3 ms·

I like that we keep talking about privilege, no matter how much it irks the hacker news elite. I have a previous comment about this[0], so I will not go into to

I like that we keep talking about privilege, no matter how much it irks the hacker news elite. I have a previous comment about this[0], so I will not go into too much detail. Nobody thinks they are rich or privileged. Now, the Hendersons down the street? THOSE PEOPLE are rich! I feel that people underestimate the huge effect of having a safety net under them. It is the difference between going to the amazing state school and the local community college. It is the difference between paying attention and learning in class and sleeping through it because you had to get up at 6 am to work an 8-hour shift. It is the difference between living in a studio apartment, 45 minutes from school in the bad part of town and living in the beautiful two-bedroom top-floor loft in Logan Square. It is the difference between a data entry job, and an unpaid research internship with your professors. It is the difference between sleeping on a couch for 3 months while you look for your first job, and having a place to stay and prepare. It is the difference between taking the first job you can get, and holding out until you find a better one. It's the difference between a loan for a house and a loan to your parents to pay off medical debt. Think about every step, every decision you have made in your life and consider if you would have made the same choices if your life was different. 0: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19098317 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19098317

fireflash38 8y ago
Every time I see privilege come up, people start denying it, or excusing it. Saying things like "I still had to work hard for this!" It's a tricky subject to talk about, as the article references, specifically because it's hard to differentiate between what you got from privilege and what you got from hard work. I find analogies best to talk about it. Your goal is to reach the top floor of a building. Some people start at the penultimate floor. Some start on the 2nd floor. Others are in the basement. Every single one takes effort to climb the steps. But some have a big head start, and can even fail down a few floors and still have it easier than other people.
- projektfu 8y ago
  There's very little that's more impertinent than telling an American he didn't earn what he has. Can't speak for other cultures.
plausibilities 8y ago
What if I told you it's possible to accept one's privilege while disputing the degree to which it has directly contributed to specific, positive life/professional outcomes?
AlexTWithBeard 8y ago
Sorry for being blunt, but coming from a dirt poor background I've been there and done that. You sound like a really pampered person who cannot imagine living anywhere but in a two bedroom apartment with a maid and on-premises gym. No, it's not that bad and you can read books equally well in your own apartment or in a public library. You have a couple of valid points about medical debt, which is a crazy American thing and working while studying, which is tough. The rest though shows a complete lack of understanding how being poor works. It is the difference between going to the amazing state school and the local community college. HN is full of anecdotes that professors in the community college are not that much worse. And for the price they are actually AMAZING. Yes, being an Ivy league graduate generally helps. But we're not talking about crazy rich folks here, right? It is the difference between living in a studio apartment, 45 minutes from school in the bad part of town and living in the beautiful two-bedroom top-floor loft in Logan Square. Sorry, I'm not getting this one. Yes, living in a two bedroom loft is somewhat nicer, but what does it have to do with studying or working? It is the difference between a data entry job, and an unpaid research internship with your professors. Data entry job hands down. A month of real job on resume is worth a year of sitting in the lab and adjusting the thermostat. It is the difference between taking the first job you can get, and holding out until you find a better one. Just take the first job you can and keep looking for a better one?
- deleted 8y ago
  [deleted]
staunch 8y ago
If you use the word "wealth" instead of "privilege" there's not much to argue about. The problem is that there are many people today (with very dubious motivations) trying to confuse the issue of wealth with other issues. The great divide is today, as it has been since the dawn of civilization, between the people that have money and the people that have-not money.

fireflash38 8y ago

Every time I see privilege come up, people start denying it, or excusing it. Saying things like "I still had to work hard for this!" It's a tricky subject to talk about, as the article references, specifically because it's hard to differentiate between what you got from privilege and what you got from hard work. I find analogies best to talk about it. Your goal is to reach the top floor of a building. Some people start at the penultimate floor. Some start on the 2nd floor. Others are in the basement. Every single one takes effort to climb the steps. But some have a big head start, and can even fail down a few floors and still have it easier than other people.

projektfu 8y ago
There's very little that's more impertinent than telling an American he didn't earn what he has. Can't speak for other cultures.

plausibilities 8y ago

What if I told you it's possible to accept one's privilege while disputing the degree to which it has directly contributed to specific, positive life/professional outcomes?

AlexTWithBeard 8y ago

Sorry for being blunt, but coming from a dirt poor background I've been there and done that. You sound like a really pampered person who cannot imagine living anywhere but in a two bedroom apartment with a maid and on-premises gym. No, it's not that bad and you can read books equally well in your own apartment or in a public library. You have a couple of valid points about medical debt, which is a crazy American thing and working while studying, which is tough. The rest though shows a complete lack of understanding how being poor works. It is the difference between going to the amazing state school and the local community college. HN is full of anecdotes that professors in the community college are not that much worse. And for the price they are actually AMAZING. Yes, being an Ivy league graduate generally helps. But we're not talking about crazy rich folks here, right? It is the difference between living in a studio apartment, 45 minutes from school in the bad part of town and living in the beautiful two-bedroom top-floor loft in Logan Square. Sorry, I'm not getting this one. Yes, living in a two bedroom loft is somewhat nicer, but what does it have to do with studying or working? It is the difference between a data entry job, and an unpaid research internship with your professors. Data entry job hands down. A month of real job on resume is worth a year of sitting in the lab and adjusting the thermostat. It is the difference between taking the first job you can get, and holding out until you find a better one. Just take the first job you can and keep looking for a better one?

deleted 8y ago
[deleted]

staunch 8y ago

If you use the word "wealth" instead of "privilege" there's not much to argue about. The problem is that there are many people today (with very dubious motivations) trying to confuse the issue of wealth with other issues. The great divide is today, as it has been since the dawn of civilization, between the people that have money and the people that have-not money.