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Helping one person with a rich benefactor and indiegogo campaign is pretty much the epitome of a local newspaper human interest story with literally nothing to

by themgt 13y ago

Helping one person with a rich benefactor and indiegogo campaign is pretty much the epitome of a local newspaper human interest story with literally nothing to say about fixing these broad topics that all of society must deal with, any more than a church community holding a bake sale to pay for someone's stroke rehab is a solution to our country's broken health care system. Frankly even seeing this story on Venturebeat/HN reeks of a Valley-centric libertarian-friendly "pat ourselves on the back" moment.

pm90 13y ago
Although I agree with you on that the story isn't about changing the fundamental problems that affect American society, Its still a good story. Come on, you can't change everything at once! Its not like the girl got through solely by influence/connections alone...she really worked hard and took initiative. I'm of the opinion that a lot of people would find the determination to work themselves out of poverty if they realized just how much was possible with a little bit of effort. Sometimes, that inspiration is all that is needed to make a change....
- themgt 13y ago
  It's a nice story for her, but the medium is the message. In this context the story plays into a tech/valley belief that it's OK to live in a world where a combination of "off the chart smarts, fierce determination, and generous well-connected friends" are the solution to endemic crushing poverty. Swap around a couple details and it's the same type of feel-good story of individualism you see all the time in the conservative media. Read the article again and read about the problems she faced in her family and society. No teenager should need to rise above those challenges, even if some minuscule fraction of them have the intelligence and will and luck to do so. We should be focused on building a better society for everyone, not making ourselves feel better about the broken society we have.

by themgt 13y ago

pm90 13y ago

Although I agree with you on that the story isn't about changing the fundamental problems that affect American society, Its still a good story. Come on, you can't change everything at once! Its not like the girl got through solely by influence/connections alone...she really worked hard and took initiative. I'm of the opinion that a lot of people would find the determination to work themselves out of poverty if they realized just how much was possible with a little bit of effort. Sometimes, that inspiration is all that is needed to make a change....

themgt 13y ago
It's a nice story for her, but the medium is the message. In this context the story plays into a tech/valley belief that it's OK to live in a world where a combination of "off the chart smarts, fierce determination, and generous well-connected friends" are the solution to endemic crushing poverty. Swap around a couple details and it's the same type of feel-good story of individualism you see all the time in the conservative media. Read the article again and read about the problems she faced in her family and society. No teenager should need to rise above those challenges, even if some minuscule fraction of them have the intelligence and will and luck to do so. We should be focused on building a better society for everyone, not making ourselves feel better about the broken society we have.