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I’m going to assume that you’re young with limited life experience, which allows you to think that life is that clear-cut. I’d argue, but experience tells me I’
by mikestew 7y ago
I’m going to assume that you’re young with limited life experience, which allows you to think that life is that clear-cut. I’d argue, but experience tells me I’ll have to wait until life decides its your turn to stand in front of the steam roller.
A much less charitable interpretation has you making convenient answers so that you can conveniently wash your hands of social responsibility. But, man, I hate think that about anyone, even anonymous internet commenters.
- geggam 7y agoWrong. 5 decades in, started in the trailer park and worked my way up. Had enough life challenges to understand how this stuff works.
- mikestew 7y agoThen I guess option B is all I’m left with.
- geggam 7y agoOK little story here Abusive drunk family, plenty of legal issues as a child, ran over by a drunk driver, ( flatlined 3 times in ICU for a month and disabled ), divorced 2 times, 2 kids, married again, adopted 2 kids, worked my way into silicon valley, now I do ok cliff notes of my life. Judge me all you want but what I have learned is life is a fight to the death. You can lay down and let it run over you complaining about how the deck is stacked against you or you can do the best you can. Your choice. I have and will continue to help those who I see fighting the good fight but I have no empathy for quitters.
- Frondo 7y agoThis is a bad way to run a society, that everyone is "in a fight to the death," especially for the wealthiest nation in history. We're sitting on enough resources to feed and house everyone, and the rich would still be fabulously rich. "I struggled, therefore struggle is okay" is not the answer.
- geggam 7y agoI didn't quit and because of that succeeded in spite of the obstacles. There is your example. Trust me... being on disability was an option and quite tempting. I wanted more out of life than to sit around letting others take care of me.
- Frondo 7y agoYou know that statement, the plural of anecdote is not data? Lots of people struggle and what you're describing is just crab bucket. You struggled so you think it's okay if everyone does. It's not.
- geggam 7y agoNot struggling through life would be what I call privilege. Someone did struggle and gave you that privilege. No one coasts through life without someone struggling.
- manthedudeguy 7y ago"Everyone should have it as bad as I did!"
- dang 7y agoPlease don't cross into personal attack in HN comments. You did that upthread and then did it more here. That's the wrong way to go. Please review https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html and eliminate that kind of swipe out of your posts here—regardless of how wrong or annoying you feel another commenter is being. Maybe you don't owe them better, but you owe this community better if you're participating in it.
- __blockcipher__ 7y agoWhat a horrifically uncharitable assumption to make. Why not just actually argue the point you want to make rather than resorting to not-so-subtle personal attacks?
- toomuchtodo 7y agoIt’s uncharitable to have a disdain for those without empathy when a large component of success is luck? If you think success is guaranteed with grit and hard work, you are woefully misinformed. You can do everything right and still fail hard. “Personal responsibility” is a dog whistle for the willful ignorance of the necessity of government regulation and social safety nets.
- geggam 7y agoGranted I only have 5 decades of perspective but I have noticed people who get lucky tend to be the ones who dont quit. The ones who quit tend to call those who dont quit lucky.
- toomuchtodo 7y agoAnd those who don’t quit and still die in the gutter? “Lack of hustle”? Your five decades is a drop in the bucket of human experience. I recommend more empathy and introspection on suffering of your fellow human.
- geggam 7y agoI am not the only person with this perspective. Some very accomplished people agree with me. “Shallow men believe in luck or in circumstance. Strong men believe in cause and effect.” ― Ralph Waldo Emerson You don't know that dying in a gutter was actually better than the other option for their life.
- deleted 7y ago[deleted]