AIBU to think that everybody should watch this? It opened my eyes

[almutasakieun]

As for where I'd be in the race, I'd probably have gotten a couple of headstarts, but by no means all.

I just thought it was interesting.

Watching

People sharing things online doesn't mean they're learning anything from it just like taking part in this race doesn't mean any of those kids learned anything. Those concepts are unrelated. People share all kinds of things for all sorts of reasons.

All it made me think is that those kids at the back shouldn't be used to teach better off people around the world a lesson - there are tons of videos and books on this information that don't involve kids telling the world they have food insecurity, I think about how embarrassed and humiliated I would be as someone who would be near or at the starting line, especially that those questions seem so simple but I'm not sure how 16-17 year old me could answer them, especially in a high school where many of my classmates went on to Ivy League universities and people thought I was talking shit to say I didn't have money for food or a parent available to sign permission slip for weeks at a time. If these kids know each other, they probably already know the pecking order going on.

Maybe it's because I would be in that situation if this had happened to me in high school, but I don't think whatever lesson the better offs learn is worth doing that to kids in more difficult circumstances. It's like an image I saw shared repeatedly this week '1 in 20 kids have a disability, that gives 19 kids a daily opportunity to learn about diversity, collaboration, inclusion, and friendship'. Fuck no, it's not any kids' job to teach those things or to teach about privilege, and it's a pretty privileged position to think someone's life circumstances are around and should be shared to teach others something that plenty of people around the world work their asses off trying to research and teach on these subjects. I know the dude in the video is trying to be good, but the world in general needs to go to people who choose to work on this rather than treating people's life circumstances as a show to open other's eyes for free. All those kids deserve better.

But people aren't learning from research are they?

Just been reminded of another reason it’s inaccurate. Many people in the US don’t pay for college because they serve in the army for a good while to get their tuition paid. I’m not sure risking your life and getting PTSD is a privilege.

of course the idea that the poor don't deserve to be poor is controversial!

once that is accepted then it also follows that the rich don't deserve to be rich, we don't live in a meritocracy and the whole game is very very rigged

@BejamNostalgia, I fully agree that serving in the armed services in order to access college is not privilege.

One thing the video does get right is that having parents with money creates privilege, including, for example, the ability to go to college without having to first serve in the armed forces, provided of course that the parents are willing to use their money in that way.

The people left at the back weren't there just to teach others and suffer humiliation. They are learning some of the reasons why life is more difficult for them than others despite their trying so much harder.

It's just a general snapshot of privilege. His main point was that some factors set some people ahead or behind regardless of what they themselves have done or tried to achieve.