3 ms·

No. You cannot rationalize someone's malicious intent to exploit and profit off of trust people place in you by getting into your cab on the gig economy, or any

No. You cannot rationalize someone's malicious intent to exploit and profit off of trust people place in you by getting into your cab on the gig economy, or anything else. That's a slippery slope where bad actors place blame on non causal issues for their actions

DoreenMichele 8y ago
I am neither rationalizing it, nor justifying it. However, having spent several years homeless and found that classism, sexism and other societal crap were huge barriers to me getting my life back, I think it is unrealistic and cruel to not criticize the sick system that helps foster such bad choices. If you make it hard enough to make good choices that you approve of, don't be shocked when some people's moral fiber fails the test and they get on with meeting survival needs instead of ethically and high-mindedly starving.
- jeffdavis 8y ago
  I don't see how any of what you said applies to the current story. We don't know whether the driver has financial problems or not. On the surface, it seems likely that the driver is simply an unethical person who is abusing his customers' trust for money and/or fame.
  - michelledepeil 8y ago
    I feel some very valid assumptions about an uber driver were made in the initial comment, that might explain this behaviour. These comments were made with regards to his income situation. I agree with you though that it might not be for making money, but just because the driver is a morally bad individual. A much more likely scenario than him being a bad actor is that he might've thought he had found a hole in the market that would bring him 15 minutes of fame, and that's where his rational and moral thoughts went out the window.
  - DoreenMichele 8y ago
    https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17583690 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17583690 My dad was a veteran with shrapnel in one eye that made him unable to purchase additional life insurance and it caused blind spells that left him intermittently unemployed for months at a time. I've had a class on Homelessness and Public Policy. I know something about both veterans and homelessness. (For those not bothering to click on the link above, veterans are over-represented amongst the homeless.) Veterans tend to be proud people. They may not tell you how maimed their military career left them and it may not be obvious why they can't get a better job. I also don't see where the article made any effort whatsoever to understand why he has chosen to do such a thing. So perhaps you don't see how my remark applies to the current story because the current story would like to vilify him while glossing over the context in which this is occurring.
  - DanBC 8y ago
    > it seems likely that the driver is simply an unethical person See also the Conjunction fallacy / Linda Problem: https://www.psychologytoday.com/gb/blog/the-superhuman-mind/201611/linda-the-bank-teller-case-revisited https://www.psychologytoday.com/gb/blog/the-superhuman-mind/...
- andrei_says_ 8y ago
  I agree that this is a symptom. Uber is in the business of pushing exploitation as far as possible. And they are not the only company doing this in the self-destructive frenzy of late stage capitalism. The official narrative is that everyone has a choice, while removing as much choice as possible for most.
PhasmaFelis 8y ago
It doesn't have to be either/or between "malicious and greedy" and "poor person desperate to make ends meet." The truth often lies somewhere in between.
finnthehuman 8y ago
>You cannot rationalize someone's malicious intent to exploit and profit off of trust people place in you What? That's Hacker News' favorite thing to do. >by getting into your cab on the gig economy OH. Right. Yeah. They're doing it face to face, not from behind apps and contracts of adhesion. Very different. Carry on.

DoreenMichele 8y ago

I am neither rationalizing it, nor justifying it. However, having spent several years homeless and found that classism, sexism and other societal crap were huge barriers to me getting my life back, I think it is unrealistic and cruel to not criticize the sick system that helps foster such bad choices. If you make it hard enough to make good choices that you approve of, don't be shocked when some people's moral fiber fails the test and they get on with meeting survival needs instead of ethically and high-mindedly starving.

jeffdavis 8y ago
I don't see how any of what you said applies to the current story. We don't know whether the driver has financial problems or not. On the surface, it seems likely that the driver is simply an unethical person who is abusing his customers' trust for money and/or fame.
- michelledepeil 8y ago
  I feel some very valid assumptions about an uber driver were made in the initial comment, that might explain this behaviour. These comments were made with regards to his income situation. I agree with you though that it might not be for making money, but just because the driver is a morally bad individual. A much more likely scenario than him being a bad actor is that he might've thought he had found a hole in the market that would bring him 15 minutes of fame, and that's where his rational and moral thoughts went out the window.
- DoreenMichele 8y ago
  https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17583690 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17583690 My dad was a veteran with shrapnel in one eye that made him unable to purchase additional life insurance and it caused blind spells that left him intermittently unemployed for months at a time. I've had a class on Homelessness and Public Policy. I know something about both veterans and homelessness. (For those not bothering to click on the link above, veterans are over-represented amongst the homeless.) Veterans tend to be proud people. They may not tell you how maimed their military career left them and it may not be obvious why they can't get a better job. I also don't see where the article made any effort whatsoever to understand why he has chosen to do such a thing. So perhaps you don't see how my remark applies to the current story because the current story would like to vilify him while glossing over the context in which this is occurring.
- DanBC 8y ago
  > it seems likely that the driver is simply an unethical person See also the Conjunction fallacy / Linda Problem: https://www.psychologytoday.com/gb/blog/the-superhuman-mind/201611/linda-the-bank-teller-case-revisited https://www.psychologytoday.com/gb/blog/the-superhuman-mind/...
andrei_says_ 8y ago
I agree that this is a symptom. Uber is in the business of pushing exploitation as far as possible. And they are not the only company doing this in the self-destructive frenzy of late stage capitalism. The official narrative is that everyone has a choice, while removing as much choice as possible for most.

PhasmaFelis 8y ago

It doesn't have to be either/or between "malicious and greedy" and "poor person desperate to make ends meet." The truth often lies somewhere in between.

finnthehuman 8y ago

>You cannot rationalize someone's malicious intent to exploit and profit off of trust people place in you What? That's Hacker News' favorite thing to do. >by getting into your cab on the gig economy OH. Right. Yeah. They're doing it face to face, not from behind apps and contracts of adhesion. Very different. Carry on.