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This blind spot got so big because the vast majority of wealthy Bay Area tech workers have never been poor or homeless. It is difficult for those that have neve

This blind spot got so big because the vast majority of wealthy Bay Area tech workers have never been poor or homeless. It is difficult for those that have never lived in poverty to understand the struggles that it brings. Just look at his thread, see how many people fail to comprehend that if someone is using the library computers they aren't going to be able to afford a $25 key-chain verifier.

daniel_reetz 4y ago
Yes. The overwhelming majority of people that I worked with in SV had never been poor, never been homeless, never worked a fast food or customer facing retail job, and never lacked support from family or some kind of extended network. They were accustomed to lightning fast internet on Macbooks and constant technological churn. Unfortunately for these exceptional people, poverty is logic resistant and nearly impossible to understand second-hand.
- KennyBlanken 4y ago
  There's a strong right-wing libertarian element among tech workers, particularly the near-retirement-age ones and the ones fresh out of school. Their logic is that poor people are poor because they didn't stay in school or were lazy or stupid, and thus aren't deserving of services and support. The tech scene's obsession with meritocracy is an extension of this.
cortesoft 4y ago
> It is difficult for those that have never lived in poverty to understand the struggles that it brings. I think this is giving too big of a pass to wealthy people. If wealthy people put in the effort, it isn't hard to understand the struggles that living in poverty bring. I think a better way of putting it is "It is very easy for those that have never lived in poverty to not consider the struggles that it brings". There is no difficulty in understanding, it is just easier to not every try to understand, so many wealthy people don't. It is a choice, though.

daniel_reetz 4y ago

Yes. The overwhelming majority of people that I worked with in SV had never been poor, never been homeless, never worked a fast food or customer facing retail job, and never lacked support from family or some kind of extended network. They were accustomed to lightning fast internet on Macbooks and constant technological churn. Unfortunately for these exceptional people, poverty is logic resistant and nearly impossible to understand second-hand.

KennyBlanken 4y ago
There's a strong right-wing libertarian element among tech workers, particularly the near-retirement-age ones and the ones fresh out of school. Their logic is that poor people are poor because they didn't stay in school or were lazy or stupid, and thus aren't deserving of services and support. The tech scene's obsession with meritocracy is an extension of this.

cortesoft 4y ago

> It is difficult for those that have never lived in poverty to understand the struggles that it brings. I think this is giving too big of a pass to wealthy people. If wealthy people put in the effort, it isn't hard to understand the struggles that living in poverty bring. I think a better way of putting it is "It is very easy for those that have never lived in poverty to not consider the struggles that it brings". There is no difficulty in understanding, it is just easier to not every try to understand, so many wealthy people don't. It is a choice, though.