the summer I graduated high school. I am now completing my PhD in mathematics and work as a data scientist for a small economic development firm.