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I Used to Write for Sports Illustrated. Now I Deliver Packages for Amazon (2018)

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201–210 of 292 posts

Re: I Used to Write for Sports Illustrated. Now I Deliver Packages for Amazon (2018)

#201
post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Nothing good comes from a culture that perpetuates whitewashing other cultures just to please whites and their visions of an ideal minority.

You're being downvoted, but I completely agree. The whole "woke" / "political correctness" movement is mostly bored white people. This is the result of a group of people with no real major battles left to fight. You make up an enemy to give your life purpose.

Or to make money, when you don't have anything real to offer. And in some cases it has clearly reached level of blackmail.

Re: I Used to Write for Sports Illustrated. Now I Deliver Packages for Amazon (2018)

#202

Earlier quoted context omitted.

On the hispanic comment, Spanish is a naturally gendered language, you cannot form a sentence without giving gender to at least the subject, for example "la doctora toma el café por la mañana" would translate to "the (female) doctor drinks (male) coffee by the (female) morning" because English is a mostly gender neutral language you would loose all gender information by literally translating that sentence. Now if we…

Even in English, he/his was considered gender-neutral in context. It's only in the last few years that a plural "they" has confusingly taken its place. I still get tripped up when I see singular "they." I have to stop and re-read the sentence because I think I missed something.

Lol singular they is literally older than singular you but go off.

Re: I Used to Write for Sports Illustrated. Now I Deliver Packages for Amazon (2018)

#203

For anyone curious, it seems he now has a full-time job as a journalist at the Santa Rosa Press Democrat. Happy he's being paid for his words again. https://twitter.com/ausmurph88/status/1096838031804227584

Article linked from the submission was from December 25, 2018, and the tweet from Feb 16, 2019. Seems likely that writing this article (and first having the experience of delivering for Amazon) got him hired. Good for him!

Re: I Used to Write for Sports Illustrated. Now I Deliver Packages for Amazon (2018)

#204
post #194

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>We speak different languages that alone prevents it from happening.// I recall some people from Netherlands getting upset that English was becoming quite prolific to the point that University courses are sometimes held in English. I think this happens to some extent in other countries in EU too? Germany, Spain, and France seem highly unlikely to adopt English without a fight - not sure about other countries. But I w…

Yes University courses are held in Englilsh, mainly because of Bologna Process. Some companies in non English speaking countries do conduct their business in English, but to the jump from that to some sort of dissolution of national borders and melting of national identities is no where to be seen. EU will never be a United States of Europe of any kind, no matter how much French and German politicians are wishing tha…

I worked in company with culture which could be considered international and working language was English. But still when locals were alone they switched to local language... Ofc, when non-natives were present it was English. I don't see European nation states going anywhere.

Re: I Used to Write for Sports Illustrated. Now I Deliver Packages for Amazon (2018)

#205

Earlier quoted context omitted.

UPS is union and their employees urinate in bottles. I don't think unions are the magic wand that a lot of people assume they are

While "urinating in bottles" sounds like some sort of standard by which to indict, if you tried it you would find it's quite convenient. I'd guess that it's far down on the list of drivers' actual concerns. What are you proposing should replace this? Trips back to the depot would be terribly inefficient. Portapotties in trucks would be just fancier bottles. And time to visit public restrooms would be better spent tak…

I assume this is more true for men than women.

Re: I Used to Write for Sports Illustrated. Now I Deliver Packages for Amazon (2018)

#206

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Meh -- they've done themselves such harm in recent years by embracing activism and deliberate bias that it's hard for me to feel too bad for the industry. That said, I'll applaud whichever journalists are brave enough to start pushing their industry/art back towards objectivity and diversity of perspective.

Faux-objective journalism is such a soulless drag. Everyone has biases, attempting to hide them is just gutless.

Telling the truth for a living may be a drag, but playing on the readers' emotions and biases for ad traffic revenue seems far more soulless by comparison.

Re: I Used to Write for Sports Illustrated. Now I Deliver Packages for Amazon (2018)

#207

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Meh -- they've done themselves such harm in recent years by embracing activism and deliberate bias that it's hard for me to feel too bad for the industry. That said, I'll applaud whichever journalists are brave enough to start pushing their industry/art back towards objectivity and diversity of perspective.

Embracing activism isn't necessarily a shooting oneself in the foot, it can be a way of trying to ensure greater profitability. A case in point is The Guardian which took a huge turn in the last decade ago from traditional British working-class themes to trans issues and the specific kind of race debates originating from the US. By doing so, the newspaper could, firstly, win the allegiance of self-identified "woke" r…

I pay for the Guardian mostly because it's the only paper I know that covers global stories and gives climate breakdown anything resembling the degree of coverage it deserves. For a while I subscribed to The Times, but felt dirty supporting a Murdoch-owned paper.

Re: I Used to Write for Sports Illustrated. Now I Deliver Packages for Amazon (2018)

#209

I know that many of us here don't like what labor unions have become in the 21st century. But they do need some labor representation that can ensure the trucks used by drivers have working lights, mirrors, and safe tires, and that the company negotiates use of restrooms around the city. Maybe just a "safety only" union that only deals with safety issues?

Not that I dislike your idea or unions at large, but mission creep will be inevitable: limiting hours and mandating benefits to ensure physical and mental health of the drivers will be linked to safety, and the whole host of benefits for worker wellness in the name of safety will follow. What you are asking for is what OSHA is for.

Re: I Used to Write for Sports Illustrated. Now I Deliver Packages for Amazon (2018)

#210
post #52

Journalism has become such a tough field. I know a number of people who do OK in it. But I know a whole lot more who do writing-related stuff for companies that sell products.

Meh -- they've done themselves such harm in recent years by embracing activism and deliberate bias that it's hard for me to feel too bad for the industry. That said, I'll applaud whichever journalists are brave enough to start pushing their industry/art back towards objectivity and diversity of perspective.

> Meh -- they've done themselves such harm in recent years by embracing activism and deliberate bias that it's hard for me to feel too bad for the industry.

Journalism's financial problems predate "recent years," and perhaps those problems have actually lead to or exacerbated the problems you're complaining about. E.g. investigative journalism is hard, time-consuming, and expensive; an underfunded, short-staffed newspaper may turn to other, cheaper things to fill its pages and attract readers.

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