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Poor in Tech

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Re: Poor in Tech

#231

Post by im3w1l »

Involuntary poors are a huge threat to our society. They lack morals, discipline and intelligence because if they didn't they would have pulled themselves up their own bootstraps already. They are never more than one step from petty crime, and never more than two from snapping and going berserk on the people around them.

When some inpoo walk by me with their smelly ragged clothes or poo on some SF street (seriously, it's so common it's basically a trope???) I instinctively watch my back and clutch my pearl necklace firmly because I know they are just waiting for an opportunity to steal it (I managed to get a good deal, when it was on sale for at $18999 at Tiffany's, and it looks so sparkly and amazing. I always get a lot of compliments for it!).

But anyway the point I'm trying to make is that the inpoos are a menace and a threat to our dear city, and they should be driven out by ensuring high quality environmentally friendly housing that they can't afford, by taking down their tents and upgrading benches to those new ones you can't sleep on. And the police need to keep them under constant surveillance. It's not enough but it's a start at least.

Re: Poor in Tech

#232

Post by scaramanga »

Grustaf wrote: post #184

> Nobody had walked me away from my desk to keep me from stealing pens or staples or secrets. Are you saying poor people are always dishonest so by trusting you they treated you like a rich person, which is bad because ?? . Honestly I'm just confused.

The article is about how poverty isn't just a financial situation but a shrinking of your world view.

The author isn't complaining about that situation. She finds herself being surprised by it, and then noticing her own surprise begins contemplating what it might mean.

I guess it means that poor people are continually treated as if they are thieves or guilty of something, and after being treated that way for so long, you internalize that judgement and treat yourself that way. Then when you notice a situation where you're not being treated that way, you might be surprised, and feel a mixture of emotions about the fact that you have been seeing yourself as guilty and untrustworthy for so long, and for no reason other than that you're poor.

Reading your other comments you seem quite defensive about the fact that she doesn't have any real reason for saying rich people are so bad. But nowhere in the article does she actually say rich people are bad. She's saying why being poor sucks, what it feels like to go from being poor to being a bit better off, what that other world looks like from the outside or, more broadly, how your economic circumstances shape your view of the world and your expectations and interactions in it.

I don't know why you would insist on reading it as some sort of attack.

Re: Poor in Tech

#233

Post by sfg »

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 /…

It's one of those articles you either relate to or don't and if you don't, you're going to pick up on the flaws. Not everyone that fails to relate will complain about those flaws, but any article designed to evoke emotions - as this one is - will inevitably stir up irritation in some, and those so stirred will complain about them.

Written differently, but with the same message, it would carry more people with it, but then maybe those that related would relate less well, so maybe that would be a net loss.

Re: Poor in Tech

#234

Post by maury91 »

watwut wrote: post #12

> Gym membership was included in my benefits. I went half a dozen times before it was made crystal clear to me that I did not belong. I would be curious about this one. What did happened in the gym? Not really doubting, some people in gyms are quite unfriendly when you dont look fit. But I am still curious what happened there.

I don't know if is something about "small town" gyms. But in the gym I used to go when I was younger, the owner of the gym was also a global personal trainer, he will follow every person that joins the gym ( for free ), he will tell you what exercise do today and will follow you if the exercise is new or he notices you don't know how to do it properly, he will also help you with diet and everything in between. The other members of the gym were also very friendly and supportive, congratulating with you for every little advancement like "you look slimmer compared to a week ago"

When I moved to London I was never able to found a gym with that environment.

Re: Poor in Tech

#235

Post by UncleMeat »

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…

> I've heard stories that at Google, the non-engineering workers at campus may not socialize with engineers at all.

Googler for many years here. I've never heard of this kind of thing. One of the most prolific and loved content creators on the internal meme board is in sales. The closest thing I've ever heard like this in the entire valley is that at Apple they don't pay for the lunch bill of non-engineers, so having premium lunch options can feel exclusive to engineers.

One of the most widely praised decisions Google made during the pandemic was to continue to pay their vendor staff who maintain the buildings even though there was no work to be done. And they kept that promise (as far as I can tell) for the entire process even though the initial expectation was that WFH would last for a few months.

My personal experience at Google has been that people do chat with vendor staff like custodial workers and kitchen staff.

Re: Poor in Tech

#236

Post by pdpi »

Ekaros wrote: post #38
ideamotor wrote: post #19

Assuming the trip to Greece was a joke was pretty good, as was the comment about hearing other people’s hobbies and just thinking about the expense. There are definitely cultural signifiers from wealth. Discussing housing endlessly is the biggest one.

Found that bit surprising one. For European startup long weekend in Greece isn't that special. The flights can be quite cheap and Greece generally isn't that expensive country. A few hundred all together could probably be done.

The idea that "A few hundred all together" isn't that special is precisely what the post is about!

Re: Poor in Tech

#237

Post by SamuelAdams »

oaiey wrote: post #126
mcherm wrote: post #2

I've seen this before. Not often, because the companies I have worked at have rarely hired someone from this social strata. But in the cases where we have, I have seen the alienation. Aside from the obvious "be genuinely friendly", does anyone have suggestions of what to do as a coworker to support someone suffering from this cultural barrier?

Be an ally.

This is extremely vague.

Re: Poor in Tech

#238

Post by protomyth »

faceplanted wrote: post #180
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.

Both, IHS had issues. One of those issues was a botched root canal that took three operations to fix. When you don't/ cannot fire incompetents and just move them to another site, it makes things less than optimal.

Re: Poor in Tech

#239

Post by jmt_ »

phone8675309 wrote: post #183
gonehome wrote: post #163

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Even without the race element - there’s definitely a class thing. I noticed it when I moved to the Bay Area after growing up in western New York. The types of foods people ate or didn’t eat, the restaurants people would or would not go to. The shows people would or would not watch, even the way people talked. I think I hadn’t really seen the difference in class behavior before in America. Now it’s easy to see it. A l…

> You can be poor and still act more “upper class” and you can be rich and still act “working class”. You are stunningly naive if you think that a poor person acting more "upper class" isn't reminded that they're "out of their lane" more than someone rich acting "working class".

Spot on. Every time I wear "fancy" clothes I'm constantly worrying that everyone is pointing at me thinking "we know who you really are, you're poor and don't deserve to be acting this way". This is despite me moving away from my poor town years ago and establishing a solid job for myself. Nobody in my new town knows me at all yet I assume they know I came from a "less than" background. A poor person must undo decades of the effects poverty inflicts to truly appear "rich" where a rich person must simply "lower their standards" to act working class.

Re: Poor in Tech

#240

Post by [deleted] »

username90 wrote: post #207
MattRix wrote: post #165

Earlier quoted context omitted.

“it’s not that hard to not be obese when poor.” The statistics make it quite clear that it is hard, maybe your assumptions are wrong.

Or your assumption wrong. Here is a reasonable explanation: People are poor since they got bad self control, which also makes them fat. People who lack self control are easily tempted with shitty fast food, so their areas mostly serves it rather than real food creating these "food deserts". If there was demand for food in those areas people would sell it, but there isn't. Edit: A strong piece of evidence is that peop…

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