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> And in places like India you see wealthy people living in enclaves treating the working class around them like a different species. I'm frightened that a decl

> And in places like India you see wealthy people living in enclaves treating the working class around them like a different species. I'm frightened that a decline of nationalism and populism in the US could see a move in the same direction. We're already there, we just don't yet see it for what it is. Yesterday I watched a man on the phone while paying for his goods at a convenience store. The cashier spoke to him several times, he completely ignored her in favor of his phone. He made no sign of apology, it was literally like she wasn't there for him. And of course, she had to keep smiling because that is her place as a customer service provider. It would be one thing if this were isolated, but (anecdotally, of course) I only see it increasing. We're already at that point where some, at least, fail to consider the working class around them at all.

ghufran_syed 10y ago
Or maybe he was reading a text message about the death of a family member? Extrapolating from almost zero data usually isn't helpful, and probably often ends up being an opportunity to reinforce our own biases.
- mikeash 10y ago
  This kind of thing happens constantly. They're not all receiving dire news. They're just oblivious.
- GrinningFool 10y ago
  In this case he was speaking on the phone , and that wasn't the subject matter in question. I k ow this because he was also speaking as if he were in his private office. Certainly it's possible that some of the situations I've seen are of that type of origin - but IMO if you're interacting with a live human it's not an excuse. "I'm sorry , I just got terrible news" takes about two seconds to say. I don't know, I see very little that could excuse the behavior. If someone is able to get into the store and conduct a transaction, then that person is generally able to acknowledge the person assisting him or her on a minimal level as a human.
  - dllthomas 10y ago
    As you say, it's probably not what's at issue here. That said, I feel this deserves to be addressed: > "I'm sorry , I just got terrible news" takes about two seconds to say. But the wherewithal to do so in that circumstance is considerably less available!
dllthomas 10y ago
> We're already at that point where some, at least, fail to consider the working class around them at all. I don't know that we've established that class actually paid a role. Do we expect he wasn't simply so oblivious that he'd also not have noticed a peer trying to get his attention?

ghufran_syed 10y ago

Or maybe he was reading a text message about the death of a family member? Extrapolating from almost zero data usually isn't helpful, and probably often ends up being an opportunity to reinforce our own biases.

mikeash 10y ago
This kind of thing happens constantly. They're not all receiving dire news. They're just oblivious.
GrinningFool 10y ago
In this case he was speaking on the phone , and that wasn't the subject matter in question. I k ow this because he was also speaking as if he were in his private office. Certainly it's possible that some of the situations I've seen are of that type of origin - but IMO if you're interacting with a live human it's not an excuse. "I'm sorry , I just got terrible news" takes about two seconds to say. I don't know, I see very little that could excuse the behavior. If someone is able to get into the store and conduct a transaction, then that person is generally able to acknowledge the person assisting him or her on a minimal level as a human.
- dllthomas 10y ago
  As you say, it's probably not what's at issue here. That said, I feel this deserves to be addressed: > "I'm sorry , I just got terrible news" takes about two seconds to say. But the wherewithal to do so in that circumstance is considerably less available!

dllthomas 10y ago

> We're already at that point where some, at least, fail to consider the working class around them at all. I don't know that we've established that class actually paid a role. Do we expect he wasn't simply so oblivious that he'd also not have noticed a peer trying to get his attention?