
Driving for Uber as an Iraq War Vet - sloanesturz
https://www.vice.com/read/driving-uber-as-an-iraqi-war-veteran
======
AndrewKemendo
Sorry, but as an Iraq veteran myself I am getting tired of Veteran whining.
Yes, we have significant issues and yes the VA and all the parties need to do
a better job taking care of us. It took me 9 months alone to get my disability
rating and VA benefits card - and many wait much longer - which is time that
they aren't getting treatment.

The broader population only know about these issues through Jon Stewart or
from recent press, but have no connection with it otherwise nor could they
really care. Should they? I don't know, probably, but not necessarily.

Even within the military only those who are have been in the Army, or were
deployed to a combat zone, really understand the significance of a CIB. So
expecting anyone to recognize it, let alone start a conversation around it
would be unexpected at the least - I know I wouldn't start a conversation
around it. Putting it on display is hack and is looking for attention.

I don't think that the US population owes us anything, but many veterans don't
agree. This is part of a broader conversation about how the US public sees and
interacts with it's veterans and the military more broadly. At the end of the
day though the Stolen Valor shaming, demanding veteran/military discounts just
reeks of entitlement. Given that we have been an all-volunteer force over the
past 40 years I don't think anyone can claim they didn't know what they were
getting into, granting that there are shady practices with recruiting that go
on.

In the end, I feel like stories like this just isolate veterans further.
Rather than bring us more into the community as someone who has a unique
experience and valuable point of view, it keeps the division between
"civilian" and "military/veterans" alive and I think that is damaging on the
whole.

~~~
carboncopy
I agree with your statement. I think the clamoring for entitlements and
awareness is driven by veterans advocacy groups, not the veteran community as
a whole. In my opinion, it's a reaction to the neglect and apathy that
veterans of previous wars experienced, most recently the Vietnam War. (If you
want to be depressed, read about the maltreatment of WW1 vets in the US.) The
veterans groups fight for entitlements because they believe they are subject
to revocation as soon as awareness drops.

Through the lens of being a veteran, I find most of it to be overblown, though
in the case of the author I think it's perhaps somewhat justified. However, he
should admit that his issues aren't systemic; they're personal. His issues are
99% due to psychological issues from his combat service, not a tech-industry
imposed Jim Crow Era (the _Driving Miss Daisy_ comment in the article).

I don't think I'd ever comment on a CIB on display, it seems about as
appropriate as the proverbial ignorant question, "Did you kill anybody?"

A good half of my friends who returned from combat had significant difficulty
fitting into normal American life, and experienced psychological and
relationship issues. I wish veterans groups would focus their rhetoric on that
specific problem. Pay for servicemembers has increased far beyond parity with
civilian jobs for the vast majority of occupational specialties, the Post-9/11
GI Bill truly solves the post-service employment training issue, and the
stigma of being a veteran is essentially nonexistent. The hard problem that
needs to be focused on is the significant therapy and rehabilitation need for
the minority of veterans who actually were in combat.

What gets me is that he's whining about his raw deal as a veteran (pysch
issues aside, is nonexistent), but he fails to accept responsibility for his
life choices of 1) graduating (for free) with what I presume is a creative
writing degree and failing to take internships, 2) failing to live in an
affordable city (what's wrong with living in Oakland or Union City and driving
over the Bay Bridge?), and 3) lamenting his lack of money as he wastes it at
the bar (presumably in SoMa, and expensive).

The reason for the above is not because he's intentionally avoiding reality,
it's because veterans often self-segregate in veterans groups. He lives in the
TL because that's where his veterans organization operates (originally for
Vietnam War vets with a more dire situation than his). Hopefully now that his
Vice article has gotten him some more exposure, he'll have more interaction
with non-vets and gain some perspective.

~~~
AndrewKemendo
> I think the clamoring for entitlements and awareness is driven by veterans
> advocacy groups, not the veteran community as a whole. In my opinion, it's a
> reaction to the neglect and apathy that veterans of previous wars
> experienced, most recently the Vietnam War.

I think this is true, but kind of missing the recent "veteran outrage" that
has been going on in the community. For example, the stolen valor shaming is
totally out of control. It's not illegal to parade around in uniform and claim
you were a badass - but there are tons of vets out there making name and shame
videos and then plastering them around of people that do, claiming that they
will call the cops or that the person will go to jail etc...

Same with the recent "furor" over some people wading into the reflecting pool
at the WWII memorial, or some kids playing on the Vietnam memorial.

In my opinion it's taking it too far and burning up all the good feedback and
positive relations we have had over the past decade.

That is all under the backdrop of probably the most supportive civilian
population in recent history. I can't tell you how often I was thanked for my
service or stopped and given thumbs up or free stuff when I was in uniform.

~~~
emp_zealoth
I have to agree that Stolen Valor nonsense got out of hand (although i have
say pretending to be a vet is disgusting) However, even though i have rather
ambivalent opinion on military (especially the modern one), mistreatment of
monuments regarding human sacrifice is disgraceful. I am a hardcore atheist
but I'd think to me it's as bad as having kids play on an altar to religious
people. Just don't do it. Show some token respect, we all would be better off.
(I do not refer to the person above, just to whoever does aforementioned
stuff!)

~~~
AndrewKemendo
I think there is a difference between mistreating a monument and just not
having self-awareness.

The way I look at it, if there are kids laughing and playing on a monument,
that is a better representation of freedom and security than any amount of
pillars or stone could ever represent.

------
methodover
Wow, what an amazing read. That guy is a great writer. It almost sounded like
the narration of film noir.

Anyways, I had no idea that Uber drivers made so much money. $40-$50 an hour!
That's incredible. I make the low end of that working as the tech lead of a
~15-person tech startup. I bet that car maintenance takes a big chunk out of
his pay but still.

My first reaction to this piece was "what the fuck are you whining about? You
make more than most people, and even more than me and my job is way harder
than yours!"

Then again, I totally empathize with his alienation from his own job. It's
hard, spending the precious hours of your short life on things other than what
you're really passionate about. It sucks that our society rewards being a taxi
driver more than creative things -- like this guy's amazing writing. I don't
know what to do about that, and I feel his pain there.

~~~
pkorzeniewski
_It 's hard, spending the precious hours of your short life on things other
than what you're really passionate about_

Isn't this true for the vast majority? Most people take jobs not because
they're passionate about them, but because they need money to pay bills and
buy stuff - simple as that. Some earn more, some earn less, but at the end of
the day almost everyone would like to do something else. Even in IT, where
wages are high and work is comfortable, I doubt most are passionate about
their work - it's a different thing hacking some fun app or game in your spare
time and working on some monstrous enterprise software, where you're just a
tiny cog doing what you're told to do.

~~~
ethbro
I think about the people who work in fast food chains. Their entire working
lives circumscribed by a binder written by people so many levels above them
that thinking about it risks vertigo.

Decrease labor costs. Increase productivity per worker. Decrease food prices /
increase profit with savings. *Footnote: Make working just attractive enough
so that people will apply in sufficient numbers

I think about what kind of life that would be every time I see someone post-
teen working in a BurgChickeBoxMcKingBell. Try going through one sometime out
in the country, when you're far enough away from a city that there aren't any
other jobs. See who's being employed there.

.... What a disgusting system we've created. Writer is right about the tech
haves and the have-nots.

PS: BasicIncome

~~~
lanaius
When I was a kid, I bought a box of thumb tacks at the dollar store. When I
got home and was using them, I suddenly got very sad: I started thinking about
the people who assembled the tacks and put them in the boxes. Being naïve at
that age I assumed everything was done manually, and I just felt awful about
people who spent all day doing this just to sell them at the dollar store -
they must be paid pennies!

~~~
ethbro
To me, the perversion is creating a system where it's cheaper for the thumb
tack manufacturer to employ people in mindless, repetitive, soul-crushing work
(no offense intended to the few people out there who love assembling thumb
tacks) than to automate the task.

Minimum wage is afaict a "below this wage a person cannot support themselves"
barrier.

But we really don't have a "below this level of boredom a human shouldn't be
doing the job" metric. (And moreover, I'd cynically quip that it's probably in
capital owners' interests to ensure that never happens, thus affording them a
cheaper alternative to investing in automation -- even if the price is a
substantial portion of a person's life)

------
EugeneOZ
When people call taxi they don't hope to see interesting human to talk with,
they need a car to move them from point A to point B. This driver expects his
clients to be wondered about him or his life, when they don't expect it and
often don't want to spend their time to be somebody's psychotherapist.

It's sad he is so lonely, but taxi is not that place which should fix it -
maybe dating sites.

~~~
PuffinBlue
I think you've mis-read the tone, or just plain don't understand/have
experience of the military mindset.

This isn't a pity piece, he not expecting something from his passengers or
expecting them to wonder about him. In fact, I'd say that's the whole point of
the piece - how he knows he an outsider, a nobody in a world of somebodies, a
dispassionate observer, one who recognises his own lack of humanity to his
charges:

> A robot could do my fucking job

He's grateful for the job, grateful for the lifeline and merely telling the
objective story of an outsider in a different world.

> Where I live, people are already dead. But at night, I pick up people with
> lives, and money in their pockets, places to go, things to do, people to
> see.

And yet, he reminds us throughout that people are fuck ups no matter their
monetary wealth or 'social standing':

>One pick-up I had was outside a restaurant in Hayes Valley. I had my hazards
on while I waited patiently, observing them passionately kiss each another.
They kissed as if they were in love. It reminded me of the way I kissed, when
I too was in love. Their goodbye took forever and when she finally got in my
car, she pulled out her cell phone.

>"Hey honey, how's it going? Oh, it was boring, I wanted to leave the whole
time. How are the kids? Good... Oh, remember that one coworker I told you
about? I just found out he's been sleeping with all the associates... he's
married too, I like his wife... he's a good guy..." I'm sure he is.

I think the piece is fascinating, not least because I've felt the sting of
invisibility myself, but don't go mistaking it as a pining lament to be one of
the chosen ones or that he's calling on his passengers to be his psychologist.

~~~
vacri
> _he not expecting something from his passengers_

That the author is passing judgement on the non-talkers shows that he is
expecting something from them. Like when he talks of his Combat Infantry
Badge, and the only two options available are 'not notice' or 'notice and not
care'. Plenty of people would notice and _care a lot_ , but not want to get
into a discussion that they think would lead to an argument. He's basically
expecting to get his ego soothed with the medal.

It's a well-written piece, but he is projecting a lot of motivation onto
people that doesn't necessarily exist. For example, when I catch a cab, I
don't like to talk to the driver. It's not because I think they're a robot or
the 'hired help' or beneath me or whatever. It's because I loathe small talk,
and most cab conversations are exactly the same. There's also a fair chance of
getting into a conversation with a passionate bigot, which is never fun. The
last taxi I had included a generally one-sided conversation where the driver
kept trying to suggest-sell a brothel visit to me. Frankly, cab conversations
are just not that interesting. Bit of an aside there, but I would guess a lot
of people feel the same.

~~~
crdb
> most cab conversations are exactly the same

I know you said "most" but I have had plenty of conversations with cab drivers
that I remember years into the future.

Two examples:

\- a very elderly man picked us up in London, he was cheerful and chatty in
his 1940s-war-broadcast-style accent, turns out he spent a chunk of his life
as an engineer in what you might call "frontier" countries. So many stories.
He had plenty of cash, but drove to chat with strangers and because he
couldn't stand doing nothing.

\- we got picked up in Duxton Hill in Singapore by a chap in his 60s, whose
tone was a lot calmer and more attentive than your average "so where you from-
aaaah?" happy taxi uncle. He made two fortunes from nothing, one per Asian
boom, then retired and travelled the world with his wife for a decade. He got
very bored of the luxury life, and also took up driving to meet new people and
collect stories about humans. Singapore being great for this.

There's plenty of occasions where, if you spend a bit of attention on the
driver, you unearth either life stories worth preserving and thinking about,
glimpses of a completely different world, or just fun stories where you wonder
how much was made up.

I learnt a lot about his community in a 25 minute ride with an Indonesian
driver having his 8th kid (all boys, amazingly) and working Uber in his spare
time from working on oil rigs. A Polish man gave me a glimpse of the harsh
life as a low-earning immigrant in a major European city, their main
preoccupation in life seemed to be which alcohol to buy that was the cheapest
yet still relatively drinkable. A driver was missing a couple fingers and
complained about how Africans and Pakistans slept 6-aside in the cabin he used
to have to himself in the "golden days" of the merchant navy (I never got the
story about the fingers). He also had 6 wives in as many cities (none the one
he lived in now).

I'm going to miss the human drivers.

~~~
vacri
Don't get me wrong, I don't begrudge people who do like to talk, and more
power to you. I just loathe small talk, and find the signal-to-noise ratio too
low to do it with cab drivers or other people you spend only a few minutes
with out of circumstance. I'm just trying to provide an angle on why some
people don't like talking to drivers, as the article felt like it was unduly
blaming them for not entertaining the driver enough.

------
snake_plissken
Wow, that is a great read. It hits on a lot of points about our society these
days.

Though I was surprised to read that very few people talk to him. I always chat
up the taxi or uber or lyft drivers. You will meet the most fascinating of
people.

The Nigerian Uber driver who also runs a West African Chamber of Commerce to
facilitate trade and business among the local immigrant population. The
motorhead Uber driver who explained to me how to drive a motorcycle from
Atlantic City to Philadelphia in under 45 minutes. The Lyft driver who was in
school getting a masters degree in physics. The taxi driver who is a fanatical
Chelsea fan and almost comes to the bar with you on a Sunday morning to watch
the games, but can't quite do it because the last time he did that they lost.

~~~
pavel_lishin
> _Though I was surprised to read that very few people talk to him. I always
> chat up the taxi or uber or lyft drivers. You will meet the most fascinating
> of people._

I'm an introvert. I don't particularly want to talk to people. There are times
when I'll specifically take the subway, even when a cab would make more sense,
just so I can be alone and read a book or listen to a podcast or something.

On my last trip, I took about six rides, and talked to all but one. One
conversation was fantastic, one was kinda fun, and the rest were just boring
conversations I've already forgotten. And I consider that particular trip,
with its ~20% "success" rate an outlier.

There are days where I don't _want_ to meet a fascinating person, but just
want to get from point A to point B.

------
scotty79
> Most of the time I'm completely invisible to the people I drive. Perhaps
> we're all conditioned not to speak to the hired help.

... or to strangers.

~~~
aaronem
Sure, because we're all six years old and walking home from school.

~~~
louhike
What is the use of this comment? To ridicule him? It looks like (seeing your
other comments) you are just angry because people are criticizing the driver
justifying why they would not talk to him. Maybe they are in the wrong, but
you are too agressive and your message will not get through.

------
dsr_
It's a good companion piece to the Fred Wilson blog post on the Gig Economy:
if we took care of our veterans, if we treated poor people like we want to be
treated, if we didn't make rules for the economy that let wealth grow at the
expense of the poor: then Uber couldn't exist in their current business plan.

Saying "at least Uber lets people make some money" is an excuse for
exploitation. It may be true, it may be better than nothing, but it's not
actually a good solution.

~~~
thrill
It's only exploitation if you define it as such. Uber is a business (and if
they weren't, then I at least wouldn't be interested in them) - they
voluntarily give people money for voluntarily performing a task for them -
what a concept. They like to hire vets because: 1) there are tax breaks, 2)
it's a marketing point, 3) vets have already proven themselves to some degree.
But point one is the most impactful - tax incentives are the self-abuse zits
of our existence - you have to address them, but they only exist to balance
out some other issue of complication.

Being a vet doesn't make him particularly special - there are 20 million of us
for the VA to ignore, after all. Any solution that puts the $160 billion
annual budget of the VA and $60 billion DOD health budget into non-political
hands is a non starter - and giving up political control doesn't happen in
civilized society, especially one where vets vote for one party 20 points more
than the other - there's no particular pressure on either party to fix that -
one party doesn't appeal to most vets for a myriad of reasons, and the other
has already captured those votes in spite of their general indifference.

The "Gig Economy" exists _because_ of the complications of doing it any other
way, and is the only perturbation likely to get us off whatever local maxima
our ever-increasing bureaucratic approach to life has captured us on.

------
fapjacks
You know what I think every time I see an article like this?

Did you _really_ go to Iraq? Because the Iraq that I saw made me thankful as
shit that I basically won the lottery of living in the developed world. Got
some first world problems? Who cares. I have a CIB, too. But you know what I
hate almost more than anything? People that shim their CIB into a conversation
hoping to add more weight to their words.

Life is rough for the vast majority of people on the planet. Take your
experiences in hand and be thankful you made it out of that shithole alive.

~~~
sibmike
That is sure some good writing because it touches so many problems our
generation face. I would like to point out the question mentioned, why are we
different from the great generation?

So here is a little love story about a vet from the great generation.
Grandfather had 6 gunwounds and worked all his life on a coal mine in Siberia.
He also was the happiest man I ever met.

He was sent to army because he was dating the wrong girl, my grandmother. Some
local "boss" wanted to merry her so he sent my grandpa to the army. After
three years of service grandfather had been offered to go to a Militar
Academy, thats when he got a letter telling him that he had a daughter. It
also stated thet grandmother went to work on coalmines on Shpitzbergen (google
it), so her parents and little daughter get additional food supplies.

So he rejected the offer, droped out of the force and went back to Siberia.
The army was not happy about it. He didnt get any military benefits, no
badges, no pension, no documents of where he's been or what he's done. Only 6
gunwounds on his leg, arm and torso. When he got back he's made a fake
electricians papers and got a job on a local coal mine. When grandmother found
out that he is back she returned home in a few months. They got married and
had 2 more kids. My granddad worked on the same coal mine for the rest of his
life. They lived and died in the same 500sf wooden duplex. Coal heating, cold
water 300 meters away from the home, WC in the yard. He drove one single
motorcycle all his life. They have never had a phone, so he walked to the post
office once a week to talk to his daughters.

How come he's been the happiest man I've ever met? Well, he loved fishing, his
yard, cards and his family. He died a few years ago. His daughters had to fly
half the world to get to the funeral. One lives in Tuscany, Italy, another in
Santa Clara, CA.

What made that generation great? Maybe they did what had to be done and were
happy about it. Perhaps they never expected much from life and tresured little
what they had. Sure they had something our generation is missing.

PS: Grandfather's sister told this story to my aunt only after he died. He's
never mentioned army or the hardtimes.

------
hellofunk
I find this mildly frightening, though hopefully that is just my imagination
getting the best of me. A combat soldier who takes strangers around town all
day, while thinking how much he identifies with the main character of Taxi
Driver, a recluse vigilante who also kept a written diary of his thoughts
before attempting to assassinate a politician.

~~~
surge
He identifies with the character, but the movie is an exaggeration or taking
the mindset to an extreme.

Many people identify with the main character from Fight Club, and quote it
often, but none of us are developing split personality disorders or fighting
with ourselves in a bar parking lot or starting an underground fighting club.

What should frighten you is that being an Uber driver is the best employment
option for a war veteran with PTSD. This guy has his writing, and I'd hire him
on the spot just reading that article, but not all vets have that even.

~~~
hellofunk
Actually, what frightens me even more is that anyone in the world should ever
be a veteran of a war.

------
matrix
Some background to this: the author, Colby Buzzell, is/was famous for his blog
"My War" written while we was serving in Iraq. It was compelling reading to
say the least, for example "Men in Black":

[https://web.archive.org/web/20041206093944/http://cbftw.blog...](https://web.archive.org/web/20041206093944/http://cbftw.blogspot.com/2004/08/men-
in-black.html)

~~~
Blackthorn
Semi-related, this reminds me of a friend-of-a-friend at the time who was in
Iraq. He also had a gift for both writing and photography, though I don't
think he ever achieved success of either. Here's a rather horrific
photographic post from the time about the results of some of the ammunition
used:
[http://lafinjack.livejournal.com/41715.html](http://lafinjack.livejournal.com/41715.html)

His blog from that time period is both fascinating and horrifying in both
pictures and stories.

------
roymurdock
I'm glad that the author is working through his problems, or, at the very
least, expressing them through some fantastic writing. He makes some very
astute observations that I don't think many of us would have access to
otherwise. He is also the vocal minority of vet Uber drivers. 99% of vet Uber
drivers are simply shuttling people around with these sorts of thoughts
stewing repeatedly in their brain; most likely with no creative outlet or
release other than alcohol/drugs because the treatment options are far from
adequate for PTSD-afflicted vets.

There's a shallow reason and a deep reason people like to read these stories
about what it's like to be an Uber driver. The shallow reason is that these
drivers usually have great stories about all of the strange, quirky people
that come creeping out of the woodwork at night and put their real selves on
display for the invisible taxi driver. The deep reason is that you like to see
how bad these guys really have it, and then think to yourself "wow, I sure am
glad that I don't have to do _that_ for a living and work for that awful
company that makes a lot of money employing/exploiting vets." A schadenfreude
of sorts.

Anyways, I commend the author for sticking his neck out and writing about the
problems he perceives. It has sparked a dialogue here, and seeded ideas in my
mind, along with the many others that have read the article. You don't have to
agree with his points, or even like the guy as a human being, but it's great
that he's got us all thinking.

------
MattyRad
What a great piece that describes the new type existential despair seen in the
modern world. How are we so isolated in spite of connectedness? The question
of burning time, for money, for... what? How does one come to serve the haves
who happened into success and wealth and prestige?

Still though, he makes more money than I do working as a computer engineer,
which is a small consolation.

Anyway, outstanding read and I sincerely hope things improve for him and vets
everywhere.

------
justinhj
A nice piece of writing. Personally I hate feeling obliged to talk to bus
drivers and taxi drivers but when a conversation happens it is often
rewarding.

That said, whilst the tech industry is certainly booming, the average tech
worker is not getting an uber to their house in Palo Alto. Even on $150k
salaries they are living quite ordinary lives in small rented apartments in
the city or maybe a townhouse an hour away on the commuter train.

------
rasz_pl
What is this I dont even :/

>Stuck on my dashboard where everyone can see is my Combat Infantry Badge...
destroy enemy with direct fire ..a conversation starter...no one notices

gee, maybe try some photos of a massacred village, or burned convoy full of
children

>Our unit slogan had been "Punish the Deserving."

not psychotic at all

>my thoughts drift, inevitably, to the voiceovers from Taxi Driver that have
been rattling around in my head for months

sign of pathetic VA hospitals psychiatric care. I hope someone will notice
this article and take care of poor dude.

>You're either part of the "haves" who work in tech, talk about tech, cater to
tech, or try to make a living off tech, or you're part of the have-nots, the
people who aren't in tech and are being driven out of this town

Umm thats not how it works buddy. Haves and have-nots is about wealth. What
you describe is education and skills. You are mixing cause and effect.

>Many who work in tech are living their lives as if it's the carefree Roaring
20s, while I'm more or less stuck in the Great Depression.

weird, its like people who decided to do something productive in life, instead
of killing people on the other side of the planet, are actually doing
something with their lives, instead of drinking until you fall under the bar
while reminiscing 'countless "movement to contact" missions'.

>I'm the dark guy driving whitey

nice, thats just classy.

>A robot could do my fucking job

The way things are going robots will replace your previous job too.

~~~
toolz
This is how I imagine most people who lead with, "I'm a veteran", think.

It boggles my mind that someone feels deserving of respect because they found
themselves in a low income situation and joined the military because of it.

Relative to other low income, low skill, employment opportunities, joining the
military is rather safe. Compare it to entry level construction workers for
instance.

So I'm supposed to pay tax dollars for your salary and then give up my seat on
a plane because you're working just like the rest of us?

By the way, thanks to everyone who is a contributing member of society. That
goes for roofers, factory workers and military members alike, but please don't
ask for special treatment from me, because I'm not likely to give it to you.

~~~
Dirlewanger
Unfortunately it's a byproduct of the US's quasi-deification of those who
serve in the military. One really has to be a part of the club to really get
it, I guess. For those whose past generations have made it a tradition of
serving, yeah, it's a big deal. But those who know no one that's served,
obviously not so much.

And then there's the angle that you bring up: those who enlist generally are
those with fewer skills to offer the marketplace and thus choose the safe
government-supported route. Which isn't a bad thing, that's just how it is.

Of course you're going to get downvotes from this crowd for not pussyfooting
around the issue and saying how it really is. I too see it as absurd to
worship the ground that veterans walk on, especially when it was _their
choice_ to be put in harm's way. It's not my fault you fell for all the war-
is-glorious propaganda and then came home a fractured mess (the ineptitude of
the VA is another issue).

------
brc
>treating me like a machine while my thoughts drift

The simple truth is that for many people! they hire someone to do a job and
would rather not talk while that job is done.

------
aaronem
_A robot could do my fucking job._

In a few years, one will. God bless Silicon Valley.

~~~
omouse
And hopefully this talk of a basic income will be the most sensible solution
instead of forcing veterans and people with low incomes to beg and wait for
any sort of help. It's disturbing that this guy has to wait for months to get
veterans benefits.

------
skywritergr
I totally sympathise with the man, and i believe that this is an extremely
well written article. At the same time though i want to mention that plenty of
times when i get on a taxi i'm super tired, maybe distressed and really in no
mood to talk to anyone. Glaring outside of the window saying nothing is my
favourite thing to do, but many people might prefer watching pictures on
Instagram from their hometowns and smile. As someone else said "C'est la vie"

------
pkkim
"Many who work in tech are living their lives as if it's the carefree Roaring
20s, while I'm more or less stuck in the Great Depression."

Of course, the roaring twenties were themselves times of relative inequality,
and that name only describes the excitement, culture, and affluence of the
urban rich of the era. The author seems to be describing the modern day
euphoria over the power of the tech industry to make a new world as similarly
one-sided.

~~~
aaronem
Isn't it?

No one in Silicon Valley gives a damn about anyone outside it, or indeed
outside their own social and professional circles. There's nothing
intrinsically unusual about this, of course, but it lends a certain sardonic
amusement to an outsider's perspective on the "changing the world" rhetoric
which SV has taken beyond mere cliché to what may be a new and previously
unimagined realm of banality.

~~~
nmeofthestate
>No one in Silicon Valley gives a damn about anyone outside it

Seems unlikely.

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Alex999
Most of the people are glued to their phones while ridding a cab...its a Mad
Mad World!!

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matkam
Speaking with Lyft/Uber drivers myself, I hear there is a difference in
culture between riders who choose between the two companies. Uber riders treat
their drivers like taxis or "robots," while Lyft riders often converse with a
fellow human being, who happens to be driving them around. It just sounds like
this guy needs to switch companies.

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dnautics
I've never had to clean off blood or cum from my car... And I do drive
frequently between 12am and 3am.

~~~
jordanmessina
That was a quote from the movie Taxi Driver, as is all the italicized text in
the article...

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mcculley
Among the comments that address the passengers not engaging in small talk with
the driver, I don't see one of the reasons I don't engage much with the
driver: It's sometimes difficult and frustrating to have a conversation with
someone who is facing away from you.

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lsb
I'm looking forward to reading his most recent book:
[http://www.amazon.com/Thank-You-Being-Expendable-
Experiences...](http://www.amazon.com/Thank-You-Being-Expendable-Experiences-
ebook/dp/B00WAT6Q5W)

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mcculley
A lot of this piece, which has some great bits of writing, is focused on the
issues of the current generation of veterans. But a lot of the class and
social mobility issues he describes are common to lots of people, not just
veterans.

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thieving_magpie
I have to talk to people all day long. When I take uber I get a few minutes of
peace. My apologies to the uber driver that just really wants to share their
life with me.

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toolsadmin
Summary: "I've defended big oil interests halfway across the world in a war
started on a false pretext, please worship me". I get it, you're a veteran and
you're proud of that, and maybe you even did everything as a worthy human
being, but tone down on the ego.

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rawTruthHurts
Well, c'est la vie.

