Beware the myth of the self-made man.
Yep! Few things are as dangerous as following someone who doesn't understand that they got lucky.
But the entire society is conditioned to do it.
We are shown celebrities before we learn to speak. All around us are those recognizable idiots who rarely have benefited humanity in any meaningful way but have very, very marketable faces. All to make us poor pay for their luxuries.
"If you wish to make
an apple piea man from scratch, you must first invent the universe. ~Carl Sagan
This is one of the best visualizations of this issue. I regularly think back at this comic, awesome!!
And, again, this does not negate the fact that Richard worked hard to get his degree and worked his company's ranks. It should not be about pushing down the Richards of the world, it should be about pulling up the Paulas, and strive for a world were everyone is a Richard [relating to the comic, not all white men or we would be doomed ':) ]
Careful, thinking like that will get you branded as a communist! /S
We need to make things more equitable for people.
Instead we are left with this:
Based take. I love how this comic depicts problems and privilege and you put it really well. I'm sick of people tearing down Richard.
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I have read many comments here about how horrible it is that the rich get everything and we need to make the opportunities equal for everyone, I think they are missing the point of the comic. At the end, Richard's view has been filtered through the things he was given as something that happens to everyone. Nobody told him that he was given privileges that Paula doesn't have access to. To him, everybody has access.
Yep, which is why over the course of history Marxism took hold of the Socialist movement, rather than previous Utopian Socialists who believed they could simply "convince people" of Socialism being better, and reality would form around that, like the Owenites.
Marx added that the ideas people have come from their Material Conditions, which is a core concept to Dialectical Materialism.
Most things came rather easy to me throughout my life. I was talking before most kids my age, reading earlier and more advanced material than other kids. I never truly struggled in most of my classes, generally performing in the top 20-25% without really trying that hard, mostly out of laziness. I've always been quick to pick up musical instruments, figure out how mechanical things work, and was confidently disassembling and reassembling computers at a comparatively young age. I did not complete college and simply worked numerous jobs over the years. I didn't have much money growing up and had a number of financial struggles until I landed in what was essentially my dream job a couple of years ago and am making enough money to be comfortable (not rich).
Am I a self-made man? Not in the slightest.
I had older siblings who encouraged me to talk and reading materials of various levels that allowed me to learn at an organic pace.
My mother was a teacher and about 50% of our toys were educational. In fact, my parents used to give us "fun" workbooks when we were children, which made homework less of a chore later in life.
I grew up with instruments around me and the means to purchase just about any reasonable instrument that interested me, meaning I had a wide array of instruments I enjoyed at my disposal.
My father was an electrical engineer and a pioneer of the PC revolution, so we had internet when most kids didn't even know what "online" meant, piles of decommissioned computers for me to fuck around with, and a functioning computer in every bedroom and office when most homes didn't have computers and any with a computer only had one that the family shared.
I dropped out of college due to boredom and worked whatever jobs I wanted to because my parents said I could continue living at home as long as I was studying or working.
I had financial issues because I had problems spending money I didn't have on things I didn't need. Even at my lowest points in life, I had a roof over my head and family who could have bailed me out of any situation I got myself into. My parents had plenty of money. While they didn't hand it to me directly, they paid for every opportunity possible for me to learn and grow.
A couple of years ago, a job opened up at my work which turned out to be the perfect cross-section of my work-experience, hobbies, and home-projects that I've had the opportunities to work on. I was recommended to apply for the job based on this facade of a "highly intelligent, self-made man" that my old boss held of me. But I'm really just a beneficiary of my circumstances.
Now, I live in a house that my wife and I own because we were able to buy it at a reasonable price from my grandparents when they moved into assisted-living. My wife and I each drive our own cars that I help keep costs low on between my remote-hybrid work and the amount of car repairs that I can do myself because I was afforded the time and opportunity to learn them when I was younger. I also do a good portion of our home repairs, upgrades, and renovations myself because I had the opportunities to help my dad do similar-ish things growing up.
In all reality, I was born upper-middle class and have managed to work my way down towards the lower-middle class. My parents did not accept nor encourage failure and they didn't have enough money or influence for me to fail my way upwards.
But I've always had the opportunity to just coast. And here I am: a child of just enough privilege, challenge, and cognizance to see how easy it is to end up struggling and to recognize what an asshole looks like.
Not enough privilege to need an award for having some semblance of self-awareness, but just enough to enjoy upvotes for admitting it.
I absolutely agree with this comic, and in a lot of ways I was the kid on the left.
I struggle with the solution though. Isn't it the purpose of all life about giving your offspring a better chance?
When we give the kid on the right more opportunity, the left side will keep increasing their investment until it's lopsided in their favor again.
Maybe it's not about trying to reach some theoretical absolute equity, but keeping the distribution at a healthy balance so that one side is not completely locked out of the game. That's healthier for the whole community too since healthy competition ensures there's progress.
The solution cannot be only based on providing more opportunities to achieve equity of chance. To me, (financial/professional) success cannot and should not be the thing to strive for solely. We cannot all be attorneys and doctors and high achievers. We cannot expect a good life for all if everyone strives to be in the top 10% of society and this is the prerequisite for a good life and success, because by definition, this leaves 90% out.
So if you really want to have a good life for all, we need to stop the idea that you need to attain some artificial definition of professional success in order to have a good life, and provide a livable, worthy life for everyone - especially if they put in the time to work and contribute to society. If a person is working 40 hours a week, i.e. gives up 40 hours of their life and free time, why should it matter whether they work as a cashier, collect trash, or work as an attorney. In every case, they have a crucial role in society.
Isn’t it the purpose of all life about giving your offspring a better chance?
Yeap, but doesn’t mean you willfully or otherwise create a worse situation for someone else
Maybe it’s not about trying to reach some theoretical absolute equity, but keeping the distribution at a healthy balance so that one side is not completely locked out of the game. That’s healthier for the whole community too since healthy competition ensures there’s progress.
Equity is an ideal we may never reach, but the point is we keep trying to reach it. There’s no such thing as a “healthy distribution” of exploitable working class.
The economic models built on exploitation of cheap labor are a relic of the past, and humanity does not need them to ensure future intellectual or cultural growth. We can have capitalism and social welfare together. We can even have Veblen goods without essentially making slaves of other people.
It's about humility and gratitude. Don't refuse to build on your advantages, just do what you can to pay it forward and outward.
Isn’t it the purpose of all life about giving your offspring a better chance?
A better chance at what? Becoming a member of the parasite class?
Needs extra last panel where Richard tells Paula “if you don’t like your job just get another one you like”
And Richard's autobiography that claims he worked since 12.
As someone who (mostly) got this privilege i completely agree with this comic
The toddlers look so much like little old people
richard as a baby looks like an old man
tbh they both look like they start very old and get younger
Natives had it right. There is no privilege when the tribe raises a child. Western nepotism has been a plague on this earth for thousands of years.
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Go back, read more history books. Nepotism is a dominant trait of every empire on the globe that decayed and fell apart on its own.
"Western nepotism" .. Psh.
this is fantastic 👏
Richard is LinkedIn in a nutshell
This comic strip only hints at the race and gender aspect of it. Myself, a not so impressive product of the working class with a not so great track record, has managed to better than most. When I think about my pastey white skin and the junk between my legs I am never very impressed but to think that I've won some sort of cosmic lottery. Society has some major flaws you guys.
Discrimination comes in many aspects. I wish people would be more comfortable admiting their privileges, this would bring the change faster
And here I am, in a well paying job as a programmer, constantly having impostor syndrome lol.
Heartbreaking.
All that drawing and they missed the 'a' in 'on a plate' in Richard's last panel, which is the title of the comic.
Nah Richard is just so privileged he feels he don't even have to speak properly
I once had a machine shop teacher that has a qoute that still lives rent free in my brain.
"I feel bad for the people who grew up rich because they dont know how to do anything themselves and dont know how to fix anything!"
Its pretty true life advice, i wouldnt change the way a grew up even a little bit. Not having alot growing up made me happy to have the small things and take care of the things i already owned. You can be rich with money but the poorest with skills and intelligence and that makes you more sad then ill ever be.
The rich have it better, I feel like that's just cope.
Money buys time and convenience. Mr.Rich has no interest in fixing his dishwasher, he pays "the help" to do that and he gets the "bonus" of feeling better than someone else when "the help" comes to fix it. He can then go on a run or sit around doing whatever the hell he wants, not having to worry about fixing anything. He bought the time we lose fixing things.
I've been "the help" and was literally called as such when a little girl said hi to me and her mother said "dont talk to the help." We're so below them and they enjoy that.
Dear Faust, this sounds so fucked.
This comic would be better if on Richard's recruiter's screen he was also rejected, but recruiter approved anyway.
I hate to be that guy, but the title is “on a plate” but it actually says “on plate” in the word bubble. I can’t unsee it.
Hopefully the world can change into a peaceful sci-fi world more like Star Trek or Red Dwarf.
Although we should always strive for it, I don't think we have it in us. But I hope I'm wrong.
The alternative is fascism, nuclear apocalypse, or death from climate change (perhaps all 3). It's up to us to avoid that path and move towards Socialism.
I think we do, because I've been going around convincing people on these forums to act more like it, using Euclidean geometry principles.
People will often worship shapes you give them and use them to change their minds about things.
Assuming we can successfully transition to Socialism, we will get there! It will just take time.
Same thing but put slightly differently: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4K5fbQ1-zps
I can’t relate to those things ever.
Who cares about grades when you are able to do anything at this age and not land in the jail? Once you are 18 the fun is over and you must be really careful at all times which is boring as fuck. Use these years to the fullest
Can someone finally make a comic that is an ounce relatable?
What do you guys even pursue with these grades of yours with all the bootlicking and effort when simply knowing right people and making them believe in certain version of yourself trumps everythingAre you really so naive to believe that hard work matters? No it is all about connections, knowing right people in right places. You can work hard for 30 years and have shit all but someone knows a certain guy at the top and is your boss in a year.
This is life, adapt or… struggle. The things they tell you in school is all horse shit the real race is in the casinos, nightclubs and parties. Remember that before you feed your kids with bs that good grades will make them successful.
I may regret engaging, but I can say as someone who grew up in Harlan County, KY (one of the poorest places in the USA), hard work and education absolutely do still make a difference. You can get educated in a variety of ways, and you can meet people and lean on those connections even if your family isn’t born with them.
Raging about the world on the internet won’t fix your problems even if it does provide catharsis for a brief time. You’ve got to do some work. Whether that’s learning to grow a garden and giving produce to your neighbors, or learning music to join a band and connecting to others through songs you write. Those things take work. People want to connect with others who have skills, even outside of a capitalist system.
Anecdotally, I “LeArNeD tO cOdE” instead of bitching that all the mines closed, and it’s worked well for me. Wrapping my head around coding concepts when I objectively got one of the worst educations available in this country has been hard work and I’m proud to be where I am. I hope you find something you can work towards.
All I know is that I could easily ignore grades, score good on final test twice in lifetime and leap over all those who worked real hard whole childhood and get to best uni. That kinda changes your perspective.
It’s about putting little jolts of effort where it matters and connections matter vastly more than anything. You can have idiots earning lotta because they know how to party with CEO or know their secrets.
Besides all your hard work matter shit all if you can’t market yourself and that is stretching the reality to your favour no matter the base facts.
I am retired right now at 30
