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What's with the demeaning sarcasm? No one - except you - said that building software and getting aids are the only two options. I'm sure you can see what he int

What's with the demeaning sarcasm? No one - except you - said that building software and getting aids are the only two options. I'm sure you can see what he intended - there are many, many other options, starting with a low-skill low-wage job.

lmartel 13y ago
I responded with sarcasm because I'm sick of comments like the parent. Whenever anyone brings up the possibility of creating a proper safety net in the US, or if anyone just mentions that, hey, there are some people in our country living in unbelievably shitty conditions--there's always someone ready to say "no, they deserve it, they're just lazy." It boggles my fucking mind that someone on HN, who's probably pretty well-educated, who's probably living comfortably on a cushy tech job, could say with a straight face that poor people, as an aggregate, are lazy leeches who would rather get AIDS than get work as dishwashers. A nontrivial fraction of people who read this article respond with scorn for the people involved, rather than concern about the system that puts people in these positions. That squashes any possibility of political or social change. Look at some of the other comments in this thread--"why don't they just get jobs?" Willful ignorance at its worst.
- gnarbarian 13y ago
  Great you went from infantile mockery to grossly misrepresenting my argument. I suppose that's progress. I'm not sure where to begin with this. Poor people aren't lazy. But someone who would rather contract aids than work IS a worthless lazy leech. So am I to believe that you think all educated people working in the tech industry hold far left views? That is naive beyond description.
  - lmartel 13y ago
    Your argument is that >[the people in the article] would quite literally rather die a slow painful death than work and support themselves And that argument is stupid. I don't care if you call yourself a conservative, people will call you out if you say something stupid. My point wasn't that you should be a liberal, my point is that you're smart enough to know better. You keep saying these people would rather have AIDS than work. You're naive for thinking that they have the option to work; they would rather have AIDS than starve in a gutter.
    - gnarbarian 13y ago
      Perhaps I never had a choice to make any other argument because I was underprivileged and I couldn't figure out how to ride the bus to get to the library to read about just how underprivileged other people can be. Calling my argument stupid in such a situation would be a lack of your ability to check your own 'sociology' privilege.
      - lmartel 13y ago
        All I'm saying is that you should think about what's more likely--that people would rather get AIDS than work, or that work isn't always easy/possible to find.

lmartel 13y ago

I responded with sarcasm because I'm sick of comments like the parent. Whenever anyone brings up the possibility of creating a proper safety net in the US, or if anyone just mentions that, hey, there are some people in our country living in unbelievably shitty conditions--there's always someone ready to say "no, they deserve it, they're just lazy." It boggles my fucking mind that someone on HN, who's probably pretty well-educated, who's probably living comfortably on a cushy tech job, could say with a straight face that poor people, as an aggregate, are lazy leeches who would rather get AIDS than get work as dishwashers. A nontrivial fraction of people who read this article respond with scorn for the people involved, rather than concern about the system that puts people in these positions. That squashes any possibility of political or social change. Look at some of the other comments in this thread--"why don't they just get jobs?" Willful ignorance at its worst.

gnarbarian 13y ago
Great you went from infantile mockery to grossly misrepresenting my argument. I suppose that's progress. I'm not sure where to begin with this. Poor people aren't lazy. But someone who would rather contract aids than work IS a worthless lazy leech. So am I to believe that you think all educated people working in the tech industry hold far left views? That is naive beyond description.
- lmartel 13y ago
  Your argument is that >[the people in the article] would quite literally rather die a slow painful death than work and support themselves And that argument is stupid. I don't care if you call yourself a conservative, people will call you out if you say something stupid. My point wasn't that you should be a liberal, my point is that you're smart enough to know better. You keep saying these people would rather have AIDS than work. You're naive for thinking that they have the option to work; they would rather have AIDS than starve in a gutter.
  - gnarbarian 13y ago
    Perhaps I never had a choice to make any other argument because I was underprivileged and I couldn't figure out how to ride the bus to get to the library to read about just how underprivileged other people can be. Calling my argument stupid in such a situation would be a lack of your ability to check your own 'sociology' privilege.
    - lmartel 13y ago
      All I'm saying is that you should think about what's more likely--that people would rather get AIDS than work, or that work isn't always easy/possible to find.