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Poor in Tech

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Re: Poor in Tech

#101

Post by trabant00 »

est31 wrote: post #10

> I knew I was the only poor person at my tech startup because I was the only person who would say hello to the cleaning lady as she meekly made her rounds around us when we worked late. Everyone else had a long habit of ignoring anyone like her. That's IMO the worst behaviour of the rich listed in this article. I've heard stories that at Google, the non-engineering workers at campus may not socialize with engineers…

That got my attention as well, but instead it made me think that maybe the author exaggerated a bit here and there.

Re: Poor in Tech

#102

Post by Kalium »

8fGTBjZxBcHq wrote: post #77
culturestate wrote: post #64

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't want to trivialize what the author is feeling, but when the conclusion they draw is... > Because they have never been poor, they had no idea what I might do. Why would I steal, when everyone clearly has enough? What even is scarcity? Why drink yourself to death tonight when there’s another sponsored event a week from now? Why eat like there will never be enough, when there has always been more than enough? ..…

I was trying to be nice. It's worth discussing I just don't think you contributed anything useful to the conversation with that comment. To me it reads like you're dismissing the author's experiences based on a technicality, rather than engaging with them on their terms and merits.

Do you think it might be possible to appreciate the reality and sincerity of someone's experiences while also questioning the validity of their interpretations? Would this be a form of substantive engagement on the merits of the piece?

Personally, I see someone describing a number of points of cultural difference and an author who wholeheartedly believes they have identified the root of all of them. Is it worth discussing that the real, indisputably valid lived experience of the author, might also be linked to other things?

Re: Poor in Tech

#103

Post by rubyfan »

scandox wrote: post #74
culturestate wrote: post #5

To me, this reads more as a list of "from outside the valley bubble" signifiers than it does as a list of things that people who've grown up in poverty might do, even if the former was a result of the latter. There are some exceptions - not noticing missed paychecks is the biggest - but most of it is just stuff that happens every day in other offices. Making your lunch at the office and not bringing Advil from home?…

I grew up very wealthy and it is what it is. I read that list and some parts of it make me sad and some make me laugh. There's been times I've been that asshole, and times I've not been. Some of the things are very American - like the teeth thing which is basically the ultimate American neurosis. We were rich but I didn't want someone messing with my perfectly useful teeth. There's no point being overly defensive abo…

> There's no point being overly defensive about these things. People with all kinds of life experience can learn from each other.

I don’t think this is the fault of the author. When you’ve never had the chance or experience or bank account to dream of doing something that many people take for granted it’s easy to sort of clam up or realize your different and that you have to try harder to fit in.

Re: Poor in Tech

#104

Post by kungito »

est31 wrote: post #10

> I knew I was the only poor person at my tech startup because I was the only person who would say hello to the cleaning lady as she meekly made her rounds around us when we worked late. Everyone else had a long habit of ignoring anyone like her. That's IMO the worst behaviour of the rich listed in this article. I've heard stories that at Google, the non-engineering workers at campus may not socialize with engineers…

Not saying hello is a bit extreme but I feel like often IT people just refrain from initiating conversation with people unrelated to their interests/work

Re: Poor in Tech

#105

Post by isomorph »

culturestate wrote: post #5

To me, this reads more as a list of "from outside the valley bubble" signifiers than it does as a list of things that people who've grown up in poverty might do, even if the former was a result of the latter. There are some exceptions - not noticing missed paychecks is the biggest - but most of it is just stuff that happens every day in other offices. Making your lunch at the office and not bringing Advil from home?…

But it IS a list of what someone who grew up in poverty did

Re: Poor in Tech

#106

Post by Tade0 »

I read the whole thing trying to find something I could relate to, as I grew up in a place that was a proper third world country as recently as in the 90s.

This appears to be American poor - which I think is in its own category, because comparing to American rich it's just so much worse off.

It's not that she's necessarily materially poor. It's just that there's no one around who can even begin to understand her predicament.

I only ever get close to this when I talk with people who have inherited wealth and give sage advice like "you should be saving 70% of you salary".

Re: Poor in Tech

#107

Post by giantg2 »

est31 wrote: post #10

> I knew I was the only poor person at my tech startup because I was the only person who would say hello to the cleaning lady as she meekly made her rounds around us when we worked late. Everyone else had a long habit of ignoring anyone like her. That's IMO the worst behaviour of the rich listed in this article. I've heard stories that at Google, the non-engineering workers at campus may not socialize with engineers…

Some of it is situational though. I only sometimes say hello. I also worked as a janitor before and have no problem with people not saying hello. The bigger issue is if they are ignoring you and messing up your work (getting in the way, ignoring you when you need to get their trashcan from their desk, being an excessive slob like I'm here to clean but you don't have to make my job harder just because you don't have to clean it up yourself).

Re: Poor in Tech

#108

Post by varjag »

spacemanmatt wrote: post #35
tyrex2017 wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

i found that one weird in my experience, there is no difference in how poor or rich people behave towards low-level staff. in general, my feeling is the rich are more friendly, but it may be less genuine

My decades of experience have been that wealthy people would rather ignore people if they can possibly do so.

Poor people would too but it's one of the things they can't afford.

Re: Poor in Tech

#109

Post by rejectedandsad »

I think one wrinkle in this narrative is that this is about a crypto company, where there was a lot of new money sloshing around too. You won't experience things like this at HP, Adobe, Amazon, or Veritas to name a few companies in the Bay. I've worked at several companies but I've never met someone who went to Greece on a 3 day weekend.

Re: Poor in Tech

#110

Post by jjdin14 »

muglug wrote: post #51
emteycz wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It is correlated, not caused by poverty. Rich people are often fat too, and the reason is poor education (not even rich people schools teach this) and poor self-control.

It’s not just food education. If you’re poor in the US you’re much less likely to live near a source of fresh meat and produce, which makes calorie-rich fast food more tempting. You’re more at the mercy of many multi-billion-dollar industries that serve unhealthy food to the masses.

“Less likely”, “more at the mercy”, it still comes down to the individuals choices, it’s not that hard to not be obese when poor.
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