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Similar articles just show how spoiled and priviledged the authors truly are. I've seen some baffling things here on HN too, such as people preferring to only

Similar articles just show how spoiled and priviledged the authors truly are. I've seen some baffling things here on HN too, such as people preferring to only be informed using push notifications about the crisis, personalized for their area, nothing else, because that's more convenient than looking up information, or the other day, deciding to block COVID-19 related news entirely, instead of selecting a trusted news source and rationing their exposure to the media.

capableweb 7y ago
Is it so baffling that people are getting tired of reading about COVID-19 though? I mean, I've been in quarantine for at least 1 month now, and gonna be at least 2 more weeks. I'd like to read about other things than COVID-19, especially since I can't really take any other action than to stay at home, especially because it would be illegal for me to not be at home. So yeah, I'm one of the people who have started removing and blocking things that are mentioning COVID-19, since I can't really do anything about it. Once something actionable comes up, I'll hear it in the official press conferences from my country's government. I guess luckily, my HN blocker only blocks mentions of COVID-19 and "corona virus", so the keyword "Coronapocalypse" managed to get through, and here I am...
- dessant 7y ago
  I think it again comes down to one's priviledge. If you have the possibility to isolate yourself for months and you don't have to worry about anyone else, you may be able to afford to block the news entirely. Everyone else needs to read the news (5 minutes a day is enough), because it may contain important information. Consider how you may miss a changed bus schedule announced on a local news site with "due to coronavirus" in the title. Same thing about the local supermarket, you may get home without food while exposing yourself and your family to additional risk. You may also be fined for failing to present specific papers when you leave your home for groceries, for which the requirement may have been announced a day prior. Reading the news is crucial for most of us during this period, we just have to do it responsibly. Here's also a great explanation for why reading the news could make a difference for you: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22783044 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22783044 > Plus I learned by the news that losing sense of smell and taste was a likely indicator of Covid-19. I got tested and discovered I was positive.
  - soneca 7y ago
    I would never know about bus and local supermarket hours and changes through the news in any of the two cities that I lived in my life (Sao Paulo and Los Angeles). I would (and I did) find the supermarket and the bus company websites. That's not "news". Cutting all news is a good strategy for some people for improving mental health. Just like anyone can have a cabinet full of chocolate and just control themselves to each a small piece twice a week, but it's much more efficient to just not have chocolate at all at home. Also, the general tone of people that don't want to read news anymore is that they personally don't want it for themselves only. So, that's unrelated to people that consider it crucial and want to do it responsibly. Lastly, I've seen this desire of consuming less or no news in a lot of people that are not the "HN crowd" or privileged people in terms of money.
    - dessant 7y ago
      > I would never know about bus and local supermarket hours and changes through the news in any of the two cities that I lived in my life (Sao Paulo and Los Angeles). I would (and I did) find the supermarket and the bus company websites. That's not "news". That was your experience before this crisis. I've got hold of such information from a local news site a week ago, while official sites remained unchanged for a couple more days. I'm sure there are places where everything is well oiled, but for most of us things don't just snap into place and we need to be aware of our surroundings as much as it's tolerable for our mental health.
      - keiferski 7y ago
        Checking the news once a day for 15 minutes is more than sufficient. Keep in mind that the overwhelming majority of people aren’t on Twitter, don’t know what push notifications are, and really don’t need to do anything other than stay at home, wear a mask, and avoid others. Constantly refreshing media sites really isn’t productive or helpful.
        dessant 7y ago
        I agree and that's what I'm advocating too, checking a trusted news source once a day.
throwlaplace 7y ago
Hey there be careful pointing out that articles like this are worthless and just about privilege - hn doesn't take kindly to being called out. current downvote: -2
- leetcrew 7y ago
  the article is explicitly targeting white collar tech workers. of course it's a privileged take. this isn't a callout so much as restating the intro of the article.
  - throwlaplace 7y ago
    >including, potentially, re-location to areas with a lower cost of living as someone else has said: how many white collar tech workers can re-locate at the drop of a hat?
    - leetcrew 7y ago
      not many, unless you're deciding right now whether to renew your lease for the next year. this is an odd thing to pick on though. > As others have discussed, one can minimize the impact of a recession by maximizing one’s personal runway, which involves cost-cutting measures (including, potentially, re-location to areas with a lower cost of living). in context, this is a brief aside where he's explaining that he's not going to cover general cost-cutting in your personal life. it's tangential to the topic addressed by the article.
gdy 7y ago
What's wrong with being privileged?
- throwlaplace 7y ago
  There's nothing wrong or right about being privileged. It is for many people inescapable. There is definitely something wrong with being ignorant of your own privilege though.
  - pinkfoot 7y ago
    True. There is also something wrong with not being able to determine the extent of your own privilege for yourself.
  - gdy 7y ago
    What's wrong with being ignorant of it?
    - throwlaplace 7y ago
      I know you think you're very clever with this reductio ad absurdem nonsense but you're not. The only thing you're accomplishing here is demonstrating that you can't be bothered to be empathic. And just to head you off at the pass: there's nothing wrong with it but do let us know explicitly so we can shun you.
  - imtringued 7y ago
    Why should I feel bad because a starfish doesn't have legs? The privilege meme is ultimately pointless because it argues that there is an objective measure of something that is fundamentally subjective. Really the primary goal shouldn't be to care about who you are. Instead you should focus on positive sum thinking. Find ways to help people in a way that doesn't drag others down.
    - throwlaplace 7y ago
      >Really the primary goal shouldn't be to care about who you are. i don't understand at all what you're talking about. privilege isn't about you. it's exactly about other people relative to you and empathizing with them despite being that much more privileged.
scarface74 7y ago
You act as if having a smart phone with data that can run apps is for the privilege few. Smartphones are ubiquitous in the poorest countries.

capableweb 7y ago

Is it so baffling that people are getting tired of reading about COVID-19 though? I mean, I've been in quarantine for at least 1 month now, and gonna be at least 2 more weeks. I'd like to read about other things than COVID-19, especially since I can't really take any other action than to stay at home, especially because it would be illegal for me to not be at home. So yeah, I'm one of the people who have started removing and blocking things that are mentioning COVID-19, since I can't really do anything about it. Once something actionable comes up, I'll hear it in the official press conferences from my country's government. I guess luckily, my HN blocker only blocks mentions of COVID-19 and "corona virus", so the keyword "Coronapocalypse" managed to get through, and here I am...

dessant 7y ago
I think it again comes down to one's priviledge. If you have the possibility to isolate yourself for months and you don't have to worry about anyone else, you may be able to afford to block the news entirely. Everyone else needs to read the news (5 minutes a day is enough), because it may contain important information. Consider how you may miss a changed bus schedule announced on a local news site with "due to coronavirus" in the title. Same thing about the local supermarket, you may get home without food while exposing yourself and your family to additional risk. You may also be fined for failing to present specific papers when you leave your home for groceries, for which the requirement may have been announced a day prior. Reading the news is crucial for most of us during this period, we just have to do it responsibly. Here's also a great explanation for why reading the news could make a difference for you: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22783044 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22783044 > Plus I learned by the news that losing sense of smell and taste was a likely indicator of Covid-19. I got tested and discovered I was positive.
- soneca 7y ago
  I would never know about bus and local supermarket hours and changes through the news in any of the two cities that I lived in my life (Sao Paulo and Los Angeles). I would (and I did) find the supermarket and the bus company websites. That's not "news". Cutting all news is a good strategy for some people for improving mental health. Just like anyone can have a cabinet full of chocolate and just control themselves to each a small piece twice a week, but it's much more efficient to just not have chocolate at all at home. Also, the general tone of people that don't want to read news anymore is that they personally don't want it for themselves only. So, that's unrelated to people that consider it crucial and want to do it responsibly. Lastly, I've seen this desire of consuming less or no news in a lot of people that are not the "HN crowd" or privileged people in terms of money.
  - dessant 7y ago
    > I would never know about bus and local supermarket hours and changes through the news in any of the two cities that I lived in my life (Sao Paulo and Los Angeles). I would (and I did) find the supermarket and the bus company websites. That's not "news". That was your experience before this crisis. I've got hold of such information from a local news site a week ago, while official sites remained unchanged for a couple more days. I'm sure there are places where everything is well oiled, but for most of us things don't just snap into place and we need to be aware of our surroundings as much as it's tolerable for our mental health.
    - keiferski 7y ago
      Checking the news once a day for 15 minutes is more than sufficient. Keep in mind that the overwhelming majority of people aren’t on Twitter, don’t know what push notifications are, and really don’t need to do anything other than stay at home, wear a mask, and avoid others. Constantly refreshing media sites really isn’t productive or helpful.
      - dessant 7y ago
        I agree and that's what I'm advocating too, checking a trusted news source once a day.

throwlaplace 7y ago

Hey there be careful pointing out that articles like this are worthless and just about privilege - hn doesn't take kindly to being called out. current downvote: -2

leetcrew 7y ago
the article is explicitly targeting white collar tech workers. of course it's a privileged take. this isn't a callout so much as restating the intro of the article.
- throwlaplace 7y ago
  >including, potentially, re-location to areas with a lower cost of living as someone else has said: how many white collar tech workers can re-locate at the drop of a hat?
  - leetcrew 7y ago
    not many, unless you're deciding right now whether to renew your lease for the next year. this is an odd thing to pick on though. > As others have discussed, one can minimize the impact of a recession by maximizing one’s personal runway, which involves cost-cutting measures (including, potentially, re-location to areas with a lower cost of living). in context, this is a brief aside where he's explaining that he's not going to cover general cost-cutting in your personal life. it's tangential to the topic addressed by the article.

gdy 7y ago

What's wrong with being privileged?

throwlaplace 7y ago
There's nothing wrong or right about being privileged. It is for many people inescapable. There is definitely something wrong with being ignorant of your own privilege though.
- pinkfoot 7y ago
  True. There is also something wrong with not being able to determine the extent of your own privilege for yourself.
- gdy 7y ago
  What's wrong with being ignorant of it?
  - throwlaplace 7y ago
    I know you think you're very clever with this reductio ad absurdem nonsense but you're not. The only thing you're accomplishing here is demonstrating that you can't be bothered to be empathic. And just to head you off at the pass: there's nothing wrong with it but do let us know explicitly so we can shun you.
- imtringued 7y ago
  Why should I feel bad because a starfish doesn't have legs? The privilege meme is ultimately pointless because it argues that there is an objective measure of something that is fundamentally subjective. Really the primary goal shouldn't be to care about who you are. Instead you should focus on positive sum thinking. Find ways to help people in a way that doesn't drag others down.
  - throwlaplace 7y ago
    >Really the primary goal shouldn't be to care about who you are. i don't understand at all what you're talking about. privilege isn't about you. it's exactly about other people relative to you and empathizing with them despite being that much more privileged.

scarface74 7y ago

You act as if having a smart phone with data that can run apps is for the privilege few. Smartphones are ubiquitous in the poorest countries.