Really sweet of the man. I imagine this kind of thing isn't particularly rare or anything like that, though. It's only gauche to actually mention it.
I don't have a monthly $100 commitment but I think I probably end up with more than that effective. The last time was when my car was towed and the chap at the next counter over simply had no money to pay to get his car, which he was living out of, clear of the lot. They discounted it quite a bit more than mine so it didn't feel that bad to just toss on the extra couple hundred. Made a poor chap's life better.
But listen, I have the social awareness to not tell that story because it is considered impolite to mention these things. Good things must be done in secret. If told, they must be told like this pseudonymously.
Consequently, I'd bet that there's a lot of people doing shit like this. Presumably they just keep the secret till the end.
The other part, though, is that I realized I am easily parted from my money in these circumstances and afterwards I don't feel good at all. I am using post-tax dollars incredibly inefficiently to bring happiness and perpetuating exploitative systems. I am setting back all my life goals because I'm a sucker for visible sadness and the only way I know to make the discomfort go away is to heal it with money.
This man had the right of it to not do anything till old age. At that point all you can contribute is your knowledge given freely and your money given away. So now I just stay far away from anything that will trigger these impulses in me since I am aware of this vulnerability.
> Consequently, I'd bet that there's a lot of people doing shit like this
You're absolutely right, and our world problems are
1) not perpetuating poor life decisions (someone else made a mistake, we helped them but want to make sure they are safe/aware enough to avoid it the 2nd time)
2) coming up with parallel constructions of how we know so much damn crap about the universe without colleagues discovering we cheated by helping others and hearing their stories in detail. A personal favorite of mine is "I guessed and got lucky!" (deciding which vendor to go with and I know 2 of them are pure evil b/c of helping their customers)
There definitely are. I've had someone help me like this in time of need and I make sure to do the same when I have the opportunity. You'd be surprised how often the opportunity arises.
3 comments
[ 3.2 ms ] story [ 12.8 ms ] threadI don't have a monthly $100 commitment but I think I probably end up with more than that effective. The last time was when my car was towed and the chap at the next counter over simply had no money to pay to get his car, which he was living out of, clear of the lot. They discounted it quite a bit more than mine so it didn't feel that bad to just toss on the extra couple hundred. Made a poor chap's life better.
But listen, I have the social awareness to not tell that story because it is considered impolite to mention these things. Good things must be done in secret. If told, they must be told like this pseudonymously.
Consequently, I'd bet that there's a lot of people doing shit like this. Presumably they just keep the secret till the end.
The other part, though, is that I realized I am easily parted from my money in these circumstances and afterwards I don't feel good at all. I am using post-tax dollars incredibly inefficiently to bring happiness and perpetuating exploitative systems. I am setting back all my life goals because I'm a sucker for visible sadness and the only way I know to make the discomfort go away is to heal it with money.
This man had the right of it to not do anything till old age. At that point all you can contribute is your knowledge given freely and your money given away. So now I just stay far away from anything that will trigger these impulses in me since I am aware of this vulnerability.
You're absolutely right, and our world problems are
1) not perpetuating poor life decisions (someone else made a mistake, we helped them but want to make sure they are safe/aware enough to avoid it the 2nd time)
2) coming up with parallel constructions of how we know so much damn crap about the universe without colleagues discovering we cheated by helping others and hearing their stories in detail. A personal favorite of mine is "I guessed and got lucky!" (deciding which vendor to go with and I know 2 of them are pure evil b/c of helping their customers)