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Poor in Tech

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Re: Poor in Tech

#171

Post by MattRix »

FriedrichN wrote: post #84
avancemos wrote: post #7

Instead of seeing the bright side of life, in which this person clearly vastly improved their situation in life, all they can see is what they don’t have. “I knew I was the only poor person at my tech startup because I had the only fat body in the building.” I’m sorry, but no, being poor doesn’t make you fat. Your eating choices make you fat. Poor people have agency too. Agency is not something you buy. This is comin…

I must say I was rather triggered by that statement. I'm 100% sure that at one point my earnings were much lower than hers and I wasn't "a fat body". I had a second hand road bike that consisted of many different parts and I loved that thing, I've put thousands of kilometers on that old frame. And guess what, I still use it to this day, even though I could buy a fancy new one. As a matter of fact, not having a lot of…

Did you grow up poor, as she did? If not, then you are missing the important context of what it’s like to grow up in a food scarce environment.

Re: Poor in Tech

#172

Post by phone8675309 »

omosubi wrote: post #96
rubyn00bie wrote: post #79

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sorry to say, but you’re being extremely naive if you think you’re right. People are awful to supporting staff and show them no respect on the regular.

And this is across class lines, no?

It happens across class lines _but_ I find that it's not the same degree. I find that the more used you are to people cleaning up after you the less that you thank them/acknowledge them for doing so. The teenage "I can leave my trash here - they have cleaning staff to clean it up!" mentality seems to be more prevalent the higher income your background is.

I say hello to the cleaning staff, security staff, delivery drivers, food service workers, etc at work. I can't get my job done unless they're there, and I am acutely aware that our professional experience and treatment by management is significantly different.

Re: Poor in Tech

#173

Post by Invictus0 »

fmajid wrote: post #152

Reminds me of John Scalzi's masterful Being Poor (written as a rejoinder to those who were asking why the poor in New Orleans didn't just up and leave when Hurricane Katrina arrived): https://whatever.scalzi.com/2005/09/03/being-poor/

The author credits Scalzi as inspiration at the bottom of the blogpost.

Re: Poor in Tech

#174

Post by [deleted] »

giantg2 wrote: post #121
DigitalSea wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There are quite a few papers out there on the subject. As someone who has studied a little bit of sociology, I can tell you there are numerous sociological factors which basically determine that wealthier people have access to better food, better medical care and live healthier lives in comparison to lower-socioeconomic people. Where you live alone determines your health equity, if you live in a remote area or small…

"if you live in a remote area or small town away from a large city, your access to fresh and non-processed foods is heavily reduced." This simply isn't true. Most food deserts are in the poorer areas of the cities because nobody is bringing fresh produce in there to sell. If you live in the country or small town, many of these places have farm stands, farmers markets, and local farmers providing seasonal produce to t…

[deleted]

Re: Poor in Tech

#175

Post by oaiey »

isomorph wrote: post #116

Many of the comments on this article are so cold. I can’t believe it. When I read the original article I was imagining all the constructive ways HN readers would interpret it and hold a mirror up to their own behaviour. Some commenters are doing this. But it surprises and depresses me how many people are commenting saying “no, this list isn’t what it says it is, it’s a list showing the author has a negative mindset /…

I completely agree with you. I was also shocked about this disconnect and explain-it-away statements. Very disappointing.

Re: Poor in Tech

#176

Post by strken »

isomorph wrote: post #116

Many of the comments on this article are so cold. I can’t believe it. When I read the original article I was imagining all the constructive ways HN readers would interpret it and hold a mirror up to their own behaviour. Some commenters are doing this. But it surprises and depresses me how many people are commenting saying “no, this list isn’t what it says it is, it’s a list showing the author has a negative mindset /…

In some ways it's a laundry list of ways rich people in the Bay Area act like wankers, which is interesting, but also quite irritatingly stereotypical. There are plenty who don't refuse to talk to the cleaning staff, lecture others on their choice of tampon, or snob fat people at the gym.

I don't want people from outside the bubble (e.g. me, three years ago) to read this and think they'll be surrounded by wall-to-wall wankery and class prejudice if they take a job at a SF startup, because it's not wholly representative of all employees at all startups. Most of them are nice. Most people everywhere are nice.

Re: Poor in Tech

#177

Post by gadders »

ratww wrote: post #168
gadders wrote: post #122

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Then eat less of it?

Eating healthy is not just about eating less, it's also about eating the right things. If eating was just about quantity then nobody would eat salads, there would be no Keto diet, and nobody would complain about McDonalds.

Calories In/Calories Out is 90% of it. You're better off being relatively slim on junk food than being fat on good quality good.

Re: Poor in Tech

#178

Post by naturalauction »

isomorph wrote: post #116

Many of the comments on this article are so cold. I can’t believe it. When I read the original article I was imagining all the constructive ways HN readers would interpret it and hold a mirror up to their own behaviour. Some commenters are doing this. But it surprises and depresses me how many people are commenting saying “no, this list isn’t what it says it is, it’s a list showing the author has a negative mindset /…

I guess the unfortunate reality is that many of the people who engage in the behaviors that make people feel isolated go on the defensive when the harmfulness of their behavior is highlighted.

Re: Poor in Tech

#179

Post by ryanbrunner »

giantg2 wrote: post #121
DigitalSea wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There are quite a few papers out there on the subject. As someone who has studied a little bit of sociology, I can tell you there are numerous sociological factors which basically determine that wealthier people have access to better food, better medical care and live healthier lives in comparison to lower-socioeconomic people. Where you live alone determines your health equity, if you live in a remote area or small…

"if you live in a remote area or small town away from a large city, your access to fresh and non-processed foods is heavily reduced." This simply isn't true. Most food deserts are in the poorer areas of the cities because nobody is bringing fresh produce in there to sell. If you live in the country or small town, many of these places have farm stands, farmers markets, and local farmers providing seasonal produce to t…

Rural areas being chock full of farmers markets is mostly nostalgia, anyone I know who lives in the country is far more likely to shop exclusively at Walmart than anyone in the city, and likely to prefer more non-perishable food (i.e. processed) because daily or multiple times a week shopping trips are infeasible.

The farms in rural areas are generally focused on growing a single thing (either one type of livestock, or all corn, etc.), entirely for wholesale, farmers markets are a distraction for most of them, outside of smaller farms that are more of a lifestyle / hobby thing a lot of the time.

Farm stands sometimes exist, but they're an exception rather than the rule in most places, and unless you're in an area known for growing fruit or something like that (and primarily selling to tourists driving by) it'll be one-off things like sweet corn in season or eggs.

Re: Poor in Tech

#180

Post by faceplanted »

protomyth wrote: post #33

I knew I was the only poor person at my tech startup because everyone else had good teeth. No joke. I grew up with free government dental, and it took years of earning to get at least presentable teeth. Not smiling for years doesn't help your work prospects.

Are you talking about alignment or whiteness here? I'm just confused as I thought even government dental would allow for braces, and it would be weird to whiten a child's teeth.

I'm not from America and lucked into never needing braces or any dental work at all other than cleanings so I don't know much about this.

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