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Pity the Poor Couple Who Make $450,000 Per Year

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81–90 of 102 posts

Re: Pity the Poor Couple Who Make $450,000 Per Year

#81

> Perhaps Henderson's outburst should be chalked up to the influence of degenerate white culture This would be unacceptable to say about any other ethnic group - I've got to say, if you're Caucasian you should get upset at general hate speech and slapping "white" on something like it's a bad thing. I keep the company of people of all color and background, I'll do business with anyone I like, but it's time white peopl…

> Any other ethnic group would be up in arms That is because the other ethnic groups are not the dominant ones in society, and are typically disadvantaged on the whole because of their race. My personal view as a White person is that I have enough advantages by my White male-ness that I do not need to demand more, or do anything to offset whatever minor inconveniences might arise from the same. Doing so would seem pe…

What are the advantages you receive due to white male-ness?

(Note: I'm asking about advantages to an individual, not statistical advantages to a group. )

Re: Pity the Poor Couple Who Make $450,000 Per Year

#82
post #63

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think what houseabsolute is saying has real validity. As a Chinese American, I've been teased at school for having a last name like "Hung," for speaking a language other than English. We haven't reached a world blind to color, and the faction on HN has a much better understanding of different cultures, skin colors, etc. than the average white American, especially of those in the South. It's a bit of a catch-22 situ…

Kids tease other kids about ANYTHING. If it weren't about your name, it would be something else. Doesn't mean white society is conspiring to keep Chinese people down. And that UNC Chapel Hill thing is just disgusting. Not sure someone who would do something like that is a good representative of the attitudes of white people in general.

If you read again, the person you're responding to mentioned being "honorary white". The notion of US whiteness evolves; take for example 19th century racism against the Irish. Blacks were called the "smoked Irish," and the Irish were "niggers turned inside-out". Now of course, Irish-Americans are just normal privileged white people, while African-Americans... well, they're obviously not doing as well. They're heavily imprisoned by the country with the world's highest jail rate.

Re: Pity the Poor Couple Who Make $450,000 Per Year

#83

> Perhaps Henderson's outburst should be chalked up to the influence of degenerate white culture This would be unacceptable to say about any other ethnic group - I've got to say, if you're Caucasian you should get upset at general hate speech and slapping "white" on something like it's a bad thing. I keep the company of people of all color and background, I'll do business with anyone I like, but it's time white peopl…

You know, I have to say, I read both of the blog posts and this guy has a point. This is basic financial literacy, if you have $500,000 in student loans, perhaps you should rethink the wisdom of buying a $1,000,000 home.

Being in a similar economic cohort myself, I see a lot of people like this. Believe it or not, I am often accused of living 'beneath my means'. Am I living beneath MY means, or are you living beyond YOURS?

So I think it is fair to label that sort of attitude as the 'degenerate' part of white culture. Just as it is fair to label gangsta rap, absentee fatherism and a myriad number of other issues the 'degenerate' part of black culture. Just because black people will say 'HOW DARE YOU?', does not mean that we should stop speaking the truth in this regard. Neither should we stop speaking the truth simply because whites may be offended.

What whites and blacks need to understand is that this is how progress is made. Failing that, they need to understand that this is the United States and it is their right to be offended...and my right to offend them.

The opinion of a midwestern farm boy.

Re: Pity the Poor Couple Who Make $450,000 Per Year

#84

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Any other ethnic group would be up in arms That is because the other ethnic groups are not the dominant ones in society, and are typically disadvantaged on the whole because of their race. My personal view as a White person is that I have enough advantages by my White male-ness that I do not need to demand more, or do anything to offset whatever minor inconveniences might arise from the same. Doing so would seem pe…

What are the advantages you receive due to white male-ness? (Note: I'm asking about advantages to an individual, not statistical advantages to a group. )

Less likely to be stopped by police is just one.

Re: Pity the Poor Couple Who Make $450,000 Per Year

#86
post #65

Lost in the bashing of this professor who had the temerity not to want to pay higher taxes, is the fact that he had to invest lots of money to be able to earn his big salary. He probably has at least 7 years of higher education. His wife, as a medical doctor, probably has at least 8, if I understand correctly how med school and internships work. They sank a huge amount of money -- maybe close to $500,000 -- into inve…

I think you're living in la-la land. If he had $500,000 to spend on education in the first place, then he started rich and just keeps getting richer. If he'd foregone the education and invested the $500k in something else, then he'd still be rich, and (presumably) he'd still feel hard done by.

From the original article, which you may not have actually read:

"My wife has school loans of nearly $250,000 and I do too"

They made the investment in their education and future with borrowed funds, just as I (and many others) have. It's not like he broke $500K off some trust fund he was born with...

Re: Pity the Poor Couple Who Make $450,000 Per Year

#87

This article irritates the living hell out of me. I was extremely poor as a child, yet there are sensible ways people act who are in poverty and ways in which poor people act that causes poverty.

> Because personal responsibility should not be the sole purview of single minority mothers.

The popular idea (in the USA at least) is that once a person is a “single mother” they are somehow special and everyone has to pay their way. Popular politicians (Hillary Clinton) say things like “it takes the village to raise a child”. This is against the normal notion of the father and mother paying for the child and raising the child. Most single mothers probably do not know the father of their children.

This is utter bullshit - a poor (and rich girl) is not supposed to get pregnant out of wedlock – that is insane stupidity. This has nothing to do with poverty. Getting pregnant does not entitle you to a big chunk of another’s money.

> Being poor is going to the restroom before you get in the school lunch line so your friends will be ahead of you and won't hear you say "I get free lunch" when you get to the cashier....

Nice. I didn’t get lunch at school.

> Being poor is feeling the glued soles tear off your supermarket shoes when you run around the playground.

Hmm… fair enough. I only wore shoes since 8th grade (because it was mandatory). In any case, running around barefoot makes you faster (almost everyone did that). Gluing is a bad way to fix shoes – the better way is with a thick type of needle and twine (don’t exactly know what this is in English).

> Being poor is relying on people who don't give a damn about you.

I never had a problem with people not caring about me. Of course you will not be the most popular guy with the girls or have fancy clothes (you know that group). But that doesn’t mean that people do not care about you.

> Being poor is not talking to that girl because she'll probably just laugh at your clothes.

Or having extremely bad acne+teeth but no money for medicine? Been there. Still doesn’t entitle you to someone else’s money.

> Being poor is your kid's teacher assuming you don't have any books in your home.

You know what many teachers like? People who do well and work hard. All the money of rich kids cannot (usually) buy them good test scores. Fair enough, they have fancy scientific calculators and computers while you must do with a hand-hand-hand me down. But that doesn’t help them that much. More often the privilege that rich kids experience set them up for failure later in life.

Here is what I have found with parents that are different: 1. Became super conservative – everything is saved, nothing is wasted. Even now, when my parents are doing well, my father still can’t throw away glass bottles. 2. Obsession with cleanliness (my mother used to say: “We may be poor, but we are not dirty”). 3. Obsession with education and forcing children to work extremely hard. 4. Extremely socially conservative. My father forbade dancing, alcohol. Even forbade my sister from watching television soaps, etc… 5. Extremely strict. 6. Obsessed with being successful. My father has a successful business now, but still work 15 hours a day.

Re: Pity the Poor Couple Who Make $450,000 Per Year

#88

> Perhaps Henderson's outburst should be chalked up to the influence of degenerate white culture This would be unacceptable to say about any other ethnic group - I've got to say, if you're Caucasian you should get upset at general hate speech and slapping "white" on something like it's a bad thing. I keep the company of people of all color and background, I'll do business with anyone I like, but it's time white peopl…

> Any other ethnic group would be up in arms That is because the other ethnic groups are not the dominant ones in society, and are typically disadvantaged on the whole because of their race. My personal view as a White person is that I have enough advantages by my White male-ness that I do not need to demand more, or do anything to offset whatever minor inconveniences might arise from the same. Doing so would seem pe…

The white upper middle class are always doing fairly well. Yet poor whites are the ones that are double screwed.

They are discriminated against in many countries ("black economic empowerment") and they are loathed by upper middle class white people. A white person with the same economic situation as a black person is screwed.

So, poor whites became the punching bag of society. By upper middle class who dislike them (and like someone to pay for their sins) and disliked by black people.

Here is a solution: How about removing all legal economic disadvantages from poor white people? (e.g. they are not viewed as "white" on application forms for employment equity purposes), and applying it super hard for the white upper-middle class?

Re: Pity the Poor Couple Who Make $450,000 Per Year

#89
post #83

> Perhaps Henderson's outburst should be chalked up to the influence of degenerate white culture This would be unacceptable to say about any other ethnic group - I've got to say, if you're Caucasian you should get upset at general hate speech and slapping "white" on something like it's a bad thing. I keep the company of people of all color and background, I'll do business with anyone I like, but it's time white peopl…

You know, I have to say, I read both of the blog posts and this guy has a point. This is basic financial literacy, if you have $500,000 in student loans, perhaps you should rethink the wisdom of buying a $1,000,000 home. Being in a similar economic cohort myself, I see a lot of people like this. Believe it or not, I am often accused of living 'beneath my means'. Am I living beneath MY means, or are you living beyond…

Many people would be offended at the statement because it seems as if he's calling "white culture" (whatever that means) degenerate. I took it the way you did. I assumed he meant it as a bad segment of the all encompassing white culture...lol.

EDIT: I mean that white culture is such a broad-sweeping statement that it loses meaning. Sorry for the lack of clarification...

Re: Pity the Poor Couple Who Make $450,000 Per Year

#90

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Any other ethnic group would be up in arms That is because the other ethnic groups are not the dominant ones in society, and are typically disadvantaged on the whole because of their race. My personal view as a White person is that I have enough advantages by my White male-ness that I do not need to demand more, or do anything to offset whatever minor inconveniences might arise from the same. Doing so would seem pe…

The white upper middle class are always doing fairly well. Yet poor whites are the ones that are double screwed. They are discriminated against in many countries ("black economic empowerment") and they are loathed by upper middle class white people. A white person with the same economic situation as a black person is screwed. So, poor whites became the punching bag of society. By upper middle class who dislike them (…

"A white person with the same economic situation as a black person is screwed."

Can come off a bit wrong as well... I think you mean an extremely impoverished white person is worse off than an extremely impoverished black person. Because all blacks aren't poor..(I know you didnt mean this... but it can be read that way)

My stance is the opposite, as the white person in the extreme situation has more work opportunities, as well as the added benefit of not always being feared by society as the minority in the extreme situation can be.

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