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by avalys 1 day ago
A privilege, really? Who bestows that privilege?

I am certainly sympathetic to people who are genuinely disabled.

That doesn’t mean we have to lie to ourselves that they are being productive by sitting around reading books.

2 comments

> A privilege, really? Who bestows that privilege?

You do

> I am certainly sympathetic to people who are genuinely disabled.

Agreed, and it can be uncomfortable to sort through what's genuine or not. One of my favorite scenes is in the big Lebowski where Walter confronts the other Lebowski claiming he's not a cripple and lifts him out of his wheelchair...Funny and sad all at once.

> That doesn’t mean we have to lie to ourselves that they are being productive by sitting around reading books.

Not asking for anyone to lie to themselves about what they feel is productive, rather giving another perspective to hopefully help people appreciate being able to work.

And yet, the lifestyles of some of the greatest minds were basically taking leisurely walks and reading / writing letters (Einstein). The other day there was Ian Fleming's daily routine - have a walk, sit on the beach, have a drink / dinner, oh and do some writing in between.

People can contribute value AND have a comfortable life. That's the ideal. We (in the west) fought hard to limit how much employers can exploit us, else we'd still be doing 12 hours / 6 days work weeks. And the economy / society didn't collapse.