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Comment by orofino | Hacker News Reader

I'll ignore the inflammatory parts and focus on the 1% thing.

Why is it that someone who is privileged isn't allowed to want something more? True, they have a lot, but that's the way of life at this point, people move up, people's position gets better, that's the story of human history. However, this person is SO well off, that they're not allowed to question or look for something better?

Just because there is suffering in the world doesn't mean I can't want for more for myself and family.

Edit: Nope I lied, I'm not going to ignore the inflammatory bit, fuck you for saying it.

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Well said. All this "first world problem", "1%", "privilege" bullshit is, well, bullshit. A person's problems are their problems, regardless of what me, you, John Doe, Kevin Mitnick, Paul Graham, Barak Obama, Kevin Spacey, Kevin Bacon, Tom Selleck, or the sterno bum at the corner of 3rd and Main, think about them.

Sure, it would be nice if everybody spent their energy worrying about poverty in Africa or South America, or human rights in China or whatever, but no one is under any particular obligation to devote their energy to those problems, or to prioritize them over their own favorite issues, whatever they may be.

"No one is under any particular obligation to devote their energy to those problems." Why?

Because no one has the authority to impose such an obligation.

But everyone should learn to put their problems into perspective while growing up (and between first world problems and Africa there are a few shades in between).

In other comments i've seen often the word "maturity", well, not to be excessively critic, but that's not the first word that came to mind while reading that article.

But everyone should learn to put their problems into perspective while growing up

Perspective is important no doubt. And don't get me wrong, my own take certainly includes a large degree of concern about "big picture" issues. But as somebody who is admittedly a radical individualist whose interest in philosophy tends towards Existentialism, and who realizes that we are all living very short lives in a brutal and uncaring world... I don't have much of a problem with people who choose to focus on their own problems, needs and concerns.

Like I said, it would be nice if everybody willingly chose to focus on poverty, clean water, vaccinations, clean energy, pollution, etc. But if someone chooses not to focus much (or at all) on that, I can understand and respect their stance.

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