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Completely irrelevant to the main discussion, but this got me wondering. Why is equating poverty to bad/meager/lacking considered distasteful? Wouldn't anybody

Completely irrelevant to the main discussion, but this got me wondering. Why is equating poverty to bad/meager/lacking considered distasteful? Wouldn't anybody in poverty agree that it's a pretty accurate comparison? Are there really any harmful stereotypes being perpetuated here? I can't think of any.

zuminator 5y ago
I would say at the very least that "low spec" is more accurate than "poverty spec." A financially comfortable hobbyist or developer might pick up a low spec device or three for testing or mucking about with. And someone who's really in poverty is probably not well-served by a poverty spec device that is poorly made and might break down in a couple of months or might be hampered to the extent of being no more than a toy. They might be much better off getting a decently specced used device. To your larger question, the problem of why equating "poverty" with being bad is that as human beings we have the tendency of overgeneralizing negative characteristics, sometimes called the Horn Effect. A person is poor, and that's bad, and therefore the person themself is bad.
- IncRnd 5y ago
  Poverty spec is an actual term that gets used and wasn't invented by the OP. Poverty spec generally refers to purchasing an expensive item, such as a high-end car, then choosing the lowest-cost, entry-level options. It doesn't normally mean just purchasing an inexpensive computer.
  - pengaru 5y ago
    Poverty refers to the impoverished, which generally implies in need of assistance from others and has negative connotations entirely unrelated to what's being discussed here. The laptop is targeting a specific price point, its specs are appropriate to that price point. There are plenty of reasons to want a low-cost linux laptop that have absolutely nothing to do with being poor.
    - deleted 5y ago
      [deleted]
yaseer 5y ago
'Poverty spec' is an old joke colloquialism usually associated with Luxury cars, specced to the minimum price. Using the phrase now in this context can feel jarring. I think taste and sensibilities have changed - lots of old jokes don't land like they used to.

zuminator 5y ago

I would say at the very least that "low spec" is more accurate than "poverty spec." A financially comfortable hobbyist or developer might pick up a low spec device or three for testing or mucking about with. And someone who's really in poverty is probably not well-served by a poverty spec device that is poorly made and might break down in a couple of months or might be hampered to the extent of being no more than a toy. They might be much better off getting a decently specced used device. To your larger question, the problem of why equating "poverty" with being bad is that as human beings we have the tendency of overgeneralizing negative characteristics, sometimes called the Horn Effect. A person is poor, and that's bad, and therefore the person themself is bad.

IncRnd 5y ago
Poverty spec is an actual term that gets used and wasn't invented by the OP. Poverty spec generally refers to purchasing an expensive item, such as a high-end car, then choosing the lowest-cost, entry-level options. It doesn't normally mean just purchasing an inexpensive computer.
- pengaru 5y ago
  Poverty refers to the impoverished, which generally implies in need of assistance from others and has negative connotations entirely unrelated to what's being discussed here. The laptop is targeting a specific price point, its specs are appropriate to that price point. There are plenty of reasons to want a low-cost linux laptop that have absolutely nothing to do with being poor.
  - deleted 5y ago
    [deleted]

yaseer 5y ago

'Poverty spec' is an old joke colloquialism usually associated with Luxury cars, specced to the minimum price. Using the phrase now in this context can feel jarring. I think taste and sensibilities have changed - lots of old jokes don't land like they used to.