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0 pointsWarOnPrivacy4y ago0 comments

> I'm not really responsible for getting edible food, drinkable water, warmth, cover, shelter from the elements, protection from hostile animals or enemy humans.

You seem to be disregarding the countless unplanned for things that people assume aren't going to clutter up their lives.

A tiny, tiny portion of the things that consume meaningful time each week: trying to turn health insurance into usable medical care or getting any insurance to pay out filed claims - complex family finances such as tracking multiple credit cards to maintain a credit rating - tracking multiple income streams for tax purposes - shopping for clothes such as trying to figure out how to buy shoes online without scoring a pair that sat so long the soles won't hold, doing that again when they're out of stock, and again, and again - helping kids with homework, inc puzzling out unfamiliar educational methods that school districts change every few years - time spent commuting - time spent maintaining older vehicles - shuttling kids to and from activities - civic and community responsibilities - years of education followed by ongoing education and certifications in your field - every part of being self employed - caring for a family member who has profound, chronic disabilities - personal medical maintenance for a chronic condition - locating a product that that is suddenly not available because it's the only one that doesn't make your kid sick - taking pets to the vet - keeping the property up to keep the HOA off your back - suing the HOA when they're on your back anyway - fighting to get your street repaved - proving to Amazon your 7k box arrived empty - fixing your appliances - researching which appliances won't fall apart months after you buy them - pursuing an appliance warranty claim because your research didn't pan out - researching medical claims to see if changes to diet or sleep would reduce exhaustion - handling the aftermath of a traffic accident - protecting your family from surveillance capitalism - contacting your county about a traffic light issue - doing anything at all at the DMV - filing local, state and federal taxes - getting your car inspected - getting it inspected again after some arcane violation is spotted - fighting with ISP every month over bogus recurring charges - adopting out the kittens that appeared in your front garden - perusing a service connected disability when the VA lost your military records - documenting a bad neighbor - handling CPS when your bad neighbor figures out they can report you anonymously - handling the estate of a loved one who sucked at organization - putting your own post-death affairs in order - proving a SS disability claim - researching each political candidate and issue instead of party-line voting - being a payee - mental healthcare - handling the recurring fallout from someone else's MI - helping people move - helping someone who is elderly and lives alone - finding a new homeowner's policy when your insurer won't renew, doing that again next year, and the year after that....

Anyone could post a completely different list.

All of these time estimates go way up if you're poor, work two jobs and have $100 to cover $500 of need.

0 comments

a9h74j4y ago

One reason Lewis Mumford suggested that if you include the care and feeding of cars and earning taxes to pay for roads and regulations, it could be quicker to walk or use a wheelbarrow.

lurquer4y ago

I read your list. It’s very comprehensive.

I’d wager an average person from any previous century would trade places with you in a heartbeat.

Indeed, I bet an average resident of many third-world countries would do the same.

In fact, I bet the average resident of the average trailer park ten miles from where you live would trade places with you.

WarOnPrivacyOP4y ago

> I read your list. It’s very comprehensive.

Incorrect. It is a small subset.

> I’d wager an average person from any previous century would trade places with you in a heartbeat. Indeed, I bet an average resident of many third-world countries would do the same.

Sure. Many would. Others would be overwhelmed by the complexity of not just required hours in the day (which tend to increase for the very poor) but also by the many thousands of laws and regulations that can ding us if we run afoul of them. Past that are myriad of requirements from different corps in our lives.

As with some others here, you seem to be confusing (or maybe conflating) 'hard' (as in starvation, disease and invasion) with complex (as in complex).

> In fact, I bet the average resident of the average trailer park ten miles from where you live would trade places with you.

I'll take that bet. Over the last decade we were frequently without food and my wife's mental illness brought ceaseless, life-changing misery to our household. I could go on for many paragraphs but I think this sets the stage.

Where do I collect?

lurquer4y ago

Sorry to hear about your wife. And your lack of food.

Similar items were in your list. I ignored them.

Because those issues are universal at all times and at all places.

Dealing with a mentally ill wife in the 1300s was, I would bet, a bit more ‘complex’ and draining that dealing with a mentally ill wife in a modern city with emergency psych wards, effective drugs (available for convenient pick-up at pharmacies on nearly every corner), and entire industry of psychiatrists, psychologists, counselors, etc.

I mean, if we are comparing apples to apples, I’d much rather have a mental illness issue in a family member today versus 100 years ago. I’d rather not have the issue present at all, but that’s not a comparison. I mean, you could just as well say, “Trade places with me?! I’m a balding quadriplegic typing this with my nose! I challenge you to find any 13th century peasant who would be willing to trade places with me!”

Edit: I’d chime in with the other response. Namely, you sound very stressed out. I wish your situation wasn’t so complex. Seriously. Hang in there.

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manmal4y ago

I hope I don’t offend you by suggesting this, and I’m ready to face a hard rejection - but you could probably benefit from saying No to obligations/responsibilities more often, and caring a little bit less about always doing the right thing. Murphy’s law means people fill their life with complexity until there’s no room left.

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0 pointsWarOnPrivacy4y ago0 comments

> I'm not really responsible for getting edible food, drinkable water, warmth, cover, shelter from the elements, protection from hostile animals or enemy humans.

You seem to be disregarding the countless unplanned for things that people assume aren't going to clutter up their lives.

Anyone could post a completely different list.

All of these time estimates go way up if you're poor, work two jobs and have $100 to cover $500 of need.

0 comments

a9h74j4y ago

One reason Lewis Mumford suggested that if you include the care and feeding of cars and earning taxes to pay for roads and regulations, it could be quicker to walk or use a wheelbarrow.

lurquer4y ago

I read your list. It’s very comprehensive.

I’d wager an average person from any previous century would trade places with you in a heartbeat.

Indeed, I bet an average resident of many third-world countries would do the same.

In fact, I bet the average resident of the average trailer park ten miles from where you live would trade places with you.

WarOnPrivacyOP4y ago

> I read your list. It’s very comprehensive.

Incorrect. It is a small subset.

> I’d wager an average person from any previous century would trade places with you in a heartbeat. Indeed, I bet an average resident of many third-world countries would do the same.

As with some others here, you seem to be confusing (or maybe conflating) 'hard' (as in starvation, disease and invasion) with complex (as in complex).

> In fact, I bet the average resident of the average trailer park ten miles from where you live would trade places with you.

Where do I collect?

lurquer4y ago

Sorry to hear about your wife. And your lack of food.

Similar items were in your list. I ignored them.

Because those issues are universal at all times and at all places.

Edit: I’d chime in with the other response. Namely, you sound very stressed out. I wish your situation wasn’t so complex. Seriously. Hang in there.

2 more replies

manmal4y ago

1 more reply

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