this post was submitted on 28 Nov 2023
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In their defence, it is a difficult concept to grasp. My dad started his career shovelling gravel for a few dollars an hour. Now he's a vice president making very good money. In his mind, anyone can replicate what he did by working hard instead of being lazy and asking for handouts.
I eventually got through to him one day when he was talking about hiring for a senior management position. He was interviewing all these people with fancy degrees and credentials. I asked why not promote one of his hard workers? He laughed and said the person needs to be more than a hard worker to manage multi-million dollar projects. But where would he be now if his old boss had thought the same thing? My dad has none of the credentials of the people he was interviewing. He'd still be shovelling gravel 60 hours a week for minimum wage if nobody gave him the opportunity to advance. How could he think hard work will be rewarded when he doesn't even reward it himself? That's when he admitted the world works differently now.
Admitting that there's a problem usually also means that you admit that changes should happen. People like feeling comfy, and people like dealing with what they know. Change is uncomfortable, and it takes effort. It's the "fuck you I got mine" mindset. I hate it, and I strongly believe it's hindering the entire planet's progress in almost every form.
"All young people are bad" until they need life saving surgery. "Disability payments are bad" until dear ol' dad has an unexpected stroke that leaves him completely paralyzed. "Minimum wage is bad" until their personal lifelong industry dies. "Young people are stupid" until they need young people to take care of them in hospice. (Even then lmao) It's selfish and it's short-sighted.
When I get old, I aspire to be that old person who plants trees that I'll never see bloom. I want to help people in ways that I'll never see. That shouldn't even be a "good person" thing. That should just be "being part of a society that doesn't want to cease existing after a few generations".
I would feel like I had miserably failed at life if I ever ended up vying for the failure of future generations in the name of my own personal success. It's also a pretty weak goal to limit yourself to just "doing better" at life than complete strangers. I take pride in what I've done, personally. I don't need to "do better" than the next set of people to feel that pride. It's sad that so many need to treat others poorly to feel good about themselves. I would be embarrassed to act the way that I've seen many people act, personally.
What a state of things.