The privilege of risk • Hacker News Board

Re: The privilege of risk

#81

Post by dvt » Fri, Oct 13, 2017, 6:47 AM UTC

maccard wrote: post #73

dvt wrote: post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Not everyone earns 6 figures and can save up 10k to gamble on a venture, and to assume that everyone can is incredibly entitled. Maybe you can point out where I made that assumption. My post wasn't even about my risks , but rather my parents'. Obviously risk should be mitigated. My point was this: hey look at these underprivileged people that barely spoke English and had no rights that came over to the US with two…

> Maybe you can point out where I made that assumption. You didn't make it directly, but > Everyone can take risks. Investing $10,000 and 6 months of your life in a startup is not ruin-inducing Implies to me that you believe that everyone can invest a large sum of money and a not-insignificant amount of time into an incredibly risky venture. > My post wasn't even about my risks, but rather my parents'. My only point…

> Being in a position to do that is privilege.

Breathing is privilege when compared to a corpse. If everything is privilege, then nothing is privilege.

Nuance is important. Taking 6 months off is not some kind of insane windfall akin to winning the lottery. All it takes is a year or two of careful planning and some basic conditions (no illness, no layoff, etc.) You make it seem like me taking some time off and investing in my own ideas (i.e. taking a calculated risk) is something only the privileged can do. That's a fatalist and imo wrong point of view.

Are you the type of person that thinks only the "smart kids" get 4.0 GPAs because they're somehow genetically gifted? It's mostly just a lot of hard work, annoying reading and homework, and not partying every night.

Re: The privilege of risk

#82

Post by maccard » Fri, Oct 13, 2017, 7:55 AM UTC

dvt wrote: post #81

maccard wrote: post #73

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Maybe you can point out where I made that assumption. You didn't make it directly, but > Everyone can take risks. Investing $10,000 and 6 months of your life in a startup is not ruin-inducing Implies to me that you believe that everyone can invest a large sum of money and a not-insignificant amount of time into an incredibly risky venture. > My post wasn't even about my risks, but rather my parents'. My only point…

> Being in a position to do that is privilege. Breathing is privilege when compared to a corpse. If everything is privilege, then nothing is privilege. Nuance is important. Taking 6 months off is not some kind of insane windfall akin to winning the lottery. All it takes is a year or two of careful planning and some basic conditions (no illness, no layoff, etc.) You make it seem like me taking some time off and invest…

> Breathing is privilege when compared to a corpse. If everything is privilege, then nothing is privilege.

Oh come off it. Are you really comparing being in the top 10% of earners in the US to breathing?

> some basic conditions Such as earning enough after tax, rent and expenses to be able to afford to save up half a years living expenses in 2 years, and have a safety net to fall back on if it goes wrong. You’re missing two things here. 1) not everyone makes a six figure salary that enables them to save that kind of money in a short period of time. 2) not everyone has the safety net hat you have in the case that it fails.

If your venture fails and you’re out of work for a year, what will you do?

> are you the type of person that thinks only the “smart kids”...

No, stop trying to turn this around on me. I’m claiming your privilege is being a top earner with wealthy parents to fall back on. For the record, not everyone has what it takes to be a 4.0 GPA student, and if you think that “anyone can” just as long as they work hard, then you are wrong.

> it’s mostly Judy a lot of hard work, annoying reading and homework and not partying every night.

I don’t really know why you’re brjnfjng this up, but petting every night has very little to do with it compared to the other side of the equation - time. If you have time to do the hard work and the reading, do the extra curricular activities, that’s your privilege. You’re just as privileged as the people who choose to spend that time partying. Meanwhile in the real world, not everyone has the same circumstances, and you come across as incredibly patronising to assume that they do.

Re: The privilege of risk

#83

Post by TheCoelacanth » Fri, Oct 13, 2017, 7:09 PM UTC

maccard wrote: post #34

Tomminn wrote: post #3

I remember talking to a friend, who was stressed about the risk in her next career move, and I said: "Realistically, the worst case scenario is that you have to move back in with your parents for a while, and I'm pretty sure they'd be stoked to have you back." And she just burst out laughing. Because it had never occurred to her that that is exactly the limit of how much it was possible for her to materially suffer.

I feel like you're totally missing the point here. Not everyone can move back in with their parents for a while, I certainly can't. Despite earning an above average salary (nothing in comparison to bay area) in the UK, I still couldn't afford to just drop my job, and take a year to try and earn some money, I'd starve to death.

Exactly, that's why it is being referred to as "privilege" and not "something every person in the world has the option of doing".