7 ms·

An observation. On the micro scale these aren't mean or bad people. A lot of people I know back home (Missouri, middle class, many of them baby boomers) follow

An observation. On the micro scale these aren't mean or bad people. A lot of people I know back home (Missouri, middle class, many of them baby boomers) follow this brand of logic and the accompanied tough-guy/cult-of-the-dollar ethos. Not one of them applies this ruthless logic in their daily life. They are compassionate with the people in their lives, some to the point of enabling people with substance abuse problems as opposed to letting the authorities 'deal' with them. The complexity and scale of these problems out-strips the empathy required to solve them for many people. The experiences(no health care, mental health issues, prejudice) do not match their own experiences which makes those dealing with them the 'other'. The way to getting some traction with these problems probably lies more in bridging the empathy gap than in the solution space.

wayoutthere 7y ago
> The experiences(no health care, mental health issues, prejudice) do not match their own experiences which makes those dealing with them the 'other'. If things keep going the way they are, those experiences will only become more relatable; not less. I have a good, high-paying job with good benefits and even I am considering going without health insurance because I get so little from the premiums I pay. Most of my providers are out of network because all of the ones in network have 3-12 month waiting lists for new patients. And that’s on top of the $5000 deductible — plus the fact I know if anything serious happens I’d likely have to fight with the insurance company for years and have to take out a loan to cover the treatment in the meantime (I’ve had to do this before, and conversations with others in my situation taught me I was far from alone). Our health insurance system is officially non-functional in my eyes.
- spaceprison 7y ago
  100% These situations will have to become more pervasive because we're talking about shattering identity to adopt change.
  - wayoutthere 7y ago
    The other thing most Americans don’t realize is that many people would be financially better off paying out of pocket and taking a deduction on your tax returns. Trump made that harder for lower and middle class workers with his “tax cut”, but it’s still viable in certain tax brackets. But something tells me that ending risk-pooling in favor of individual tax deductions is the endgame the current GOP has in mind...
low_poly_shiba 7y ago
given that you do not consider these good-to-ingroup-bad-to-outgroup people "mean or bad people", who do you reserve and apply that descriptor for? any examples?
- spaceprison 7y ago
  A middle class dad that's anxious about not having enough cash being told consistently for years that 'others' want more of his money may be a bit selfish or lack perspective but he's not a "bad" person. The same way a substance abuser isn't a "bad" person. Those who feed toxic beliefs/prey on folks' insecurities for personal gain, range from misguided/unscrupulous to bad.

wayoutthere 7y ago

> The experiences(no health care, mental health issues, prejudice) do not match their own experiences which makes those dealing with them the 'other'. If things keep going the way they are, those experiences will only become more relatable; not less. I have a good, high-paying job with good benefits and even I am considering going without health insurance because I get so little from the premiums I pay. Most of my providers are out of network because all of the ones in network have 3-12 month waiting lists for new patients. And that’s on top of the $5000 deductible — plus the fact I know if anything serious happens I’d likely have to fight with the insurance company for years and have to take out a loan to cover the treatment in the meantime (I’ve had to do this before, and conversations with others in my situation taught me I was far from alone). Our health insurance system is officially non-functional in my eyes.

spaceprison 7y ago
100% These situations will have to become more pervasive because we're talking about shattering identity to adopt change.
- wayoutthere 7y ago
  The other thing most Americans don’t realize is that many people would be financially better off paying out of pocket and taking a deduction on your tax returns. Trump made that harder for lower and middle class workers with his “tax cut”, but it’s still viable in certain tax brackets. But something tells me that ending risk-pooling in favor of individual tax deductions is the endgame the current GOP has in mind...

low_poly_shiba 7y ago

given that you do not consider these good-to-ingroup-bad-to-outgroup people "mean or bad people", who do you reserve and apply that descriptor for? any examples?

spaceprison 7y ago
A middle class dad that's anxious about not having enough cash being told consistently for years that 'others' want more of his money may be a bit selfish or lack perspective but he's not a "bad" person. The same way a substance abuser isn't a "bad" person. Those who feed toxic beliefs/prey on folks' insecurities for personal gain, range from misguided/unscrupulous to bad.