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I have a theory that some of the anger at techies is driven by the fact that they are, in many cases and in popular imagination, fairly nerdy. People are used

I have a theory that some of the anger at techies is driven by the fact that they are, in many cases and in popular imagination, fairly nerdy. People are used to looking down on these people, given America's school system and typical corporate makeup. Perhaps it even has evolutionary roots. And, by and large, nerdy kinda-liberal people are inclined to take it, agree, and supplicate. Compare and contrast with the treatment of the financial industry in the Bay Area. Even on HN, taking shots at an obviously fraudulent financial system and the people in it will get you jumped all over ("they allocate capital efficiently!", etc, etc. et-tripe-cetera) while articles like this will elicit more balanced and self-aware commentary. My theory is that this dynamic is more prevalent in the press and non-tech thought leaders, etc. not in the middle and lower classes.

johnjlocke 13y ago
The anger has nothing to do with "nerdiness". It's economic. Since tech is the one job sector that is not suffering, wouldn't it be nice for some of them to volunteer something to help the community? Seeing as they have some to spare and others have very little?
- carsongross 13y ago
  Possibly. But I try to reconcile that idea with the far worse behavior of the financial and elite public sectors, which are far bigger in GDP terms and in total wealth terms, and which elicit nowhere near the same hand-wriging... So my theory is that, at some level, people in the press and thought-leader elite have internalized that the bankers/politicos "look right" when it comes to obnoxious wealth and behavior.
- ryguytilidie 13y ago
  Why are engineers who make 100-150k expected to give back to society because we percieve them to be so lucky but millionaire and billionaire bank executives see no pressure for this at all? What is the obsession with the idea that people making low six figures are somehow the richest people with the most free time. Hell I don't make a whole lot over 100k and work 60 hours a week. Why am I the audience that is picked on while the bank executive heads out at 4 and never gives anything back? Its a bit insane to me really.
  - jack-r-abbit 13y ago
    Ya. People seem to think that every Googler, Twit and Facebooker is a millionaire. A friend of mine works at Google. He lives a little more comfortably now than before he started there... but he's certainly not snorting coke off of hookers with $100 bills.

johnjlocke 13y ago

The anger has nothing to do with "nerdiness". It's economic. Since tech is the one job sector that is not suffering, wouldn't it be nice for some of them to volunteer something to help the community? Seeing as they have some to spare and others have very little?

carsongross 13y ago
Possibly. But I try to reconcile that idea with the far worse behavior of the financial and elite public sectors, which are far bigger in GDP terms and in total wealth terms, and which elicit nowhere near the same hand-wriging... So my theory is that, at some level, people in the press and thought-leader elite have internalized that the bankers/politicos "look right" when it comes to obnoxious wealth and behavior.
ryguytilidie 13y ago
Why are engineers who make 100-150k expected to give back to society because we percieve them to be so lucky but millionaire and billionaire bank executives see no pressure for this at all? What is the obsession with the idea that people making low six figures are somehow the richest people with the most free time. Hell I don't make a whole lot over 100k and work 60 hours a week. Why am I the audience that is picked on while the bank executive heads out at 4 and never gives anything back? Its a bit insane to me really.
- jack-r-abbit 13y ago
  Ya. People seem to think that every Googler, Twit and Facebooker is a millionaire. A friend of mine works at Google. He lives a little more comfortably now than before he started there... but he's certainly not snorting coke off of hookers with $100 bills.