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Because parental resources don't have extreme effects on these competitions as well? Or is it just an easy-to-propose feel-good alternative? I took part in tho

Because parental resources don't have extreme effects on these competitions as well? Or is it just an easy-to-propose feel-good alternative? I took part in those competitions. There were plenty of winners from humble backgrounds and non-coastal regions. Plenty of years, the winner would be from some no-name town in the Midwest. Sure, being privileged helped, but there was real diversity, and most people with the talent had a chance. Sheesh. pg obviously foresaw negative reactions, but this entire thread is simply ridiculous. Does someone foreseeing negative reactions to something, and then doing it anyway, mean those negative reactions should not occur? If I steal something, I'm pretty sure I'll get negative reactions (social disapproval, risk of physical harm, jail time, etc.) because, as it were, it's actually the wrong thing to do. If I do it, I can't dismiss people's hatred for that action as somehow invalid by saying, "yeah, I knew that would piss you off." The fact that I knew beforehand that people would find the action offensive doesn't mitigate it's general wrongness.

nostrademons 13y ago
I don't believe his actions are wrong. I do believe they piss people off. You (and everyone else on this thread) can be pissed off. That doesn't change the fact that one lucky rich kid is going to learn quite a bit for an evening, or that a couple of lucky poor kids are going to be able to attend an elite pre-school that they wouldn't otherwise be able to go to. Just because you (well, "we", I ain't going either) aren't that lucky kid doesn't mean it's not a good thing. It's quite possible for an act to be the right thing to do and still hated.
mindslight 13y ago
> the winner would be from some no-name town in the Midwest Is that supposed to be the pinnacle of unprivilege? I'd bet the sheer majority of these winners had parents who had time to be very proactive in their education. Or is considering that privilege inconvenient for this conversation? For negative reactions, you'll invariably get concern trolls who take issue just to feel like they're helping some plight (unless you're already pandering to concern trolls), so no, it's not the same type of expectation as "stealing". But my point there was only to contrast that expected noise with the overwhelming actual reaction. Feel free to engage my main point - to the extent that YC/SV is still meritocratic, then this dinner is not a guaranteed acceptance to that meritocracy.. and to the extent that SV has become an insider network for flipping Instagrams, access to bubblicious capital is necessarily facilitated by social connections and fueling outrage toward a small time charitable event because it can be pigeonholed as a symptom is a great way to ignore the actual cause of the decay.
deleted 13y ago
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nostrademons 13y ago

I don't believe his actions are wrong. I do believe they piss people off. You (and everyone else on this thread) can be pissed off. That doesn't change the fact that one lucky rich kid is going to learn quite a bit for an evening, or that a couple of lucky poor kids are going to be able to attend an elite pre-school that they wouldn't otherwise be able to go to. Just because you (well, "we", I ain't going either) aren't that lucky kid doesn't mean it's not a good thing. It's quite possible for an act to be the right thing to do and still hated.

mindslight 13y ago

> the winner would be from some no-name town in the Midwest Is that supposed to be the pinnacle of unprivilege? I'd bet the sheer majority of these winners had parents who had time to be very proactive in their education. Or is considering that privilege inconvenient for this conversation? For negative reactions, you'll invariably get concern trolls who take issue just to feel like they're helping some plight (unless you're already pandering to concern trolls), so no, it's not the same type of expectation as "stealing". But my point there was only to contrast that expected noise with the overwhelming actual reaction. Feel free to engage my main point - to the extent that YC/SV is still meritocratic, then this dinner is not a guaranteed acceptance to that meritocracy.. and to the extent that SV has become an insider network for flipping Instagrams, access to bubblicious capital is necessarily facilitated by social connections and fueling outrage toward a small time charitable event because it can be pigeonholed as a symptom is a great way to ignore the actual cause of the decay.

deleted 13y ago

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