11–20 of 364 posts
As I read the post, especially the references to Metafilter in combination with a lesson about homelessness, I thought to myself, “This sounds like DoreenMichele.” I press the back button and, see it is submitted by them. I press the forward button and scroll to the top and it was written by them. It’s a small world.
Since it's not spelled out in the article, what is a better mental model for how the world works?
Fantastic read! Always remember that "money doesn't buy happiness" is the shibboleth for people who always had money. Bring that up next time someone says it. Fun reaction guaranteed. I like to follow it up with my favorite slavic saying: "Sure money won't make you happy, but crying in a Ferrari is much nicer than on the bus"
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maslow%27s_hierarchy_of_need...
> Being homeless taught me that, no, most people absolutely are not just nice.
I know this will get downvoted but AFAIK most people see homeless people themselves as "not nice" as in "it's not nice to foist your problems on the rest of us", "it's not nice not to take responsibility for yourself", "it's not nice for your to stink up places", "it's not nice for you to foist your crazy on us", etc...
In other words, most people are not nice to people they perceive as being not nice to others and so homeless are first perceived as the originator of being "not nice" and so get treated reciprocally.
I'm all for helping people who are down and out and help give them a 2nd chance but, for lack of a better way to state this, the homeless person needs to take responsibility and go take advantage of whatever programs are offered vs putting their problems on everyone else. It's a very western thing to think society owes you just for existing.
As I read the post, especially the references to Metafilter in combination with a lesson about homelessness, I thought to myself, “This sounds like DoreenMichele.” I press the back button and, see it is submitted by them. I press the forward button and scroll to the top and it was written by them. It’s a small world.
What a great read. This resonates with me. At one point in my life I was desperately close to homelessness. At the time I was lucky to still be enrolled at a university and could therefore easily take out as many loans as I needed. It was a horribly risky gamble I wouldn’t wish on anyone, but without going into more details of my life story I barely managed to graduate and find a successful career. I was able to pay…
Do you think it could have also been some sort of perverse jealousy on their part? You were no longer playing their game – the only game they knew how to play – yet nonetheless there you were interacting with them as an equal.
> Growing up, I kind of thought "Most people are just nice." I had no means to figure out how much was natural charm, how much was me dressing well... > Being homeless taught me that, no, most people absolutely are not just nice. I know this will get downvoted but AFAIK most people see homeless people themselves as "not nice" as in "it's not nice to foist your problems on the rest of us", "it's not nice not to take r…
That said, for people who might think of homeless as "not nice", consider the fraction that are truly problematic and the ones that you might see around, but not really doing anything wrong. The latter group is a lot less memorable, but I'd wager much larger than the former.
As I read the post, especially the references to Metafilter in combination with a lesson about homelessness, I thought to myself, “This sounds like DoreenMichele.” I press the back button and, see it is submitted by them. I press the forward button and scroll to the top and it was written by them. It’s a small world.
I have been impressed recently by the posts by DoreenMichele and have expressed appreciation for those posts here.
I am a little confused by this description of metafilter, however - I am not an active member of that community but I have been reading it regularly for about 20 years. It is very politically correct and "woke" - almost distractingly, or annoyingly so - and I was disappointed to learn that it hasn't been a hospitable place for the DoreenMichele whose posts I see on HN ...
I'm sorry to hear it.