You’d be surprised how many homeless people have hard science degrees or previously ran succesful businesses. Bad luck, ill health, medical bills, a family member who needs to be taken care of, (government) corruption, fraud, theft, builders didn’t fix your roof right and you’re stuck with the bill and negative equity, etc.
It is possible to commit no mistakes and still lose. That is not weakness, that is life.
The idea that hard work will set you free, a slogan that historically featured above many a concentration camp gate, is a comforting lie but a lie none the less.
While that’s true, I feel like sometimes people take it to the opposite extreme.
Life isn’t just wholly random and you have absolutely no agency in whether you are successful or not.
While it’s true there are homeless people who used to be successful or who have advanced degrees, it’s a huge minority.
And while you can do “everything right” and still fail, you’re wildly more likely to succeed than the person who did “everything wrong.”
Is there always a chance of catastrophic failure? Sure. But you do have agency over your life, and can in fact exert heavy influence over your outcomes.
Homelessness is heavily correlated with mental health issues, childhood (sexual) abuse, and/or childhood deprivation. A lot of these people were fucked before they even got a start in life, through no fault of their own.
It’s easy to think they’re in the position they’re in because of some kind of moral failing. It’s comforting, it allows us to pretend it couldn’t happen to us. It’s good for our egos, we get to pretend our relative success is a result of how great we are.
But the sad reality is that for a lot of people, especially outside the western world, life is fundamentally unfair and no amount of talent or drudgery will do much to significantly improve their situation in life. Realistically the most they can hope to improve their children’s chances, and it’s still a long shot.
Hell, it is almost certain that there are cleaners working at Tesla, who are both more intelligent and hardworking than Elon Musk. But they were born in the wrong place, to the wrong parents, and with the wrong skin colour and/or genitals.
You’d be surprised how many homeless people have hard science degrees or previously ran succesful businesses. Bad luck, ill health, medical bills, a family member who needs to be taken care of, (government) corruption, fraud, theft, builders didn’t fix your roof right and you’re stuck with the bill and negative equity, etc.
It is possible to commit no mistakes and still lose. That is not weakness, that is life.
The idea that hard work will set you free, a slogan that historically featured above many a concentration camp gate, is a comforting lie but a lie none the less.
While that’s true, I feel like sometimes people take it to the opposite extreme.
Life isn’t just wholly random and you have absolutely no agency in whether you are successful or not.
While it’s true there are homeless people who used to be successful or who have advanced degrees, it’s a huge minority.
And while you can do “everything right” and still fail, you’re wildly more likely to succeed than the person who did “everything wrong.”
Is there always a chance of catastrophic failure? Sure. But you do have agency over your life, and can in fact exert heavy influence over your outcomes.
Removed by mod
Meh.
Homelessness is heavily correlated with mental health issues, childhood (sexual) abuse, and/or childhood deprivation. A lot of these people were fucked before they even got a start in life, through no fault of their own.
It’s easy to think they’re in the position they’re in because of some kind of moral failing. It’s comforting, it allows us to pretend it couldn’t happen to us. It’s good for our egos, we get to pretend our relative success is a result of how great we are.
But the sad reality is that for a lot of people, especially outside the western world, life is fundamentally unfair and no amount of talent or drudgery will do much to significantly improve their situation in life. Realistically the most they can hope to improve their children’s chances, and it’s still a long shot.
Hell, it is almost certain that there are cleaners working at Tesla, who are both more intelligent and hardworking than Elon Musk. But they were born in the wrong place, to the wrong parents, and with the wrong skin colour and/or genitals.