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I don't like labeling this type of situation mental illness. That suggests that it's only the individual who is ill. It seems to me that situations like this

by tgflynn 14y ago

I don't like labeling this type of situation mental illness. That suggests that it's only the individual who is ill. It seems to me that situations like this result from a sick system as much or more than from individual sickness.

pharrington 14y ago
No one's saying terrible circumstances don't exist. Mental illness is exasperated by terrible circumstances.
- datashaman 14y ago
  Exacerbated?
crusso 14y ago
Are you saying that the system is broken because some jobs ask you to be a hard worker? The article indicated nothing specific that the company had done wrong. It even admitted that the guy was "well treated and well paid" for his hard work - he just didn't like how he was "respected". It's astonishing me that getting paid and treated well to work hard triggers a comment that the "system is sick".
- tgflynn 14y ago
  It's a matter of human beings being treated like cogs in a machine (which is in fact what they are in today's world). The potential of highly intelligent people is wasted by those who are better at extracting value than creating it. This leads to ever growing frustration which eventually explodes leading to the destruction of peoples lives. These are seen as individual problems but if these trends continue I believe they will lead to the failure of human civilization and possibly of the human species itself. hard worker - exactly the type of concept that the machine uses to exploit the naive.
  - crusso 14y ago
    human beings being treated like cogs in a machine You realize that Hacker News is focused on people starting businesses, right? Why are you here? hard worker - exactly the type of concept that the machine uses to exploit the naive. When you get your car worked on, do you expect that the mechanic should fix your car because you're paying him to or because you give him a hug and tell him that he's a useful human being? When you get a cup of coffee, do you expect the barista to want not only for you to pay for your double whip latte, but to also feel that you're validating her as a human being? The guy was "well paid and well treated". Without an iota of evidence that the business was doing anything wrong besides expecting that its employees do a good job - you indite the system and ignore the probable fact that this guy had mental stability issues that were going to come out either at work, his personal life, wherever.
    - tgflynn 14y ago
      Why are you here ? This is absolutely typical of the problem with society. Judge me, exclude me, push me under a bridge. It doesn't matter what you do to me, the day will come when man will be judged by those he has judged.
      - crusso 14y ago
        I'm not pushing you anywhere. Be here if you like. I was just trying to understand it. Your comments here are about as appropriate as if I'd go to the golf course and go on melodramatically about how awful a sport golf is. At some point, people would ask me, "Why are you here if you don't like golf?"
    - epochwolf 14y ago
      > When you get a cup of coffee, do you expect the barista to want not only for you to pay for your double whip latte, but to also feel that you're validating her as a human being? Yes. I go out of my way to do so. I do try to find things to praise because these people have tons of negative interactions everyday. I do my best to make my interactions with them positive.
dspeyer 14y ago
This comment really bugs me and I'm not sure why. Somehow I keep hearing in my head "I don't like labeling these gunshot wounds as 'injuries', what's really wrong is the environment full of random gunfire". It's the individual who is suffering, and that's important. Is illness supposed to be a cause, and not a result?

by tgflynn 14y ago

pharrington 14y ago

No one's saying terrible circumstances don't exist. Mental illness is exasperated by terrible circumstances.

datashaman 14y ago
Exacerbated?

crusso 14y ago

Are you saying that the system is broken because some jobs ask you to be a hard worker? The article indicated nothing specific that the company had done wrong. It even admitted that the guy was "well treated and well paid" for his hard work - he just didn't like how he was "respected". It's astonishing me that getting paid and treated well to work hard triggers a comment that the "system is sick".

tgflynn 14y ago
It's a matter of human beings being treated like cogs in a machine (which is in fact what they are in today's world). The potential of highly intelligent people is wasted by those who are better at extracting value than creating it. This leads to ever growing frustration which eventually explodes leading to the destruction of peoples lives. These are seen as individual problems but if these trends continue I believe they will lead to the failure of human civilization and possibly of the human species itself. hard worker - exactly the type of concept that the machine uses to exploit the naive.
- crusso 14y ago
  human beings being treated like cogs in a machine You realize that Hacker News is focused on people starting businesses, right? Why are you here? hard worker - exactly the type of concept that the machine uses to exploit the naive. When you get your car worked on, do you expect that the mechanic should fix your car because you're paying him to or because you give him a hug and tell him that he's a useful human being? When you get a cup of coffee, do you expect the barista to want not only for you to pay for your double whip latte, but to also feel that you're validating her as a human being? The guy was "well paid and well treated". Without an iota of evidence that the business was doing anything wrong besides expecting that its employees do a good job - you indite the system and ignore the probable fact that this guy had mental stability issues that were going to come out either at work, his personal life, wherever.
  - tgflynn 14y ago
    Why are you here ? This is absolutely typical of the problem with society. Judge me, exclude me, push me under a bridge. It doesn't matter what you do to me, the day will come when man will be judged by those he has judged.
    - crusso 14y ago
      I'm not pushing you anywhere. Be here if you like. I was just trying to understand it. Your comments here are about as appropriate as if I'd go to the golf course and go on melodramatically about how awful a sport golf is. At some point, people would ask me, "Why are you here if you don't like golf?"
  - epochwolf 14y ago
    > When you get a cup of coffee, do you expect the barista to want not only for you to pay for your double whip latte, but to also feel that you're validating her as a human being? Yes. I go out of my way to do so. I do try to find things to praise because these people have tons of negative interactions everyday. I do my best to make my interactions with them positive.

dspeyer 14y ago

This comment really bugs me and I'm not sure why. Somehow I keep hearing in my head "I don't like labeling these gunshot wounds as 'injuries', what's really wrong is the environment full of random gunfire". It's the individual who is suffering, and that's important. Is illness supposed to be a cause, and not a result?