Of course there's a dark side, but the truth is that a lack of real democracy, fair elections, human rights etc. just isn't going to matter to your average startup.
In fact, it's not going to matter to the average person, either.
"Indifferent towards rape."
Seriously? Not being triggered by a depiction of a rape in a novel doesn't mean you're indifferent towards rape.
And while "springing" "triggering" "content" on a weak person is a bad idea, encouraging them to seek out triggering content on their own and approach it at their own pace is going to create a stronger, better person. It's not just about the trigger either - learning that you can overcome something like that is extremely empowering. Hiding for the rest of your life is slowly going to turn you into a coward.
> Not being triggered by a depiction of a rape in a novel doesn't mean you're indifferent towards rape.
That wasn't the point being made.
The point is that if depictions of rape are triggering to you, it's not necessarily important to work on not being triggered by rape depictions. Avoidance is generally acceptable there.
Isn't it better for a person to not be triggerable?
Wouldn't you wish, if a friend of yours was chronically vunerable in a way that hindered them that, all else being equal, they would become more resilient- for their own sake?
Being triggerable is a weakness. It gives others power over you. So why would anyone want that?
Also, not being triggerable does not mean being insensitive or cynical or tolerant or whatever. It's just about being able to deal with stuff without freaking out.
Even after decades of therapy, rape victims may still be triggered by descriptions/depictions of rape. Abuse victims may not be able to watch a movie with an abused child without breaking down, even after long, intensive therapy.
And upon reflection, I get that I'm triggered by dogs. Having been attacked by a doberman, many years ago. And surviving only because it was on a chain, and I didn't fall down. So it only took a chunk out of one ankle.
So now, whenever I encounter a dog, I immediately think about what I could use as a weapon.
Maybe you haven't heard that word in this context before, it's of course not meant to be read literally. I understand it the same way as I would read "toxic workplace culture" or "toxic social environment", which is that there are people who bully, abuse power, take advantage of you, deliberately misunderstand you, are racist, sexist, etc.
1) containing or being poisonous material especially when capable of causing death or serious debilitation
2) exhibiting symptoms of infection or toxicosis
3) extremely harsh, malicious, or harmful
4) relating to or being an asset that has lost so much value that it cannot be sold on the market
In the context of this specific discussion, for the sake of disambiguation, the third definition listed above is the one being used. Here are some articles which may help to further clarify the concept of "toxic" as it applies to people, social interactions and online communities:
In a country this big, there are massive areas just a little bit off of the beaten path where millions of people live where the suffering these numbers speak to is largely taking place - areas where people have few employment or higher education options, stricken by drug epidemics (since producing/moving/usings drugs is glamorous in dismally poor regions), where public schools are abysmally bad, where they have to drive 20 miles for a grocery store that sells produce.
I live here and travel frequently and it's very hard for even me to be in touch with the areas that are suffering. There are huge swaths of Metro Detroit that range from pleasantly functional to fabulously wealthy - a normal person would have to take a weird detour to be exposed to the dysfunctional/left behind part of America. I recently drove through Ohio to visit an amazing state park and the story was much the same. Reputable journalists write about massive unemployment and drug abuse in many regions there, but all I saw was well-maintained infrastructure, cute urban areas and a beautiful park.
Really? Really? Take a look at the unemployment in Spain or France and get back to me.
Also, not all countries in Europe have a minimum wage - there's no official minimum wage in Norway (although the de facto minimum wage is a lot higher than in the US).
>Really? Really? Take a look at the unemployment in Spain or France and get back to me.
Really? Really? You think the unemployment in Spain and France is because of the minimum wage? They had the minimum wage decades before they had high unemployment (and inversely for the US).
Not to mention unemployment rate doesn't say much, since in the US it includes all kinds of subsistence semi-jobs that would qualify more like colonial deals in other countries -- among other manipulations:
"The answer lies in the measurement of unemployment. If you have not looked for a job in the last four weeks, you are not counted as being unemployed, because you are not counted as being part of the work force. When there are no jobs to be found, job seekers become discouraged and cease looking for jobs. In other words, the 4.1 percent unemployment rate does not count discouraged workers who cannot find jobs. (...) The US Bureau of Labor Statistics has a second measure of unemployment that includes workers who have been discouraged and out of the labor force for less than one year. This rate of unemployment is 8.2 percent, double the 4.1 percent reported rate. (...) The US government no longer tracks unemployment among discouraged workers who have been out of the work force for more than one year. However, John Williams of shadowstats.com continues to estimate this rate and places it at 22 or 23 percent, a far cry from 4.1 percent. In other words, the 4.1 percent unemployment rate does not count the unemployed who do show up in the declining labor force participation rate." [1]
In any case, even with the given "unemployment rate" as the metric, the US is well below Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, Vietnam, Guatemala, and other places, the same way it is, itself, ahead of France. Does that tell you much?
Funny, in France there's also the same kind of manipulation to reduce the official unemployment. And that for all people who stopped being considered unemployed, only a minority had actually found a job (I saw that figure a few years ago, so it might have changed, but I doubt it).
The relatively high unemployment rate in Spain is not related to the minimum wage, but has been linked to their economy being driven mainly by tourism and construction. In fact, the minimum wage in Spain is neither very high nor very low compared to other European countries.
Are you blaming the higher unemployment ratios in those countries on the minimum wage?
The UK has a minimum wage and low unemployment. At the time it was introduced we were warned it would lead to increased unemployment but that turned out to be wrong.
