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I have a somewhat similar background. When I was young (<18) I used to feel guilty from time to time. I mean there is no denying that I got a head start by bein

I have a somewhat similar background. When I was young (<18) I used to feel guilty from time to time. I mean there is no denying that I got a head start by being in a family that could support me in school, pressure me into getting an eduction, etc. But after a while I started noticing a pattern. The people that are into shaming me are the ones that never do anything, never get involved into anything, all they do is attack others to feel better about their lack of results. Somebody who wants to change the world for the better sees an asset in me. I am smart, educated, have financial stability, I have resources to help others and it pays to have me working by their side. So now in my middle age I laugh at these original sin proponents. White guilt, middle class guilt, born into money, cis, heterosexual, etc, just endless emotional bullshit by drama queens who never accomplished anything. I work and produce results. They just wanna tear down everything that makes them feel weak without having anything to replace it with. The freaking internet would stop without people like me and they would have no facebook and salon to bitch on.

scalio 10y ago
The internet's infrastructure is a good example of relatively rich people doing good for everybody. Our digital world is built on tech developed largely for free by people rich enough to be able to afford this unpaid labour. Nobody ever thanks them, yet they go on because work, not complaint, is the only way to make an actual difference. Keep laughing! It's the only weapon against malevolent idiocy.
- uola 10y ago
  > Our digital world is built on tech developed largely for free by people rich enough to be able to afford this unpaid labour. Citation needed. As far as I know most Internet infrastructure was developed by government funded or commercial entities.
  - deleted 10y ago
    [deleted]
  - shshhdhs 10y ago
    I think OP meant Open Source software? I still don't agree with OP's sweeping statement
    - scalio 10y ago
      Yes, should have clarified, obviously hardware wasn't built for free. Regarding the sweepiness of my statement: I feel like digital freedom would be in a much, much deeper hole if it weren't for the loads of FOSS software running our servers. Sure, there are proprietary solutions, sure some dev time gets paid, but a lot of work is being and has been done only, afaict, to make the world a better place.
MicroBerto 10y ago
> I got a head start You know we're nearly too far lost when even someone like you thinks you got a "head start" because you were simply parented. You probably didn't even realize how that guilt shined through into your comment! My parents were/are awesome and I will NEVER apologize for it.
- jmcqk6 10y ago
  Claiming to have a head start is not apoligizing for something. It's recognizing that you benefited from something you had absolutely no control over. It's really great that you have awesome parents, and that means you're much better prepared for life than people who were not lucky enough to be born to such awesome people. That's not an apology. That's a description of reality.

scalio 10y ago

The internet's infrastructure is a good example of relatively rich people doing good for everybody. Our digital world is built on tech developed largely for free by people rich enough to be able to afford this unpaid labour. Nobody ever thanks them, yet they go on because work, not complaint, is the only way to make an actual difference. Keep laughing! It's the only weapon against malevolent idiocy.

uola 10y ago
> Our digital world is built on tech developed largely for free by people rich enough to be able to afford this unpaid labour. Citation needed. As far as I know most Internet infrastructure was developed by government funded or commercial entities.
- deleted 10y ago
  [deleted]
- shshhdhs 10y ago
  I think OP meant Open Source software? I still don't agree with OP's sweeping statement
  - scalio 10y ago
    Yes, should have clarified, obviously hardware wasn't built for free. Regarding the sweepiness of my statement: I feel like digital freedom would be in a much, much deeper hole if it weren't for the loads of FOSS software running our servers. Sure, there are proprietary solutions, sure some dev time gets paid, but a lot of work is being and has been done only, afaict, to make the world a better place.

MicroBerto 10y ago

> I got a head start You know we're nearly too far lost when even someone like you thinks you got a "head start" because you were simply parented. You probably didn't even realize how that guilt shined through into your comment! My parents were/are awesome and I will NEVER apologize for it.

jmcqk6 10y ago
Claiming to have a head start is not apoligizing for something. It's recognizing that you benefited from something you had absolutely no control over. It's really great that you have awesome parents, and that means you're much better prepared for life than people who were not lucky enough to be born to such awesome people. That's not an apology. That's a description of reality.