[danans]

> When I think about the counterfactual me that grew up in a large American city, New York or L.A. instead of Toronto, I see someone who's more stunted than me, in important ways. No skating classes, libraries too far to walk to on a regular basis and more poorly stocked. Student debt. Without generous public incentives, that version of me would only have the life that her own parents can afford to provide for her.

America has long been a place where hardship or trauma for a subset of the population has been seen as the system working "correctly".

It's just that the makeup of that subset has shifted over time (although much less so for black Americans).

You'll find many people here that will believe that without deprivation of basics and even comforts, nobody would want to pursue or achieve anything.

This is often believed by people living in communities that - because of wealth clustering -provide basics and comforts, as well as growth opportunities, and sometimes especially by the few people who escaped deprivation into comfort and security through their grit, thereby assuming that is the best route for all of society.

We think we did it all ourselves, without any helping hand up, while often being ignorant of our own privilege.