C.C. Francis's Blog, page 15
July 28, 2020
July 27, 2020
That's good that you were able to achieve a home in a solid neighborhood.
That's good that you were able to achieve a home in a solid neighborhood. I'm still renting, and watching dreams of a family fade away in this new virus world.
I'm mixed race, NA. My best friend is mixed race, Asian. We both have health issues. Mine's chronic migraine (think terrible ice-pick headaches every day). It's been tough for both of us—in So Cal. I haven't experienced anti-black racism, but I am very familiar with health stigma. I have run into brutal medical problems as a young man, working 60-80 hours/week. The total lack of understanding I ran into was just shocking. The USA needs to do much better. You're not productive after 40 hours/week anyway. You're just hurting yourself.
That's messed up about the schools. There's no excuse for a teacher not helping a kid discover their potential. The fidgeting comment hits home for me because I've heard that myself. I have ADD. It's perfectly treatable (and treatment is super effective), but ignorant teachers in my own youth often said, "oh he fidgets and can't focus," and just left it at that. It's horrible. People with ADD are often gifted. It just takes a proper diagnosis and they're at the top. I can't imagine what it's like to run into something like that for a kid of color in America. Teachers are supposed to help kids, not bring them down.
This COVID-19 situation may present opportunities for change. We need to rediscover the value of looking out for one another, of kindness & compassion, as a society. There's too much greed and cruelty. I would like to think I'm not a pirate. An unemployed one, maybe. I've lost my job, and more than one family member to this virus. It's harmed my health and my career in ways I'm only starting to understand. Things are rough right now. I agree with your message. People are created equal. I can only imagine the untapped economic growth we will encounter when we break down the barriers of racism and have full opportunity for black innovators. If I had the power to snap a finger and change things, I would. I'm thinking we need to fix schools, forgive & elminate student debt, manage inequality, have universal healthcare, encourage more housing supply, and encourage understanding of bias and racism. And do all of that without growing the deficit.
I don't think I share your cynicism though. I think there is opportunity in this—a challenge. I have to hope things will get better.
July 26, 2020
Ah, I stand corrected. I must have been thinking of someone else.
Ah, I stand corrected. I must have been thinking of someone else.
Great article. Thanks for sharing.
Great article. Thanks for sharing.
This is a critical point.
This is a critical point.
Imagine the next Jo Rowling, or Steve Jobs, or Mark Zuckerberg as a Millennial. That person has to struggle like mad to keep a roof over his/her head during multiple economic crises—likely with 6-figure student loan debt.
Maybe he/she will still succeed. Hard work, structure, dedication are all critical. But maybe not. The disadvantages are piling up. If you have to work 12 hours/day looking for a corporate job to keep food on the table & ensure healthcare coverage, good luck innovating. This is Mazlow's Hierarchy.
This is where we need to focus—satisfying basic needs so we can foster innovation.
Musk's attitude about this crisis has been especially disappointing because he came from poverty in…
Musk's attitude about this crisis has been especially disappointing because he came from poverty in SA. He should know better.
Each person has enormous intellectual and innovative potential. So much goes unrealized. A poverty mindset begets poverty. A life of opportunity begets success. "Labor" should be automated to the maximum extent possible so people can focus on unlocking all possible potential.
We must revitalize our capitalism with a purer focus on innovation, education, automation, and—most of all—the potential in each and every person. The idea that someone is only cut out to be "labor" is unforgivably cynical.
Concepts like UBI, universal high-quality healthcare, housing supply reforms, and radical changes in education systems don't require a move away from capitalism—just capitalism done so cynically and incompetently. Our generation has great ideas, and we will build a better future.
Then produce some results.
Then produce some results.
He has had many opportunities to do so with public health measures. Instead we have had chaos and death.
If the USA were a business run in this fashion, President Trump would have been ousted already.
July 25, 2020
Then it’s up to the rest of us to break the conditioning.
Then it’s up to the rest of us to break the conditioning. “Idiot,” “dolt,” etc. is an easy out. Learn cognitive dissonance reduction strategies, Socratic Method, philosophical razors, etc. Make your voice heard, respectfully.
https://medium.com/halcyonpub/rebuilding-an-innovation-economy-963d8d574d6c
We all carry the responsibility for forging a better future.
Ironically, this downtime is where a lot of economic value comes from — through innovation…
Ironically, this downtime is where a lot of economic value comes from — through innovation, hobbies, tinkering, etc.
I like your focus on non-economic forms of poverty. Before COVID, it was possible for young professionals to make $150-200k/year (necessary to afford a home in CA) — and still be poor. You would work 80 hours/week to do it, and your life would be absolute hell. It was emotional poverty, time poverty, and health poverty. Working like this ruins you, from the inside out. But if you quit, you had no health insurance and your career was over.
Somewhere we got this idea that people can work like machines, and things would be great. Success was defined solely in monetary terms.
There is more to life. Defining success in this way is myopic and cruel. The body breaks down — mentally, physically, and emotionally. Innovation and ingenuity (the traditional drivers of American economic success) are impossible under these circumstances. At 12-14 hours/day, every waking moment is work.
80 hours/week happens in America — regularly, in some industries.
Catastrophe, or reform? Or both?
Catastrophe, or reform? Or both?
There is a generation gap right now. Millennials & Gen Z have watched our futures vanish in multiple greed-motivated catastrophes. Our values will be different, and our leaders will make different decisions.
Good can come of this too, if we stand up for our values and make our voices heard.
