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Comment by HDThoreaun | Hacker News Reader

This is dumb. Every fast food meal you eat was prepared by someone having a miserable time. Guess what, theyd be more miserable without the job. Getting stuff done is what benefits humans, not feel good jobs.

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It's not "dumb", you're just presenting a steelman that directly contradicts what the person you're replying to wrote.

You might indeed be shocked to find that not everyone consumes fast food.

What strikes me about this exchange is no one is talking about the money. In the past, you could do either and no one had to care except you. Now a lot of jobs that people could find fulfilling aren't because the economy is so distorted, so how are we supposed to honestly look at this? I guess let's walk these people off the plank and get this over with...

Did the people who worked on the farm to grow and harvest your food enjoy it?

Are you seriously and earnestly arguing that harm-minimisation is useless and we should all just open the human-suffering throttle, or did you just not think that far ahead?

I am hoping the latter. Being foolish is far more temporary a condition than being cruel.

Increasing productivity is how we minimize harm. Many people hate their job but are happy to have it because it allows them to consume things. More production = less suffering

How are you “minimizing harm” by pearl clutching about not eating fast food? The front line people you are interacting with at the fast food restaurant or the grocery store have it easiest in the chain of events that it takes food to get to you. Do you think that fast food workers have it harder than the people at the grocery store?

0.8*harm < 0.81*harm - hope this helps!

Also, the core point is about people being able to find meaning in their work. That you've decided to laser in on this specific point to go on a tangent of whattaboutism is largely irrelevant.

Have a nice day.

The fact is that most of the 3-4 billion+ people on earth don’t “find meaning in their work” and they only work because they haven’t overcome their addiction to food and shelter. If the point was irrelevant to your argument, why make it?

I didn't actually make the point initially. I was challenging the reply's point that:

a) just because some people are miserable at work, doesn't mean we shouldn't care that other people might become miserable at work

b) Someone saying they prefer their food to be made without suffering is clearly a hypocrite in all cases because... there are miserable people in fast food jobs?

I mean... really. Come on now.

People who work in fast food may not be “passionate” about their job. But they aren’t “suffering”. You aren’t relieving anyone’s “suffering” by not eating fast food or even if there was no fast food. They aren’t “suffering” anymore than people working at the grocery store.

Cry me a river for software developers (been delivering code professionally for 30 years and before that as a hobbyist) because now we have something that makes us more efficient.

I don't know if you're intentionally being obtuse or you just failed third grade reading comprehension, but can you please go argue with the people actually making these points (rather than me, a random person who has replied to them)?

So exactly what point are you trying to make? That software developers - at least the employed ones - “are suffering” because of AI? That you don’t eat fast food because you believe the employees are being exploited? What exactly is your point?

Have you worked fast food? I have and I loved it.

What percentage of fast food workers would you say are loving it?

More than 0%.

More than 1%?

Here is the original claim:

> Every fast food meal you eat was prepared by someone having a miserable time.

If you want more data, then maybe ask the one making the claim for his data instead and subtract it from 100%?

Yes, it was miserable.

One of the reasons I try to avoid fast food and indeed everything.

I really don’t see how this helps the fast food workers. When less people eat their food they lose jobs and become even more miserable. Sure if you hire them as a private chef you’re helping them out but if just cook yourself you haven’t done a thing to improve their life.

You're right. I'll send them some thoughts and prayers too.

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