

When terrible things happen to people I can't help... - spicywith
https://twitter.com/paulg/status/323909260826259457
Just lost a lot of respect. Not what I would expect from you.
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pg
I've found that when there is some sort of disaster that hurts people and
there's nothing I can do directly to fix things, it makes me feel better to at
least go and help someone. I went to Watsi and funded a bunch of treatments
after the Sandy Hook shootings too. It compensates in some way for random acts
of violence to commit random acts of kindness.

~~~
DanBC
The 'contrarian opinion' is a problem that really needs fixing. Every time
anyone says anything there's always someone who says "ZOMG!! You're a bad
person".

I find the hostile reaction to your tweet baffling.

To be clear: constructive criticism is useful and valuable and desirable and
all those other good words. But the level of harshness aimed at some things is
just weird.

~~~
pg
Reputation is potential energy.

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tptacek
Is the idea here that Paul Graham chose the wrong time to suggest funding skin
grafts for a 12 year old boy in Burma who was horribly burned in a petrol
fire?

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freshfruit
Whenever the world is shaken by some awful tragedy, the event is followed by
an outpouring of kindness. I remember a trip to NYC right after 9/11; the good
will was palpable from our cabbies to our friends. Sandy Hook had a similar
affect...

In every case I can think of, the cumulative good will so vastly outweighed
the malice behind the incident that it felt like the worlds Karma account was
being made whole again and then some. From what I've seen, most everybody
pitches in with some kind gesture.

Regarding @paulg's Tweet, the volume of RTs/Favorites so vastly outweighed the
few negative comments, I'm led to believe that most people empathized with the
reaction to do something kind.

As for the few who reacted negatively: It seems that any comment that is heard
by a sufficiently large audience will be misinterpreted by some. I tend to
doubt that they willfully misinterpreted the intent... but that's just a
hunch.

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dkoch
A charity that I'm very close to, Operation Breakthrough, serves the needs of
poor children in Kansas City. After the Newtown, CT shooting, one of the
founders, Sister Berta Sailer, issued a challenge to the people of KC to do
something, anything to make a difference for kids locally.

She wasn't trying to promote her charity over other charities that might
directly lend assistance to families affected by the Newtown tragedy. She said
"We need to show them there are more good people than bad people" [1]. PG is
reflecting this sentiment -- when something bad happens that you can't provide
aide for directly, do something, anything good that helps others.

It's not about self-promotion, it's about being a good person.

1\. [http://www.kshb.com/dpp/news/local_news/kansas-city-child-
ad...](http://www.kshb.com/dpp/news/local_news/kansas-city-child-advocate-
calls-on-families-to-make-a-difference-in-the-lives-of-children-in-need)

