Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Today you, tomorrow me

reddit.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

141–150 of 212 posts

Re: Today you, tomorrow me

#141

Post by smallblacksun »

kenjackson wrote: post #109
kirse wrote: post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yea, and I also learned how to become a doctor by watching House and ER, fish for Alaskan crab by watching Deadliest Catch, and learned all about how to have relationships by closely studying Friends and Entourage! So no, that episode of Top Gear does not bring up any "good points" to draw legitimate conclusions about the American South. All it shows is that if you insult the average person enough, they'll get pissed…

Weird. I had a two friends get spat on their first day in the South, and it went downhill from there. They were an interracial couple. The local sheriff asked them when they planned on leaving, as if they were the problem. This was 2010, not 1950. I'm sure the South is more welcoming for some people, but I wouldn't assume it to be the case for everybody. And I'm sure it depends on what areas of the south you go to (i…

You ever been with someone with a strong southern accent in the north? I heard them called "hick" and "redneck" any number of times, and a black man said (direct quote) "I ain't helping no racist" when he was asked (politely) for directions.

Re: Today you, tomorrow me

#142

Post by colkassad »

mcantor wrote: post #137
colkassad wrote: post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I really don't believe it. I'm sorry, but real life doesn't play out like that. Maybe there is a grain of truth to the story but alarm bells start ringing when the tale comes straight out of a script writers workshop. Read it again! And why does this have to be a troll post? The Internet is full of this stuff, reddit in particular (see IamA). Is it so bad to be skeptical?

The story meshes perfectly with my experience of reality. For example, people who appear to be extremely wealthy are much less likely to be generous tippers, because most people with garish appearances are actually middle-class folk who are up to their ears in debt accrued while accumulating the trappings of their specious wealth. The people who actually have money to spare are the ones who live within their means, w…

Ah, so this is about faith in humanity, and whether the story is true or not does not matter -- as long as we believe. I can live with that. I have to say though, I've met plenty of non-poor, non-immigrant folk that like to help people out.

Re: Today you, tomorrow me

#143

Post by tambler »

dtf wrote: post #19

For some reason, half way through this great story I suddenly found myself contrasting it with that less great story that did the rounds last July 4: the Sun-Times' Terry Savage's "There is no free lemonade" (original article expired probably with good reason, but here's a copy I found: http://bit.ly/eqIMNe ) wherein author recounts her horror at finding a lemonade stand manned by two girls giving away their product…

Thank you for intimating that wealth should be measured in more than currency. Too often discussions of the economy focus only on measures like GDP, roughly, how much money is flying around. Clearly, measuring our wealth and the health of the economy involves much more than this.

What terrifies me is that, where capitilism has all but become the religion, people act like being selfish is somehow doing the right thing.

Re: Today you, tomorrow me

#144

Post by neild »

arvinjoar wrote: post #69
Azuldolphin wrote: post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not to be a jerk, but I'm genuinely curious. Why did you feel the need to preface your comment with "I'm going to get downvoted to hell"? I can't see a reason why this comment would get downvoted. Edit: I see you've been downvoted. I wonder if it's BECAUSE of your preface, rather than IN SPITE of it.

Yes, "I'm going to get downvoted to hell" belongs on reddit, where people actually downvote people out of spite. I've not seen the same behavior here on HN (might just be that I haven't posted too much here). A better and more constructive preface would be "You are welcome to disagree with me here" or something like that, something that would be used in ordinary conversation.

I never, ever upvote anything that says "I'm going to get downvoted for saying this..." If you're expecting downvotes, who am I to disagree with you?

Re: Today you, tomorrow me

#145

Post by zzzeek »

snth wrote: post #81
edw519 wrote: post #77

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Who am I going to listen to, the man who taught me more than I ever could ever imagine (and is now retired and giving away his millions) or some stranger who thinks he knows better? I often share thoughts like this in the OP's spirit of "pass it on" so that it may benefit someone else. Take it or leave it. But doubting it, commenting on what it "seems", or downvoting it only makes you look like a fool. [Sorry for the…

Of course you're free to listen to whomever you like; I wish you would take my comment more as an alternative viewpoint than as an insult. I do appreciate the sentiment of your story, that people should help others, but personally I think the attitude "it'll all work out in the end" ruins more lives than it saves.

"it'll all work out" is an effective tool to deal with irrational or counterproductive anxiety (irrational== fear of flying, fear of social settings, etc., counterproductive==survival situations, situations with no other reasonable extrication than through, i.e. you need to swim to safety, you're stuck in a cave, you have a huge presentation to do tomorrow). It's entirely a bad idea to use in lieu of rational decisionmaking (i.e. "Ill enter into this horrible business deal, itll all work out!").

If you have generally negligible amounts of anxiety in life, the attitude is probably useless. For those of us that have tons, the judicious usage of this attitude is definitely a lifesaver.

Re: Today you, tomorrow me

#146

Post by russell »

mcantor wrote: post #121
noonespecial wrote: post #10

One of the first times I stopped to help what appeared to be a person with a flat, I got a good long (loud) lecture about how just because she was a woman, she wasn't helpless... how men should just ... if we'd all just... call the police if I don't ... Honestly, I couldn't tell by sight at 5 feet is she was male or female. To say this response caught me by surprise is an understatement. Over the long haul, this expe…

She didn't want your help. It's OK. The correct response is to quietly apologize as soon as she starts lecturing, and then immediately walk away. Why did you feel obligated to stay for the entire lecture? EDIT: I'm very interested to know why the downvotes are happening.

Probably because she was the sexist pig. People who assault you, physically or verbally, dont need an apology. I think it's pretty rude to let the door slam in someone's face.

Re: Today you, tomorrow me

#147

Post by klenwell »

kahawe wrote: post #24
dazzawazza wrote: post #2

If you live in the UK you will surely know Dave Gorman [1]. He did a TV show called American Unchained [2] where he attempted to get across America without using chain stores. In that series I saw an America that I recognise from the Americans I know and have worked with (I've never visited America). Americans are some of the most friendly, optimistic and outgoing people in the known universe. In the show he experien…

I am from Europe as well and I can wholeheartedly agree with this. I know it has become so popular to be laughing about the States over here but let me tell you something... each and every time I had to deal with people from the States over here, they were nothing but friendly and down to earth, good hearted people who enjoy and appreciate company and small talk - even more so than lots of Germans who often give you…

If you're meeting Americans abroad, you're generally meeting a special self-selected type of more open-minded American. I tend to find Germans I meet here at home much more enlightened than the majority of Americans I deal with.

Re: Today you, tomorrow me

#148

Post by rikthevik »

bmelton wrote: post #42

Perhaps my favorite good act to do is to help people push their car when they need it. It's dumb, really, but having grown up in the south, people are just hospitable that way. It generally doesn't take much to do, it helps traffic, and at least for me, it makes me feel good about myself. Besides, it always irks me when I see someone trying to push their car out of traffic and nobody else is helping. Especially consi…

Yeah, here in Saskatchewan, or in most parts of Canada, if you're stuck in the snow, people will jump to help. We all know how crappy it is to be stuck when it's really cold out. Not everyone shovels each other's sidewalks though. Depends on the neighbourhood for that.

Re: Today you, tomorrow me

#149

Post by kenjackson »

smallblacksun wrote: post #141
kenjackson wrote: post #109

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Weird. I had a two friends get spat on their first day in the South, and it went downhill from there. They were an interracial couple. The local sheriff asked them when they planned on leaving, as if they were the problem. This was 2010, not 1950. I'm sure the South is more welcoming for some people, but I wouldn't assume it to be the case for everybody. And I'm sure it depends on what areas of the south you go to (i…

You ever been with someone with a strong southern accent in the north? I heard them called "hick" and "redneck" any number of times, and a black man said (direct quote) "I ain't helping no racist" when he was asked (politely) for directions.

You ever been with someone with a strong southern accent in the north?

Not sure if DC is considered the North or not, but I had some friends from Florida visit me in DC. No one called them "hick" or "redneck", but honestly their accent was so strong that I don't think it would be identified as southern. Sometimes I literally couldn't understand what they were saying. But they also dressed about as sharp as anyone I know... that probably fights some of the stereotypes.

But don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that the North is the most welcoming place in the US either. I simply think your perception of the hospitality of a region is not something uniformly agreed upon.

For example, I'd find a Confederate flag or Swastika offensive, and not welcoming. Whereas I'm sure others would rationalize the postive aspects of their respective histories and not find them offensive in the least.

Re: Today you, tomorrow me

#150

Post by frossie »

colkassad wrote: post #70
mcantor wrote: post #67

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm curious--did you honestly disbelieve the story, or were you just trolling?

I really don't believe it. I'm sorry, but real life doesn't play out like that. Maybe there is a grain of truth to the story but alarm bells start ringing when the tale comes straight out of a script writers workshop. Read it again! And why does this have to be a troll post? The Internet is full of this stuff, reddit in particular (see IamA). Is it so bad to be skeptical?

What is it that you don't believe? I have direct experience (at either end) of all the elements of the story - people in poor situations refusing money because of their pride or principles, people in bad situations helping for no reason at all... There isn't a single element in the OP that I could say "I've never heard of such a thing!". The family's behaviour is perfectly consistent of what I know of certain cultures.

I am sorry you have reason to be so cynical. I can't vouch as to whether the OP is true, but I can assure you that real life can and does "play out like that".

Post reply on HN