
Unpacking my knapsack: the privileges of a Hispanic male in tech - danilocampos
http://danilocampos.com/2013/02/unpacking-my-knapsack-the-privileges-of-a-hispanic-male-in-tech/
======
orangethirty
I live in the same town you were born. Conditions are still hard. Unemployment
is through the roof. The few programming jobs available pay around $10/hr. And
they are mostly doing maintenance on old C#/Visual Basic systems.But that's
better than what most of the population gets. Minimum wage is the norm. People
make around 12K per year, and have to deal with very high costs of living.
Plus the shitty infrastructure.

I had it rough, too. Grew up in a _barrio_. Where most of my childhood friends
are either dead, in jail, or crackheads. Few ever managed to make it into
college (I did not). I'm the only one who has actually made something out of
himself. But not without a lot of hardships. Not long ago (less than 5 years
ago) I was completely broke, no transportation, no job, nothing. But somehow I
kept moving forward. Throwing punches whenever I could. Like you, I was lucky.
My parents got me a computer ( a C64) early on. No one else in a radius of 5
sq. miles had a computer. It was the best thing to ever happen to me. It gave
something for me to hold on to when all my friends were busy learning how to
sell drugs. It kept me safe at home when drive-by-shootings started to happen.
It also helped me not get a young lady pregnant (which was the norm).

Nowdays, I am an accomplished engineer, marketing consultant, and
entrepreneur. I work remotely, with a great team, building a very tough system
(that has me writing code like crazy in different languages). Also help great
people build their businesses into powerhouses. Best of all, I get to build my
own businesses, which I find extremely fun (to the point of even doing some as
a hobby). Who knows what would have happened to me had I not discovered my
love for code? I know that I would not be able to say how proud I am of
reading about a fellow puertorican who has made it. Good luck, and let me know
if you ever visit. I know a place who makes great _frituras_.

~~~
danilocampos
Wow, what a story. Thank you for sharing it. I always had _some_ notion of the
depressing realities I'd have faced if I stuck around on the island – but your
testimony takes it to a new level.

It's amazing. Education really is the silver bullet. And computers are the
most revolutionary education tool ever devised. Way to climb out of a tough
spot, my fellow boricua.

~~~
intended
Education is a good bullet, but its part of an arsenal.

Not everyone can make of the tools the same house you have fashioned, which
follows from people themselves being massively varied.

I suspect that many tools in your tool case would be used in a variety of
manners for people who wanted to get out.

\---

Side note - I've heard "education is the silver bullet for our problems" and
seen it applied with very disappointing results.

On one hand it has definitely given several people a path to move up in life.
But its also been terrible for the rest of the populace.

It ended up creating legions of people who are literate but not 'educated'. A
curious situation where people can say they know about rationality without
having to be rational.

It produces legions of people who can perform mental athletics like rote
memorization, or mental calculus and other tricks, but about poor
understanding of the logic of the underlying principles they apply.

The number of people who grow up to be like the two of you is few and far
between.

~~~
danilocampos
I would argue that one can attain literacy without being educated.

When I say education is the silver bullet, I guess I mean that a full suite of
well-rounded knowledge, along with the tools and confidence to derive more
knowledge, can cure most social ills.

But your point is well-taken. I think we can lay the blame for, say, young-
earth creationism at the feet of a widespread state of literacy without
education.

You know enough to read a book, but not enough to know why you shouldn't take
its contents at face value.

~~~
intended
> ... a full suite of well-rounded knowledge, along with the tools and
> confidence to derive more knowledge, can cure most social ills

> You know enough to read a book, but not enough to know why you shouldn't
> take its contents at face value.

Exactly my position - you can be literate (able to read, write and master a
subject enough to be employed) but either are _unwilling_ or unable to
understand the implications/meaning of what you have read.

Educated people, the way I've seen it, can apply and use what they know to
make the world as a whole better, or at the very least not encourage or allow
assaults on the societal contract.

I think for a while, people assumed that there was a strong correlation
between education and being able to think for yourself. Especially after
seeing people like yourselves who used education as a way to actually be
people who have a moral compass and excel in society.

What people didn't want is the legions of excellent workers who can value a
firm from its financials in their heads, but turn around and promote
intolerance, racism and corruption.

Perhaps its got a lot more to do with the role models you saw. As you said you
had someone who became a thief, but from the way you write, it seems that path
just didn't make sense to you.

------
Yoms
I think your post lays out a clear case that it comes down to parenting, hard
work, and access to the USA. And as an American (Puerto Rican) you had access
to the only one ordinary people can't control.

But I feel your article gets derailed with too many anecdotal stories. Some
rub me the wrong way, but maybe I'm just reading it wrong...

I was also born in Puerto Rico and grew up in Caguas (Bairoa). But that wasn't
a bad thing...

I have a horrible accent (which seems will never disappear) and would probably
not pass the Texas State Trooper test. But that has not impacted my career...

My family was religious, but the first person I met who believed the world was
only a few thousand years old was in Florida. I find it irritating that you
would insinuate Puerto Ricans don't believe in Science...

I don't think being or not being Hispanic has anything to do with it. There
are plenty of people, minorities or not, stuck in crappy areas. With good
parenting, they can at least ensure their kids have a chance at hard work.
It's what helped you, and what helped me. I was also the first person in my
family with a six figure salary.

We should chat though, boricuas in tech has to be a very small group ;).

~~~
Jayschwa
vladsanchez 3 hours ago | link [dead]

Same boat, Boricua in tech, same traits. Read the article the right way, and
liked the anecdotes. Take care.

------
gfosco
It's amazing how far back, and how complicated a chain of events can be that
lead to a specific outcome. Similarly, I look back in awe at the luck and good
fortune I've had.

I owe my entire life-path of technology to my grandfather on my fathers side.
He was an electrical engineer, far ahead of his time, and when he was done
playing with something he sent it to us. I was privileged to receive a TI-99
at age 5, a C64 at age 6, and an 8088 after that. I was hooked from the start,
and computers have been the single most important constant in my life ever
since.

~~~
enneff
I, too, owe my technological career to my father's father, who was an
engineer. He died recently and I wrote about it here:

[https://plus.google.com/106356964679457436995/posts/dcPPziC1...](https://plus.google.com/106356964679457436995/posts/dcPPziC1ajt)

------
jtreminio
> I know with certainty that having access to America – the mainland, the
> honest-to-god US of A – was the most crucial part of my privilege.

Simply being an American, even if from a non-state, was your biggest advantage
and privilege.

I was an illegal immigrant living in Texas until I turned 19 or so, when
Nicaraguans were granted amnesty. Since then, my quality of life has only gone
up and up.

------
confluence
You know what I always find so hilarious. How people always seem to qualify
luck - even when they show us how lucky they have actually been.

I continuously hear statements like "it's partly luck", or "luck is obviously
a component of it", or "luck is clearly a factor", or "luck plays a role" [1]
- all attempting to downplay the enormous magnitude random chance has on our
daily lives. Hell, they might even put numbers on it like "it's probably 50%
luck", or "90% luck". Nobody seems willing to go all they way to and just come
out and say "Yeah - I got really lucky and that's about all there is to the
story".

The just world fallacy is a very, very strong illusion.

Life's a crapshoot. It's all luck.

[1] - <http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5174488>

~~~
blackman
This is one of the discussed problems of philosophy and it gets a bit
complicated when you start on quantum physics and relativity.

Some info.

[http://philosophy.stackexchange.com/questions/1210/in-
which-...](http://philosophy.stackexchange.com/questions/1210/in-which-way-
does-quantum-mechanics-disprove-determinism)

~~~
stdbrouw
Luck are unexpected good things that happen to you and that you didn't work
for. It has little to do with randomness in a physical sense and thus
philosophical discussions about determinism aren't really relevant in this
context.

~~~
Jayschwa
Look further down the discussion chain. confluence has been telling people to
"learn physics" and seems to be equating luck with random chance or
determinism.

~~~
confluence
Luck is merely preferable random chance. I never argued for determinism. I
argued for probabilistic determinism.

------
rey
I love how you articulate the privileges you've had in your life, which buoyed
your career. It's a rare exercise and one that I encourage people to do. All
too often, we take for granted these "invisible stepping-stones" that brought
us to where we are now (I recently wrote about these invisible privileges for
the Huffington Post: [http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rey-faustino/the-empathy-
gap_b...](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rey-faustino/the-empathy-
gap_b_2498952.html)).

I also was an immigrant to the US, and it sounds like we have a similar
immigration story. I wonder what it would be like to be born in a low-income
community in the US where social mobility is difficult. Do you think you would
be where you are now if you grew up in that kind of environment?

~~~
incision
>I wonder what it would be like to be born in a low-income community in the US
where social mobility is difficult.

I fit that description.

In short, my personal, anecdotal experience says immigrants often place a
greater value on education, recognize more viable options for success, are
more supportive of each other and have less fear of stepping out of their
comfort zone.

I saw no shortage of people hamstrung by each of those things growing up,
particularly the de-valuing of education.

~~~
rey
Yes, immigrant communities historically have been known to be more
collaborative and to have more upward social mobility because of that.

When I worked in East Palo Alto, which is a low-income community in the heart
of Silicon Valley, I sometimes felt like it was like living and working in a
bucket full of lobsters. Instead of being helped up out of the bucket, we'd
get clawed down.

But slowly and surely, the work of community leaders, nonprofits and community
organizers are changing this landscape and building up a new generation of
kids who think differently.

------
anewguy999
I don't like including values in "privilege" because it removes the normative
force behind such values. While luck plays a role in success, especially great
success, it is well within the reach of many people to get ahead by adopting
the right values. Furthermore, adopting these values will make the world a
better place and reduce the burden on public services.

I know that non-judgment is the default modern moral stance. But there ought
to be a way that we can advertise and support the values of self-reliance and
respect for others without sounding accusative. Yes, luck plays a part in
success, but why are we so focused on that part and not the easily repeatable
values that will help out most poor people who adopt them?

~~~
danilocampos
What you may be missing is that values must be taught.

And not everyone gets that tutelage. The values may be universal, but the
opportunity to learn them is less so.

~~~
jerrya
Hey, I don't know you at all, and I'm truly only pulling your chain, and maybe
I am missing your natural humor but shortly before you write of the privilege
of values, and how you knew Anthony was wrong in thieving candy, you were
using "a pirated copy of Photoshop".

~~~
danilocampos
I had no one to teach me the values of intellectual property. :)

But I think we can agree that while I harmed Adobe not at all through my
transgression (they have been more than paid back in licenses bought since),
that store lost real money.

~~~
rz2k
Though it would be a real challenge to quantify, I bet that Adobe ultimately
made more money in the end out of the arrangement than if you had simply
foregone learning the software, using those skills with legitimately purchased
tools later, and indirectly through contributions to the wider industry.

However, that just means that in this case where the alternative was no use
Adobe wasn't hurt by pirating. However, in another situation when the
alternative to pirating is the sale of software, the loss isn't any less real
than the loss to the candy store of not selling candy because it was stolen.

\--

On another topic, do you believe that there would be significantly more
opportunity in Puerto Rico with statehood?

~~~
danilocampos
In Adobe's case, they lost no bytes by my gaining them. The candy store lost
inventory that they had to replace.

I'm honestly not qualified to give an answer re: statehood. I'm so removed
from the politics of Puerto Rico, I don't even know what levers matter there.
My hunch is that the issues run deeper, though.

------
rabialam
Very interesting take, especially at the end in enumerating privileges. I had
a similar experience with my own Mom's Macintosh SE being the gateway to my
life in tech, and I don't know what I would done if she didn't introduce me to
that at such a young age. I have been so lucky. Born in the States (even
though mom's a foreigner which was a blessing in a lot of ways on account of
the work ethic she tried to bestow upon me), college educated male with tech
skills that were developed sort of circumstantially but very intensely at a
very early age -- I feel so lucky, as if I "had a winning lottery ticket" for
sure. And now, even as I am finally able to enjoy the the excitement and
passion of a career that is exactly what I want to be doing -- I find myself
so often feeling so incredibly anxious about why I am not doing more to help
others gain access to my world. Frankly, I think that it's rare that (and sad
that it's rare that) we have open discussions in the tech community about that
word "privilege" where there isn't an INTENSE amount of denial, apathy,
minimization, skepticism and disbelief (which, sadly, are some of the most
common results of such privilege). For me, this post was a breath of fresh air
that adequately expressed a lot of what I feel everyday -- I feel so lucky,
but I feel so torn. Yes, I think I worked really hard to make good on my
skills and develop them. No, I do not think that makes the world even remotely
fair. Yes, I still feel like it is so unfair that in a lot of respects it is
almost CERTAINLY a lottery. Yes, it continues to bother me that I feel sort of
powerless about that divide, but yes, I would like to bridge that. Perhaps
part of that is to start blogging as you have. I think that's what I like so
much about this post: you are really leading by example in a way that is rare
and yet quite needed. Good on you, and I look forward to reading more.

~~~
1123581321
You and the author are looking for the word advantage, not privilege. A person
wih an advantage plays by the same rules as others, but does better. An
advantage is not necessarily earned. Privilege means to not have to follow the
same rules as others and that's not what happened here.

I'm irked that you've set yourself up to call this proof of privilege to
discredit any disagreement. If you want there to be more discussion of the
role that luck plays in our lives, you should not do that.

~~~
danilocampos
Your word parsing isn't helping your case. According to AHED, privilege is
defined as:

a special right, advantage, or immunity granted or _available only to a
particular person or group of people_

Believe me. These advantages were not universally available. I got lucky.

~~~
1123581321
A privilege is something like being Kim Jong Un instead of most other North
Koreans. The advantage in that privilege definition is confusing here since it
means an explicitly granted one but no rule-making power intervened in your
life in that way.

An advantage is like having a secret television in North Korea or living near
the northern Chinese border. The rules for escape and censure apply exactly
the same as they do to others, but the situation one randomly finds oneself in
makes beating the game easier. That's your situation.

~~~
wpietri
In this case privilege is a technical term. He is using it correctly.

You may not be intending to come across this way, but as one white guy to
another, a common way people avoid recognizing these sorts of privileges and
avoid discussing social inequity is to quibble about little details. Like,
say, the definition of a word.

~~~
1123581321
It may be considered a technical term, but it actually isn't precise, and it
carries over connotations of the real meaning of the word that cause further
errors. I'm not saying Danilo has made an error, as he's just copying others'
use of the word, but his use of it has made it possible for someone to see an
_injustice to correct by removing his exclusive rule_ where there is actually
only a mother who seized random, but legitimate opportunity, and one we
actually want more people to have. Do you see the difference?

And yes, I'm aware of the meme that I'm taking issue with something said about
social justice so I'm privileged (so to speak) or racist, and I think it is a
disgusting lie to propagate. I wish you would please stop trying to do that to
people. Ironically, I have many straightforward and interesting conversations
about this with the people who we want to obtain these advantages. As more
economically disadvantaged move to the United States, I'm looking forward to
having a larger supply of honest conversation partners.

~~~
wpietri
Most people who participate in these discussions have no problem understanding
what the word means.

The fact that some people have an opportunity that others don't and that the
distribution of those opportunities is unequal is definitely unjust. Is there
some particular privilege Danilo has listed that you are thinking of?

Your last paragraph is not entirely coherent, so I'm not sure what you think
the lie is. I have personally avoided paying attention to my privilege by
quibbling about minor details. And I've seen others do it quite often. I'm not
accusing you of doing that; I couldn't know. But I am saying that having your
only contribution to this discussion be of that form makes it harder to take
your point seriously.

And that goes double for your strong emotional reaction in the post above.
E.g., accusing me of propagating disgusting lies and doing things to people.
That's a lot of drama, and raising the drama level is a common derailing
tactic.

------
alts
I met Danilo (briefly) at a Grubwithus dinner a while back in the SF. It's
strange to type, but I never suspected he was Latino based on appearance. I'm
in a similar boat, where I pass as white. There have been a number of times in
my (so far) short career where it's been made evidently clear that if I didn't
pass as white, things would be very different for me.

I appreciate this post though. It's from a perspective I don't hear too often,
and I've been slow to contribute my own. So, thanks.

~~~
ced
_There have been a number of times in my (so far) short career where it's been
made evidently clear that if I didn't pass as white, things would be very
different for me._

Can you expand on that?

~~~
Yoms
Please do expand.

I look very Hispanic, and have a marked accent. What have I been missing in
life?

~~~
random453
I look very Indian(but come from the subcontinent, not the country) and have a
marked accent(slightly different from Indian). I too am interested in what I
have been missing out on. I know as a non-Christian in the South, my chances
are probably worse, but I never considered my Hispanic friends(middle class,
well educated) to be less privileged than white people.

------
denzil_correa
Thanks for sharing! I loved the way you sum up everything

    
    
        So I stand upon the shoulders of giants. Holding a 
        winning lottery ticket.
    

It made me realize the "giant shoulders" I stood on to make me reach where I
am today. It is a humbling experience to put life in perspective.

------
incision
Interesting way of looking at things.

Take away the stability, college-educated parent, examples of success, spare
time and replace Caguas with Washington D.C. and we've had a similar
experiences.

I've been known to expound to anyone who will listen about the amazing
opportunity that I believe a career in tech presents for "climbing out".

I could certainly be wrong, but given my circumstances it's hard to imagine
coming as far as I have doing anything else.

~~~
danilocampos
How'd you get started on that climb out?

~~~
incision
Like you demonstrate, there were a number of privileges that laid the
foundation, but the earliest pivotal point probably came when I was teenager
somewhere around '93.

I started spending all my free time reading about computers (I didn't own one)
at the public library, later extending that to used books and eventually
saving up to buy a used IBM XT.

I managed to teach myself enough to impress the office folks at my landscaping
job, gained some part time experience there, landed an internship and had my
first "real" IT job by late '97.

~~~
danilocampos
So many feels as I read this.

That's fantastic – you make me feel like I was doing my run on easy mode. A
great argument in favor of funding for public libraries, or their 21st-century
equivalent.

Way to get it done.

~~~
incision
>A great argument in favor of funding for public libraries, or their 21st-
century equivalent.

Yeah, I think about this often.

The public library was a huge part of my life from as early as I can remember
- my window to the world.

That hasn't changed for a lot of people, but the method of delivery is
different. The library is now a place to access the Internet. It puts things
in perspective to see people line up at the library for a time-limited shot at
the kind of access to information I've grown to take for granted.

This leads to be a strong supporter of efforts to spread cheap/free Internet
access.

~~~
winter_blue
Not just cheap internet, but also more free/open books. Also less restricted
access to journals, research papers, etc.

------
cantastoria
That list doesn't really contain many privileges in the "unpacking the
knapsack" sense, in that they aren't advantages you have just because of your
race/class/gender. If anything it shows that these opportunities/advantages
are available to those to who pursue them whether it be you or your parents or
your country.

Perhaps you are underestimating the impact that hard work has had on your life
and over-estimating the impact of "privileges" you list. Certainly, you were
born into such favorable circumstances (although your parents/family seemed to
have been very intentional in creating that for you) but you wouldn't be
successful in tech without the hard work part. I wonder what motivates you to
emphasize the former and not the latter?

~~~
danilocampos
> in that they aren't advantages you have just because of your
> race/class/gender.

Clearly not – they are advantages that are _atypical_ to my race and starting
class, but entirely typical to a great many of the people I've encountered in
my work. That's what was interesting to me about the exploration.

> but you wouldn't be successful in tech without the hard work part.

I completely agree. I'll put it to you like this: I may have run in the race,
and that was all my effort, but someone needed to first put me on plane for me
to even compete.

~~~
cantastoria
_I'll put it to you like this: I may have run in the race, and that was all my
effort, but someone needed to first put me on plane for me to even compete._

Sure, but they worked hard to be able to put on that plane. That you
recognized the opportunity and took it is a tribute to you and them. It sounds
like you're the product of a lot of hard work (and maybe a little luck). Why
minimize that by calling it privilege? It does a disservice to you and those
who've helped you.

~~~
danilocampos
Well, that's the important point about this.

It is _privilege_ because not everyone got parents who gave a damn.

Not everyone got parents who would bother to teach them things or buy them a
computer. Some people just aren't getting those things in their lives. And as
long as that's true, these things are _privileges._

So I am grateful. But I know that you can't universally pick up any given
person with my background, tell them to work hard, and have that be enough.

~~~
awakeasleep
Thanks for taking the time to spell this out for everyone. You've a real knack
for putting things in a simple non-offensive manner.

I try to bring up the concept of privilege once in a while, but I find it
really hard to get people to think about it. On one hand, it can come off as
an attack on your sense of self. And I think it is a blow to certain aspects
of your ego. But the intellectual gratification of understanding yourself and
how things come to be should make it worth the reconceptualization, even if it
didn't tend to make you appreciate your own life as well as the people you
spend it with more.

~~~
alex_c
I hate the word privilege (used in this way), but I'm having trouble
articulating why. It's become a loaded term, indirectly associated with
sexism, racism, and other isms (just look at a Google search - you'll see
"male", "white", "straight", etc. - amusingly enough "American" never seems to
make the list), so it can too easily come across as an accusation or attempt
to guilt. I'm well aware of my privileges and very grateful for them, but it
feels like it's not anyone else's business to point them out to me.

Here's a thought experiment - when you try to bring it up, replace the word
"privilege" with "blessing" or "luck". Does the concept lose any of its
meaning? How do people's reactions change?

~~~
erikpukinskis
There are two things: having privilege, and wielding it over people. If you
are white and male and have a good job, you have privilege and there's nothing
wrong with that. No one really has a right to check you for that.

If you then go on to tell all kinds of people that you got where you are by
working hard and everyone else just has to work hard and they'll get there
too, you're minimizing their challenges. They have to work harder to maintain
a realistic, positive attitude with respect to the hurdles in front of them,
which makes their life harder. Meanwhile, your life is not affected at all by
the conversation, you go back to work and are productive. That's _wielding_
your privilege, and that's a dick move, and people have every right to check
you for that.

As for the difference between privilege and luck or blessings... Privilege is
a kind of continuous luck.... one's maleness pays off throughout their entire
life. Finding a dollar on the street is only instantaneous luck. And privilege
only applies to things that are substantial advantages in the sort of common
denominator pursuits of the median individual. Your maleness helps you earn
more money which is something pretty much everyone needs to do. If you have
small wrists and can easily clean out the inside of glass jars, that's not
really privilege.

As for why you hate the word, perhaps you hate it because you think being
sexist and racist means you're evil, therefore having privilege makes you
evil. But everyone is sexist sometimes and everyone is racist sometimes. It's
harmful, but it doesn't mean you're evil. It's just the way people work. That
said, recognizing your racism and sexism and seeking out ways to be less so is
an opportunity to be good.

As for people making you feel guilty... No one has a right to make you feel
guilty. If they're trying to make you feel bad, they're just being an asshole.
That said, they could be simultaneously being an asshole AND checking you on
something where you're being an asshole at the same time. If so, I would just
forgive them (to yourself) for trying to make you feel bad, and thank them (to
their face) for helping you understand better the ways in which you're harming
people. Learn something and don't let the petty stuff get in your way.

------
dfamorato
It is a nice perspective to see that other people also live "The American
Dream".

I am brazilian, born and raised in Brazil, but had the privilege of coming
here twice (Disney) when I was a teenager. This was when I decided to
eventually move to US at my first opportunity (20 years old).

It was for sure, the best decision of my life since the opportunities and
lifestyle that I have here in US are simply just short of impossible back in
Brazil. 7 Years in US gave me the opportunity to really grow professionally
and personally.

I think my story is the similar to Danilo's…. Great parents, great support and
education when growing up but ultimately, after age 17, "you are by yourself",
which also includes paying for you college education if you want one.

For enabling me to get amazing education with scholarships and free content
made available by US Colleges and Universities, also to accepting me as one of
your own, THANK YOU AMERICA !

------
GuiA
Thanks for sharing.

You'll probably like this essay¹, which made it big on HN² a few weeks ago.

¹: [http://whatever.scalzi.com/2012/07/23/a-self-made-man-
looks-...](http://whatever.scalzi.com/2012/07/23/a-self-made-man-looks-at-how-
he-made-it/)

²: <http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4965041>

------
ivzar
For more on the effect of hereditary privilege, read Outliers by Malcolm
Gladwell.

------
ebf
I wonder if the same commentators who disagree with the author's usage of
"privilege," also believe Silicon Valley is a meritocracy.

------
zeteo
>I saw breathtaking houses that gave me pole stars for what I could achieve in
my life.

Geez Louise. I sure hope you will use all your advantages in life for better
purposes than acquiring a fancy mansion. There are so many difficult, but
worthwhile problems out there.

~~~
mahmud
Isn't that, like, the "American Dream"? Don't tell people how to spend their
time and money.

~~~
danilocampos
He's right, though, buying McMansions is dumb.

~~~
mahmud
Why are you blogging when you could be out there curing cancer? It's a much
more worthwhile undertaking.

See? I am also right, in a vague, generic sense. But it's the sort of advice
that doesn't contribute anything to your life, and only makes me feel slightly
superior.

~~~
danilocampos
Partly because I'm too dumb to cure cancer. ;)

But I do take your point. And I am pleased to make your acquaintance, I enjoy
your comments.

------
0xfaded
tldr; Won the birth lottery, currently in Ukraine doing some soul searching,
arrived at same conclusion that I want to give back but don't know how.

I can't deny I did well in birth lottery, and due to similar circumstances I
wound up a programmer with an amazing job and even more amazing opportunities.
That's not the point of this post however.

I am currently on holidays in Europe and am spending a month in Ukraine. I
can't even begin to describe how the people I've met and the conversions I've
had with them have changed me. To sum it up briefly, Ukraine is one of the
most corrupt countries in the world. Kiev looks like a modern European
capital, and there is obviously money around judging by the number of luxury
SUVs on the road. Yet $400/month is considered a good wage, unless one has the
appropriate connections. In short, European costs of living coupled with
developing world wages.

The post's ending about somehow giving back is what resonated most to me. When
I was a student I was fortunate enough to have free time and the money to
explore my outside interests; fast forward 4 years and I have taught myself
Japanese to fluency and have lived in the country on 3 separate occasions.
I've met a student here that who I see a lot of my self in, she gets top
grades and has an inexplicable interest in Japan. It is her dream to work
there and she studies the language in her spare time. The only difference is
that she works a full time job to pay for her studies (unrelated to Japanese)
which are also full time. The reality is that she doesn't have the free time I
did to learn Japanese, let alone the funds to visit independently. It kills me
inside knowing that two weeks of my salary would give her a year of free time
and the same opportunity I had to pursue my interest in Japan.

There are a lot of posts below about how education could be a silver bullet. I
know what has affected my life most, however, was the ability to pursue my own
interests.

Competencies in any area will open doors, maybe not doors as wide as those
available to programmers, but doors to better places none the less. In her
case Japanese language competency would make her eligible for the MEXT
scholarships paid for by the Japanese government.

Honestly, I have debated offering to loan her a year's salary to be paid back
if and when it is ever convenient for her. My conclusion is that the same
could also be used to sponsor a child through to high school, and something
else tells me its just not the right thing to do. Yet I arrive at the same
internal conflict that you do, how to give back after winning the lottery.

For the record there are no romantic interests at stake here.

------
mxuribe
Big kudos for this post, and to you danilocampos!

------
andyl
So many others just wallow in grievances - I'm grateful to read this piece.
Inspires me make the best of gifts that come for free, and pass it on when I
can.

~~~
pekk
So many other whats?

