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As a non-car owner, I ride the bus almost daily. The average bus rider is less capable than the average Universality educated white collar tech worker in the p

by jariel 6y ago

As a non-car owner, I ride the bus almost daily. The average bus rider is less capable than the average Universality educated white collar tech worker in the professional sense, at least in terms of wage earning potential. Ironically it would be someone without exposure to the 'bus world' who would have some utopian view that somehow all these bus riders are 'the same as professionals'. My hunch is that it is white, upper middle class professionals without exposure who have this naive perspective as only entitled people can afford to. It's pretty obvious riding the bus daily, that on average, that is not the case. What is 'jaw dropping' is the lack of self awareness int many people seem to have difficulty accepting these simple facts, even if they don't 'feel' very nice. 'The bus' (esp. not the subway) is the domain of the urban working class - full stop. "is more environmentally friendly" - this is irrelevant to the argument - the question is, why imbue the debate with side-show moralizing? Those on ballpark equal footing who entered your high-school all had various opportunities in life, those who consistently put their best feet forward (usually measured by better grades but often not), were more consistently likely to have better opportunities. Not always, but usually. Those who entered the work force and did 'a terrible job' were, by and large - not advanced. Those who did 'a good job' - mostly had more opportunity. Obviously it's not always the case, but it usually is. The people going to Medical School, mostly, are really really impressive folks. The people stocking shelves, while they could be as great as pre-meds, and whatever talents they have are probably under utilized ... are nevertheless not in pre-med generally for good reason: the system is crudely meritocratic.

tyu2 6y ago
You should read some Nassim Taleb or something, because what you are saying is too nonsensical, like there is no awareness of chances in your arguments whatsoever, as if this dystopian concept of merit is somehow actually real.
_qulr 6y ago
> As a non-car owner, I ride the bus almost daily. > The average bus rider is less capable than the average Universality educated white collar tech worker in the professional sense, You ride the bus. Some university educated white collar tech workers ride the bus. So why even bring up the bus? Denigrating bus riders doesn't help your argument at all, it's a red herring, as is speaking of "average" people, because averages often overlook the wide range of values within the population. > at least in terms of wage earning potential. That's not the interesting question here, otherwise "we have a meritocracy" would be almost a tautology. > 'The bus' (esp. not the subway) is the domain of the urban working class - full stop. Maybe we shouldn't full stop, but rather talk about the demographics of the urban working class... > "is more environmentally friendly" - this is irrelevant to the argument - the question is, why imbue the debate with side-show moralizing? Because riding the bus could be seen as a sign of conscientiousness, education, and intelligence, in contrast to your characterization of bus riders, and refusal to ride the bus as a sign of selfishness and immorality. Personally, I make no generalizations about bus riders. I tended to keep to myself on public transportation and thought it strange when someone wanted to talk to a stranger out of the blue. So it would be very unlikely for anyone to have experienced an intelligent, interesting conversation with me on the bus, regardless of my level of intelligence. > the system is crudely meritocratic This is not the defense you think it is. Few think the system is entirely random, or on the other hand, perfect. The level of crudeness is precisely why we're constantly debating the system.

by jariel 6y ago

tyu2 6y ago

You should read some Nassim Taleb or something, because what you are saying is too nonsensical, like there is no awareness of chances in your arguments whatsoever, as if this dystopian concept of merit is somehow actually real.

_qulr 6y ago

> As a non-car owner, I ride the bus almost daily. > The average bus rider is less capable than the average Universality educated white collar tech worker in the professional sense, You ride the bus. Some university educated white collar tech workers ride the bus. So why even bring up the bus? Denigrating bus riders doesn't help your argument at all, it's a red herring, as is speaking of "average" people, because averages often overlook the wide range of values within the population. > at least in terms of wage earning potential. That's not the interesting question here, otherwise "we have a meritocracy" would be almost a tautology. > 'The bus' (esp. not the subway) is the domain of the urban working class - full stop. Maybe we shouldn't full stop, but rather talk about the demographics of the urban working class... > "is more environmentally friendly" - this is irrelevant to the argument - the question is, why imbue the debate with side-show moralizing? Because riding the bus could be seen as a sign of conscientiousness, education, and intelligence, in contrast to your characterization of bus riders, and refusal to ride the bus as a sign of selfishness and immorality. Personally, I make no generalizations about bus riders. I tended to keep to myself on public transportation and thought it strange when someone wanted to talk to a stranger out of the blue. So it would be very unlikely for anyone to have experienced an intelligent, interesting conversation with me on the bus, regardless of my level of intelligence. > the system is crudely meritocratic This is not the defense you think it is. Few think the system is entirely random, or on the other hand, perfect. The level of crudeness is precisely why we're constantly debating the system.