On: Ask HN: What was your “why didn't I start doing th...

[pjlegato]

That all sounds great, if you're independently wealthy or at least have a well-padded bank account. What if the "option" you have is turning your entire family out onto the street if you decline?

The "give back" mantra is a bourgeois affectation.

[zachsnow → pjlegato]

There's a lot of things one can give that don't require buckets of cash, perhaps they meant something along the lines of:

* time (contribute to a project, help a neighbor paint their living room, teach a friend to weave baskets or something)

* kindness (listen to a friend's troubles over a beer, or assume the best in someone else's efforts, as opposed to criticizing)

I agree that when I practice those things I am happier for it, anyway.