[idiotsecant]

Anyone romanticizing physical work based on doing it as an unpaid hobby is not experiencing what it's like to actually rely on that kind of work to survive. You aren't 'living like the common people do' because you do some work for your church sometimes. You're an otherwise rich tech worker who also likes to do physical things sometimes as part of a community.

Working as a shift engineer at an industrial facility is not even remotely the same thing.

[screwturner68]

I equate this to the people working with habitat for humanity (no offense it's a great program) but these people are for the most part cos playing construction workers. But there's no foreman busting your ass because you are moving too slow or the general disregard for safety because you only have 3 days to frame out the house and it rained yesterday. It's no different than when the CEO works the register at some coffee place or fast food joint -look at me I work hard just like the little people. It's a show, in the end they go back to their rarefied positions and their outrageous salary not understanding that somebody has to do that back breaking work every day and for a wage a lot people wouldn't get out of bed for. I'd also add that they likely did a shit job that would gt you fired if you weren't working for free.

Do it everyday and live off the low wages for a year and then come back and tell me how fulfilling it is.

[patrick451]

I worked in the trades for almost a decade before switching to tech. Frankly, manual labor is far more fulfilling than anything I've done in tech. I'd still be doing it if it paid more.

[6510]

> Do it everyday and live off the low wages for a year and then come back and tell me how fulfilling it is.

That makes no difference, it is still a choice. As soon as you've figured out you can rub 2 stones together and make fire you will never [again] get to experience the cold nights as something unavoidable.

Why do we work at all? Why not travel the world and enjoy ourselves? The only reason I can think of is that insecurity is terrifying. Then the next guy pulls his guitar out of its bag and people start throwing money in his hat.

Escape velocity right there!

[notjtrig]

Construction work isn't that hard or back breaking. One guy's operating a machine and one guy is spotting him, you drive a lot, take hour lunches, sleep in the machines. $25 an hour to start. Foreman's are usually busy with the people above them.

I run a homestead as my primary means of surviving, it's similar work, 12 hour days, a fraction of the pay and pretty darn fulfilling.

[red-iron-pine]

How many years you been on construction sites, killer? Homestead =/= most builder jobs.

And on the homestead you're working for you, at your pace

[cm2012]

My buddy is in construction and he is ripped from all the heavy lifting at his job, he doesn't work out in any other way.

[screwturner68]

Gottach, you aren't in the trades, you work for yourself on your own plot of land. That's exactly like working a 12 hour day in 10 degrees in an empty sky scraper. Herding your goats is not construction.

[mahogany]

Huh, what an interesting and specific rant toward Habitat for Humanity volunteers. Is it your experience that those volunteers pretend to be "real" construction workers?

[ransom1538]

"Anyone romanticizing physical work based on doing it as an unpaid hobby"

Exactly. Being homeless is different than camping. One is a mental hell hole of despair. The other is fishing and laughing with friends.

[explaininjs]

Homelessness is not a mental hell hole of despair, and claiming it is does more to dehumanize the homeless than anything.

Being in a mental hell hole of disparity is a mental hell hole of despair, but that can come with any profession at any position on the socioeconomic ladder.

(am homeless)

[evilos]

"Being homeless is not always bad!" is not a take I was expecting to see today.

I'd bet 99.99% of homeless people would extremely prefer not to be.

[aatd86]

Yes, strange. Homeless yet posting on hackernews is not what the vast majority of homeless people are doing I bet.

I've seen some people struggle and they didn't have that kind of leisure time.

Perhaps it's homeless as in not owning an address? Don't know. Can happen given rent prices... Been there.

[norgie]

Where is that in the parent comment?

[explaininjs]

Thanks for this. All I said is we don’t live in a deep hole of despair. Sure parts are bad, but I don’t know of anyone who lives with absolutely no bad in their life.

[6510]

Lots of wealthy people moan and whine all day long. It is arguably how one becomes wealthy. Lots of poor people are happy. It is arguably why they are poor. Life can hand you a good hand of cards or a bad one. Sure. How much that gets to you is up to you.

I talk with a dying man one time who worked in a hospital for dying people. He asked for me because he knew dying people had the best conversations with those they didn't know intimately. The one thing that stuck with me was the contrast between 2 types of people, one kind screams and cries for 2 weeks straight, day and night "I'M GOING TO DIE!!" the other kind talks about all of the great things they experienced in their lives. He remembered one specifically who smiled and said: "I had a great life" then turned over in his bed and was gone.

Before you can live in a deep hole of despair you first have to dig it yourself.

[CogitoCogito]

> I'd bet 99.99% of homeless people would extremely prefer not to be.

I’m curious what /u/explaininjs would have to say about this given he/she claims to be homeless.

[explaininjs]

The real percentage is far smaller. I suspect the parent has only encountered homeless beggars, in the context of being begged at. If that’s all you knew I could see how you might think they hate it.

In reality homeless place a higher value on personal freedom than most, and the absolute happiest people I’ve ever met were all homeless with no intention of being otherwise. For these, possessions often come from donations they receive from people they meet and develop real connections with.

[ransom1538]

"I suspect the parent has only encountered homeless beggars, in the context of being begged at."

Oh no. The complete opposite. I lived in SF 15 years, worked and talked to the homeless dozens of times. 99% [not mentally handicapped] are addicted to fentanyl, destroyed all their relationships, and are slowly dying. Trying to justify it as "freedom" is a bizarre comment. They tend to have ZERO freedom, trying to score another fix, in an endless loop - they have NO ability to do anything else. People in prison have more freedom IMHO. They need detox now.

[6510]

It is different in that you get to fish and laugh with friends the year round in stead of just 14 days recovery from that to-fast moving conveyor belt in that noisy stinking factory for that boss who hates you.

[dzhiurgis]

This does distort the market for everyone who actually try to get paid for cleaning and mechanical work…