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Fucking Hell. With all the smart people on HN, why can't we have things like a filter for "author has worked a real job once in their life" or "author possesses

Fucking Hell. With all the smart people on HN, why can't we have things like a filter for "author has worked a real job once in their life" or "author possesses overinflated sense of own empathy while directly demonstrating contempt for no good reason" You know, I'm trying really hard not to flame you, I really am. It comes off as extremely douchey to tell people whose problems are much harder than yours -- and if you have time to comment on HN, this is true -- that they can always say no. It's extremely presumptuous, to say the least, to enumerate someone else's life options and then write off their current difficulties as a matter of choice. Why don't these old people just go to college so they can get a professional job? Completely incompatible with the idea of being empathetic, which implies understanding of someone's situation on an emotional level, not just a rational level.

snprbob86 14y ago
"implies understanding of someone's situation on an emotional level, not just a rational level." You've identified the difference between sympathy and empathy. OK, fine. I have plenty of sympathy, but no empathy in this situation. I deeply understand that this must suck for people who don't have a choice. All I'm saying is that it's absolutely ridiculous to cry over the fact that somebody else's superior forced them to work late/hard one night. The original author should not feel any culpability for that. If there's any emotion I'd share here, it would be anger at those superiors, not a sense of guilt. "It comes off as extremely douchey to tell people [...] that they can always say no." The person I replied to was talking about a different person and suggested that person went the extra mile, hoping for some repeat business. That is absolutely optional. I have no idea if the delivery people in the original story had a choice, but I wasn't speaking about them.

snprbob86 14y ago

"implies understanding of someone's situation on an emotional level, not just a rational level." You've identified the difference between sympathy and empathy. OK, fine. I have plenty of sympathy, but no empathy in this situation. I deeply understand that this must suck for people who don't have a choice. All I'm saying is that it's absolutely ridiculous to cry over the fact that somebody else's superior forced them to work late/hard one night. The original author should not feel any culpability for that. If there's any emotion I'd share here, it would be anger at those superiors, not a sense of guilt. "It comes off as extremely douchey to tell people [...] that they can always say no." The person I replied to was talking about a different person and suggested that person went the extra mile, hoping for some repeat business. That is absolutely optional. I have no idea if the delivery people in the original story had a choice, but I wasn't speaking about them.