# Do we have a thread for SlackerInc yet? Maybe we should **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [December 2, 2018, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-we-have-a-thread-for-slackerinc-yet-maybe-we-should/825461 "2018-12-02T20:21:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 8
**Author:** ![SlackerInc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slackerinc/32/275_2.png) [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2019, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-we-have-a-thread-for-slackerinc-yet-maybe-we-should/825461/141 "2019-03-06T01:59:26Z")
Like I said, my hope (since it was too late to change the vote) was that we will weather the storm. And at this point, it sounds like we have. Great! But it’s not fun to watch Democrats play with fire like this. Eventually, we risk getting burned. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2019, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-we-have-a-thread-for-slackerinc-yet-maybe-we-should/825461/142 "2019-03-06T02:43:31Z")
> [@SlackerInc](#): > > “There’s no right answer” doesn’t appear to be the philosophy of \*either \*side here. As has been repeatedly pointed out to you, the side that’s voting against the bill is in fact supporting the overwhelming consensus of doctors who are saying that there isn’t any one-size-fits-all “right answer” for these traumatic situations. > [@SlackerInc](#): > > So just vote for the fucking thing and move on, FFS. Or how about you just stop lying about the fucking thing and stop trying to pressure Democrats into voting for a malicious and counterproductive fucking thing manufactured out of Republican lies? ---
**Author:** ![steronz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steronz/32/11765_2.png) [@steronz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/steronz)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2019, 12:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-we-have-a-thread-for-slackerinc-yet-maybe-we-should/825461/143 "2019-08-03T12:27:08Z")
Slacker starts a thread about how MFA won’t work because people want to feel superior to other people, eventually reveals that he’s actually the one who feels that way. I really don’t even know what to say to this. > [@The dangerous politics of Medicare For All](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-dangerous-politics-of-medicare-for-all/837922/84): > > I will add an anecdote that does not necessarily reflect terribly well on me, but is illustrative of the psychology I am talking about. At the place where I got my IVAPS machine, the woman in charge of billing pulled up my insurance and exclaimed “Wow, you have such a low deductible! I wish mine was this low.” I have to admit, I took a lot of satisfaction out of that. And I never really thought “oh it’s too bad she doesn’t have the same thing: I wish everyone did”. Instead, I felt that little _frisson_ of satisfaction you get when everyone is envious that you have a nicer car or TV or whatever then they do. It’s not pretty, but it’s human nature and we have to take it into account. > > ETA: And rereading what I just wrote, I can’t help but have a feeling of pride, like “hey, awesome: now all these people on the board know I have great insurance”. It’s ridiculous, it’s petty, it’s awful really, but it’s psychologically very powerful. ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2019, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-we-have-a-thread-for-slackerinc-yet-maybe-we-should/825461/144 "2019-08-03T13:11:48Z")
> [@steronz](#): > > Slacker starts a thread about how MFA won’t work because people want to feel superior to other people, eventually reveals that he’s actually the one who feels that way. I really don’t even know what to say to this. Cut him some slack(er). He’s just [channeling his inner LBJ](https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/lbj-convince-the-lowest-white-man/): > [@](#): > > “If you can convince the lowest white man he’s better than the best colored man, he won’t notice you’re picking his pocket. Hell, give him somebody to look down on, and he’ll empty his pockets for you.” ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2019, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-we-have-a-thread-for-slackerinc-yet-maybe-we-should/825461/145 "2019-08-03T13:40:21Z")
> [@steronz](#): > > Slacker starts a thread about how MFA won’t work because people want to feel superior to other people, eventually reveals that he’s actually the one who feels that way. I really don’t even know what to say to this. I suspect he thinks all people feel this way, just like he appears to suspect that all or most white people secretly agree with him about black people. He seems to have trouble with the concept that other people might think very differently than he does. ---
**Author:** ![you\_with\_the\_face](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/ecccb3/32.png) [@you\_with\_the\_face](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/you_with_the_face)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2019, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-we-have-a-thread-for-slackerinc-yet-maybe-we-should/825461/146 "2019-08-03T13:40:45Z")
> [@steronz](#): > > Slacker starts a thread about how MFA won’t work because people want to feel superior to other people, eventually reveals that he’s actually the one who feels that way. I really don’t even know what to say to this. People who are accomplished and have plenty of other things to take pride in cannot fathom feeling proud they have a lower deductible or premium than someone else. So all he just did was advertise how small, unhappy, and unfulfilled he is. Just like all the other sad sacks that would rather keep the status quo than give up the right of feeling better than someone else. ---
**Author:** ![raventhief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/raventhief/32/4_2.png) [@raventhief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/raventhief)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2019, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-we-have-a-thread-for-slackerinc-yet-maybe-we-should/825461/147 "2019-08-03T13:51:01Z")
> [@you\_with\_the\_face](#): > > People who are accomplished and have plenty of other things to take pride in cannot fathom feeling proud they have a lower deductible or premium than someone else. > > So all he just did was advertise how small, unhappy, and unfulfilled he is. Just like all the other sad sacks that would rather keep the status quo than give up the right of feeling better than someone else. I had a pharmacist say something sort of similar when I got my scripts filled- something was $0, something else was$1, and she remarked that I have great insurance to cover these so well (or something) and you know what I felt? Grateful. I didn’t feel proud or gleeful that others didn’t have insurance that was great. I was grateful that I have insurance that covers my needs. the only comparison I made was to myself, when I had less than great- or no!- insurance at all. Other people didn’t enter into my thinking at all. ETA: if fact, if everyone had great insurance, I works be thrilled. Because it would mean that if something happened with this job, I’d still have great insurance instead of being fucked. ---
**Author:** ![SlackerInc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slackerinc/32/275_2.png) [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2019, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-we-have-a-thread-for-slackerinc-yet-maybe-we-should/825461/148 "2019-08-03T13:53:58Z")
I am at least being pragmatic and trying to get at least basic health care coverage (if not necessarily as good as mine) for everyone who does not currently have it. You apparently feel that it is better to sit on a high horse and express condemnation of anyone not as morally pure as you. :rolleyes: > [@The dangerous politics of Medicare For All](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-dangerous-politics-of-medicare-for-all/837922/79): > > I said right up front that the American voters who are decisive in national elections are not great people. But we have to curry favor with them to win even if it is nauseating. Would you prefer to just be pure and lose? How many people get healthcare that way? > > And if you think swing voters are not as shitty and selfish as that, look again at the poll numbers I linked. Only 26% would support MFA if it would “lead to delays in some people getting certain medical tests and treatments”. 26% is actually a large number of people. Many tens of millions, and I’m sure you are one of them. But it’s not enough to keep from giving completely shellacked by the Republicans in the election—in which case you end up without half a loaf, or even a crumb of a loaf. Just in case my wording there is not clear, that is 26% of all Americans, not of swing voters. ETA: > [@raventhief](#): > > I had a pharmacist say something sort of similar when I got my scripts filled- something was $0, something else was$1, and she remarked that I have great insurance to cover these so well (or something) Epic #humblebrag there :rolleyes: YWTF: Are you not aware that those “sad sacks” include swing voters in Wisconsin? ---
**Author:** ![SlackerInc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slackerinc/32/275_2.png) [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2019, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-we-have-a-thread-for-slackerinc-yet-maybe-we-should/825461/149 "2019-08-03T14:02:17Z")
BTW, Andy, you are the one who has trouble imagining how others feel. You were so ready to believe I was into the whole “red pill” thing until I showed you that I had stated in unequivocal terms my condemnation for them well before you posted. ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2019, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-we-have-a-thread-for-slackerinc-yet-maybe-we-should/825461/150 "2019-08-03T14:14:37Z")
> [@SlackerInc](#): > > BTW, Andy, you are the one who has trouble imagining how others feel. You were so ready to believe I was into the whole “red pill” thing until I showed you that I had stated in unequivocal terms my condemnation for them well before you posted. Congratulations, sir. You may claim your prize for being: _Not the most deplorable person in the world._ That and $5 will get you a happy meal. ---
**Author:** ![Great\_Antibob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Great\_Antibob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Great_Antibob)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2019, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-we-have-a-thread-for-slackerinc-yet-maybe-we-should/825461/151 "2019-08-03T14:46:48Z")
Yeah, “condemnation” that in the SAME post basically said, ‘Hey, these guys are assholes but maybe they have some good points’. I quote: > [@Science says Incels are right about everything. What happens next?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/science-says-incels-are-right-about-everything-what-happens-next/837677/445): > > Bothsidesism can be a copout, but in this case it is highly applicable. That kind of “condemnation” is like condemning the racists for targeting brown people when they should focus their ire only on black people. You set a low, low bar for yourself and barely cleared it. ---
**Author:** ![asahi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asahi/32/8693_2.png) [@asahi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asahi)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2019, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-we-have-a-thread-for-slackerinc-yet-maybe-we-should/825461/152 "2019-08-03T14:53:01Z")
I’ve taken Slacker to task a number of times for the obvious reasons, but the quote itself struck me as an attempt at introspection. I think he was trying to explain the fact that people really do often want to feel like they’re higher up in the food chain than everyone else. I don’t find that comment controversial at all. I find many of his other posts cringe-worthy, but not this one. ---
**Author:** ![SlackerInc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slackerinc/32/275_2.png) [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2019, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-we-have-a-thread-for-slackerinc-yet-maybe-we-should/825461/153 "2019-08-03T15:12:11Z")
Actually, Great Antibob, it wasn’t that post I was referring to. It was this one: > [@Is MRA/pick-up artist/incel "biological psychology" necessarily........wrong?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-mra-pick-up-artist-incel-biological-psychology-necessarily-wrong/837132/98): > > Incels and especially the red pill crowd do not deserve to be defended. They are truly horrible people. But evolutionary psychology does needs to be defended. That’s not to say that every finding ever produced in that field is airtight, any more than this is the case in the rest of psychology. But there is a lot of validity to that line of inquiry even if hardcore feminists and social scientists abhor the implications. But let’s look at the full context of the post you so selectively quoted: > [@Science says Incels are right about everything. What happens next?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/science-says-incels-are-right-about-everything-what-happens-next/837677/445): > > Incels and red pillers are not operating from a reasonable scientific perspective. They are way way off. But their ideological opposites, ardent feminists coming from a “woke” social science perspective, are equally far off from the truth in the other direction (although at least their hearts are closer to being in the right place). Bothsidesism can be a copout, but in this case it is highly applicable. :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2019, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-we-have-a-thread-for-slackerinc-yet-maybe-we-should/825461/154 "2019-08-03T15:41:32Z")
> [@SlackerInc](#): > > Actually, Great Antibob, it wasn’t that post I was referring to. It was this one: > \ > > But let’s look at the full context of the post you so selectively quoted: > \ > > :dubious: \ mine. Christ, you are a piece of work. Why the need to drag feminists into this conversation? They weren’t part of any conversation having to do with incels. Nobody brought them up as far as I recall. Nobody but you, that is. Because you just can’t fucking let an opportunity go by without a needless shot at your favorite target: '_Sure incels are bad, but let’s not forget those horrible feminists!’_ You are one sad, pathetic, small minded bellend. ---
**Author:** ![Sunny\_Daze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunny_daze/32/438_2.png) [@Sunny\_Daze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunny_Daze)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2019, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-we-have-a-thread-for-slackerinc-yet-maybe-we-should/825461/155 "2019-08-03T16:19:15Z")
> [@SlackerInc](#): > > BTW, Andy, you are the one who has trouble imagining how others feel. You were so ready to believe I was into the whole “red pill” thing until I showed you that I had stated in unequivocal terms my condemnation for them well before you posted. People draw the conclusion that you are “red pill” based on your actions and posts. A post that says “oh no, bad red pill” does not negate your actual behavior. You are officially up there with Hurricane Ditka in my opinion. You cannot have a straight conversation to save your life. Your goalposts are mounted on golf carts that swing around the field randomly. ---
**Author:** ![Sunny\_Daze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunny_daze/32/438_2.png) [@Sunny\_Daze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunny_Daze)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2019, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-we-have-a-thread-for-slackerinc-yet-maybe-we-should/825461/156 "2019-08-03T16:30:13Z")
> [@SlackerInc](#): > > BTW, Andy, you are the one who has trouble imagining how others feel. You were so ready to believe I was into the whole “red pill” thing until I showed you that I had stated in unequivocal terms my condemnation for them well before you posted. People draw the conclusion that you are “red pill” based on your actions and posts. A post that says “oh no, bad red pill” does not negate your actual behavior. You are officially up there with Hurricane Ditka in my opinion. You cannot have a straight conversation to save your life. Your goalposts are mounted on golf carts that swing around the field randomly. ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2019, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-we-have-a-thread-for-slackerinc-yet-maybe-we-should/825461/157 "2019-08-03T16:37:57Z")
Said it once before but it bears repeating… 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Bone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bone/32/407_2.png) [@Bone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bone)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2019, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-we-have-a-thread-for-slackerinc-yet-maybe-we-should/825461/158 "2019-08-03T17:03:21Z")
> [@steronz](#): > > Slacker starts a thread about how MFA won’t work because people want to feel superior to other people, eventually reveals that he’s actually the one who feels that way. I really don’t even know what to say to this. It’s pretty common sentiment expresses poorly. The idea of relative wealth having a psychological impact is real. Here is one article, but this is a common enough theme. > **[The Psychology of Inequality](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2018/01/15/the-psychology-of-inequality)** > > Researchers find that much of the damage done by being poor comes from feeling poor. ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2019, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-we-have-a-thread-for-slackerinc-yet-maybe-we-should/825461/159 "2019-08-03T17:21:43Z")
> [@Bone](#): > > It’s pretty common sentiment expresses poorly. The idea of relative wealth having a psychological impact is real. Here is one article, but this is a common enough theme. > > [The Psychology of Inequality | The New Yorker](http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2018/01/15/the-psychology-of-inequality/amp) Article makes a larger point of negative feelings (inferiority) of those that are poor, rather than feelings of superiority by those that are relatively wealthy. In fact, it states that those that are well off tend not to express their feelings on the matter while poor people tend to engage in riskier behavior. We can speculate about whether or not wealthier people are hiding their feelings of superiority for various reasons, ex. they tend to under-report their status, however, the article does not explore this aspect in any depth. Doesn’t mean it’s not a thing. Just that the article doesn’t provide insight into this. ---
**Author:** ![Bone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bone/32/407_2.png) [@Bone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bone)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2019, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-we-have-a-thread-for-slackerinc-yet-maybe-we-should/825461/160 "2019-08-03T17:29:40Z")
Gah, I linked to the wrong article. I meant this wiki, specifically the upward and downward comparison section: > **[Social comparison theory](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_comparison_theory)** > > Social comparison theory, initially proposed by social psychologist Leon Festinger in 1954, centers on the belief that there is a drive within individuals to gain accurate self-evaluations. The theory explains how individuals evaluate their own opinions and abilities by comparing themselves to others in order to reduce uncertainty in these domains, and learn how to define the self. Comparing oneself to others socially is a form of measurement and self assessment to identify where an individual Fo... [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-we-have-a-thread-for-slackerinc-yet-maybe-we-should/825461.md?page=7) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-we-have-a-thread-for-slackerinc-yet-maybe-we-should/825461.md?page=9)