15 ms·

Ok, fair enough. However, this type of comment is subject to the following problem: for any assignemnt of privilege, there is always someone poorer or more wret

by Gatsky 6y ago

Ok, fair enough. However, this type of comment is subject to the following problem: for any assignemnt of privilege, there is always someone poorer or more wretched than the person making this assignment, all the way down to a child born with no mind due to Zika virus who is cast aside by her family and dies alone in a ditch. Furthermore, the arc of privilege is logarithmic. So although I agree with you in some sense, I find I can't in good faith criticise someone for being privileged. Is it not inherently hypocritical, as the 'privilege gap' I perceive (either between me and the person, or between some societal band and the person) is minimal compared to the gap between me and everyone else less privileged than I?

Baeocystin 6y ago
I'm actually surprised at the number of folks who appear to have interpreted my comment as one regarding privilege. That wasn't my intent at all. As another commenter noted, it's about the hierarchy of needs. Perhaps I should have left off the 'and frankly, insulting' bit. I meant intellectually insulting, as it is exceedingly easy to see that it's bad advice if you took the time to check. I have yet to meet someone who downplays the importance of money who doesn't also come from enough wealth that they've never had it be a real concern. This is frustrating in multiple ways- one, it shows that they have a strong disconnect from the day to day reality for the majority of humanity. That doesn't make them a bad person. It does bring in to question the universal applicability of their advice. Secondly, being currently wealthy is no guarantee that someone will maintain that state in perpetuity. Having respect and gratefulness for what money provides, instead of downplaying it, goes a long way towards being able to preserve it. There's a reason the pattern goes from rags to riches to rags again across three generations, and it's not just regression towards the mean.

by Gatsky 6y ago

Baeocystin 6y ago

I'm actually surprised at the number of folks who appear to have interpreted my comment as one regarding privilege. That wasn't my intent at all. As another commenter noted, it's about the hierarchy of needs. Perhaps I should have left off the 'and frankly, insulting' bit. I meant intellectually insulting, as it is exceedingly easy to see that it's bad advice if you took the time to check. I have yet to meet someone who downplays the importance of money who doesn't also come from enough wealth that they've never had it be a real concern. This is frustrating in multiple ways- one, it shows that they have a strong disconnect from the day to day reality for the majority of humanity. That doesn't make them a bad person. It does bring in to question the universal applicability of their advice. Secondly, being currently wealthy is no guarantee that someone will maintain that state in perpetuity. Having respect and gratefulness for what money provides, instead of downplaying it, goes a long way towards being able to preserve it. There's a reason the pattern goes from rags to riches to rags again across three generations, and it's not just regression towards the mean.