Hacker News Reader

Comment by Cthulhu_ | Hacker News Reader

I'm not sure where you got the take that the left thinks of it as trauma; it's consequent events (e.g. your ancestors could not get an education, job, and/or buy a house because of racism -> you did not benefit from generational wealth even though there is now less racism).

I'm also not sure where you get the far right idea from; I don't think they believe in "a sort of cultural memory", it's just culture, nothing woo about it.

TL;DR it feels like you're misrepresenting political sides to try and make this article about politics.

View on HN

I only knew this existed because of the "left" take with regards to people descended from slaves (black only of course)

As someone on the left - there's nothing "woo woo" about systemic racism.

The single greatest indicator of a person's financial success is that of their parents. And that simply repeats generation after generation.

There's nothing magical about it.

Exactly this. My response is usually just asking if they believe in compounding interest. It's the same concept, but with those farther up the curve justifying themselves.

Hence the "woo woo". The promise of delivery of value in the future, of which compound interest is a part of, is an invented construct that hinges entirely on people believing it to be the way things are. If people stopped believing, it would all cease to exist. There is no fundamental property of the universe that makes it so. It is merely religion.

The fact that successfulness of parents predicts successfulness of children is "woo woo"?

I hate racism. It makes people dumb.

The factors that successfulness of parents predicts successfulness of children is "woo woo".

It is not some fundamental property of the universe. It is that way only because people believe it to be the way things are. We could stop believing. It is just religion. But it seems nobody wants to, "the left" included.

Why is that? Because they are a benefactor from it? Because, as you suggest, their racist ways have "made them dumb"? The youth population – those able to offer the most future value and thus responsible for maintaining the status quo – by and large "lean left". It is not a "those other guys are to blame" situation.

> It is not some fundamental property of the universe.

LOL. You don't believe in social patterns?

Ok, well, you might be the only one. I hope you don't invest in stocks or try to start your own company. Or have friends.

I don't have beliefs, but I do acknowledge your point that actions speak louder than words. It is easy to say you are racist, but hard to do something about it, and social pattern data indicates that people are lazy and racist and therefore won't do anything[1] about it.

[1] Posting silly comments on the internet for the sake of entertainment is not doing something as it pertains to this.

Yeah... you take care now.

Is there some concern that Hacker News is going to fall out of care? Or what do you mean by this?

Yeah.

could you give an example?

Reply on news.ycombinator.com