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by jprupp 2009 days ago
I am very grateful for my job to be writing free software. Everything is made available for the world to use or change without strings attached.

It feels like I am leaving some sort of legacy, no matter how small, and that makes my existence a lot more meaningful.

Did you exchange a walking part in a war for a lead role in a cage? –Pink Floyd

4 comments

I always thought that was "walk-on part".
It is [1]. For those not catching the reference, it is a line from Pink Floyd's song Wish You Were Here.

[1] https://www.songfacts.com/lyrics/pink-floyd/wish-you-were-he...

You are correct, it is.
Of course we need to hear how you get to work on free software!
and why shouldn't we?
parent reminds me of a quote from David Graeber's "Bullshit Jobs"

"Real, productive workers are relentlessly squeezed and exploited. The remainder are divided between a terrorised stratum of the, universally reviled, unemployed and a larger stratum who are basically paid to do nothing, in positions designed to make them identify with the perspectives and sensibilities of the ruling class (managers, administrators, etc.)—and particularly its financial avatars—but, at the same time, foster a simmering resentment against anyone whose work has clear and undeniable social value."

Sure, but the impact you’re having has the potential to reach many orders of magnitude fewer people. It’s a trade off, and I personally wouldn’t feel a sense of superiority.
Isn’t this comment and the Pink Floyd quote a bit patronizing?