4 ms·

I don't think I've read a more privileged, arrogant, myopic comment in a very long time. In what world is it your role to judge a person for going to work ever

I don't think I've read a more privileged, arrogant, myopic comment in a very long time. In what world is it your role to judge a person for going to work every day to feed their family? "Basically, it's your opportunity to remind them that their job is to sit in a little cube talking to people who are actually out there leading exciting lives." I'm trying not to read that sentence in the voice of a young English aristocrat from the 1920s, but that's how it sounds. Mocking the working class for the distasteful faux pas of needing a paycheck to survive? You are blessed for having been able to find a way to live a life of travel and pleasure while others have to worry about which bills they can pay, hope they don't get sick, and dream of someday being able to take even one vacation. Does that mean you are better than them? You certainly seem to think so. "One day they'll quit . . . the ones that need this sort of treatment . . ." Honestly, listen to yourself. Are you some authority appointed to correct the misbehavior of your inferiors? No. You're a guy with talent who drew the right cards, played them well, and was rewarded with a life others would like to have. Learn a lesson about humility from my grandmother who grew up in the Great Depression, and reminded me always to tell myself "there, but for the grace of God, go I." On a side note, I see that you are the founder of Twiddla. Not that the opinion of a single user matters, but as a user, I will now look for an alternative. I have no interest in supporting such arrogance.

jasonkester 13y ago
Are you some authority appointed to correct the misbehavior of your inferiors? No. If you came away with that impression then you may have misread my intent. My stance is that mean people deserve to live an unhappy life. No more. Nice people, as noted in the comment you responded to, receive no such treatment from me. Mean people get a fictionalized account of a person leading a much better life than themselves, delivered by a person who in actual fact is not likely leading a much more interesting life at all. As a mean person, the theory goes, one can continue being mean and thus unhappy. Or they can start being nice and be treated nicely. Notice how class does not enter into it at all.
- jaysonelliot 13y ago
  Do you think for a moment about what that person had to put up with for the hours before you arrived that day, or will continue to deal with after you leave? Is it not enough that you've managed to retire as a young man and lounge on the beaches of Thailand, do you also need to be treated with smiles and deference by people who still have to go to work every day? They have a job to do, and your abuse isn't going to help anything. At best, it'll just make the experience that much worse for the person in line behind you. Empathy is not something that can be forced on a person, and a comment on a web page isn't going to make you change your attitude or think about anyone else's life, but then again, being a dick to customs agents isn't going to help, either, so I guess we're both wasting our breath.
  - cpncrunch 13y ago
    "I'm rude because I've had a shitty day" isn't a good excuse. I think Jason made the mistake of not clarifying in his comment that he only does this to agents who are rude to him first. Now his comment has turned into a new story by itself with a lot of angry comments. I feel sorry for Jason because he seems like a nice guy who just didn't properly proofread his comment before posting and he's now getting a huge ass kicking as a result.
- deleted 13y ago
  [deleted]
- aneth5 13y ago
  Perhaps you should learn to kill meanness with love, not more meanness. In this case, YOU are the mean person, and by your own logic, deserve an unhappy life. But I don't think you do deserve that any more than I think you have the right or justification to be mean to a border agent based on some superficial judgement and prejudice against authority figures. Not only is it likely to result in a negative outcome for yourself, but it misses the opportunity to brighten what may very well be an overworked person with a troubled home life and a sick parent. Are you serving humanity better by being mean to them and making them feel miserable, or by smiling and treating them kindly so they may treat the next person better? You judge people as mean, and then are mean to them. If you can't see how incredibly myopic, narcissistic, and unevolved that makes you sound, I suggest spending less time traveling and more time getting to know your fellow humans.
deleted 13y ago
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SarahBinks 13y ago
I realize that Jason Kester believes the customs officials are offended when he gloats about his globetrotting, but you know, they probably aren't. The likelihood is that they hear stuff like this dozens of times a day from happy, excited people who have just come home from extended travels. "Oh, yeah," they think, "that's nice." They're probably a little annoyed that Mr Kester has negligently not bothered to retain the first half of his ticket, failed to deep track of when he left or what countries he visited, and was too stupid to fill out the paperwork properly. They may even roll their eyes thinking he's a bit of a smelly pig not to have changed his shirt in over a month and wonder why he couldn't afford to have more than one. I'm pretty sure they don't give a crap about his software company, or have any use for his product, either. They're probably pretty content in knowing they have the federally mandated power to just just glance over at the big guy off to the side and within three minutes, Mr Kester will be bent over a table in another room with a couple of rubberized fingers up his ass. If Mr Kester thinks he's making customs officials feel small and unimportant because he has such an "exciting life", or that he's in some way "evening the score" by bragging about having been in the Far East for over a year, I must say that "this sort of treatment" is rather too subtle for thick-skinned customs staffers. They really couldn't care less where he's been or where he's going, as long as he isn't carrying any contraband. If he really wanted to make them feel that they're so much worse off than he is, he'd have to add, "... unlike you, with your shitty, dead-end job, sitting in a little cube," or some similar direct comparison. But that would probably get him taken into the other room. Finally, I'm willing to bet that the agents aren't regular readers of Hacker News, so they haven't seen Mr Kester's post. In this case, ignorance is bliss.

jasonkester 13y ago

Are you some authority appointed to correct the misbehavior of your inferiors? No. If you came away with that impression then you may have misread my intent. My stance is that mean people deserve to live an unhappy life. No more. Nice people, as noted in the comment you responded to, receive no such treatment from me. Mean people get a fictionalized account of a person leading a much better life than themselves, delivered by a person who in actual fact is not likely leading a much more interesting life at all. As a mean person, the theory goes, one can continue being mean and thus unhappy. Or they can start being nice and be treated nicely. Notice how class does not enter into it at all.

jaysonelliot 13y ago
Do you think for a moment about what that person had to put up with for the hours before you arrived that day, or will continue to deal with after you leave? Is it not enough that you've managed to retire as a young man and lounge on the beaches of Thailand, do you also need to be treated with smiles and deference by people who still have to go to work every day? They have a job to do, and your abuse isn't going to help anything. At best, it'll just make the experience that much worse for the person in line behind you. Empathy is not something that can be forced on a person, and a comment on a web page isn't going to make you change your attitude or think about anyone else's life, but then again, being a dick to customs agents isn't going to help, either, so I guess we're both wasting our breath.
- cpncrunch 13y ago
  "I'm rude because I've had a shitty day" isn't a good excuse. I think Jason made the mistake of not clarifying in his comment that he only does this to agents who are rude to him first. Now his comment has turned into a new story by itself with a lot of angry comments. I feel sorry for Jason because he seems like a nice guy who just didn't properly proofread his comment before posting and he's now getting a huge ass kicking as a result.
deleted 13y ago
[deleted]
aneth5 13y ago
Perhaps you should learn to kill meanness with love, not more meanness. In this case, YOU are the mean person, and by your own logic, deserve an unhappy life. But I don't think you do deserve that any more than I think you have the right or justification to be mean to a border agent based on some superficial judgement and prejudice against authority figures. Not only is it likely to result in a negative outcome for yourself, but it misses the opportunity to brighten what may very well be an overworked person with a troubled home life and a sick parent. Are you serving humanity better by being mean to them and making them feel miserable, or by smiling and treating them kindly so they may treat the next person better? You judge people as mean, and then are mean to them. If you can't see how incredibly myopic, narcissistic, and unevolved that makes you sound, I suggest spending less time traveling and more time getting to know your fellow humans.

deleted 13y ago

[deleted]

SarahBinks 13y ago

I realize that Jason Kester believes the customs officials are offended when he gloats about his globetrotting, but you know, they probably aren't. The likelihood is that they hear stuff like this dozens of times a day from happy, excited people who have just come home from extended travels. "Oh, yeah," they think, "that's nice." They're probably a little annoyed that Mr Kester has negligently not bothered to retain the first half of his ticket, failed to deep track of when he left or what countries he visited, and was too stupid to fill out the paperwork properly. They may even roll their eyes thinking he's a bit of a smelly pig not to have changed his shirt in over a month and wonder why he couldn't afford to have more than one. I'm pretty sure they don't give a crap about his software company, or have any use for his product, either. They're probably pretty content in knowing they have the federally mandated power to just just glance over at the big guy off to the side and within three minutes, Mr Kester will be bent over a table in another room with a couple of rubberized fingers up his ass. If Mr Kester thinks he's making customs officials feel small and unimportant because he has such an "exciting life", or that he's in some way "evening the score" by bragging about having been in the Far East for over a year, I must say that "this sort of treatment" is rather too subtle for thick-skinned customs staffers. They really couldn't care less where he's been or where he's going, as long as he isn't carrying any contraband. If he really wanted to make them feel that they're so much worse off than he is, he'd have to add, "... unlike you, with your shitty, dead-end job, sitting in a little cube," or some similar direct comparison. But that would probably get him taken into the other room. Finally, I'm willing to bet that the agents aren't regular readers of Hacker News, so they haven't seen Mr Kester's post. In this case, ignorance is bliss.