Rob, how did you manage to keep your cool amidst the luxury belief scions? The stress of reading your article was just too much - I need a safe space for a good cry.
I finished your book on Friday and have plenty of notes in the margins. I’ll work on weaving them into a cohesive narrative over the next few weeks. As a former foster youth who graduated from Yale College in 2004, I deeply related to your upbringing and admired your ability to communicate with respect and humility. We seem to have a lot in common beyond just foster care and Yale.
In this article, you wrote:
"If you’ve truly been through something stressful or traumatic, there’s a reluctance to speak about it. You don’t want that to be your identity. You want to rise above it by embracing a different aspect of your identity…And if you ask them to talk about those experiences, they don’t know how to put it into words that are sort of just the right amount of uncomfortable for the reader, kind of the Disney version of the story rather than the real thing."
That passage perfectly captures where I am now—though perhaps that will change someday.
This year, I found inspiration in your book and JD Vance’s as well. The concept of the "privileged poor" has been on my mind recently. Growing up in New Haven, I was surrounded by opportunities to excel from a young age, with encouraging teachers and Yale in my backyard. I never doubted my ability to achieve great things. Looking back, I can recognize the privilege I had amidst the adversity.
Lastly, don’t apologize for wanting money. Money is simply a tool—it provides security, choices, and the ability to help others. Perhaps even more important than making money is managing it: the ability to live within (or below) your means and set yourself up so your money works for you, not the other way around. =)
I’ve been going through online subscriptions and Un subbing from a few of them. This interview made me upgrade to paid! Keep up the great work. I’m on board for a year now.
“critics of your position would say that you're clouding what are very real distinctions between oppressor and oppressed, and privileged and unprivileged, by making such claims about these categories seem disingenuous.”
(Such a SLOPPY MINDED thing to say and it lacks any real INTELLECTUAL horsepower.
We can never let this happen (to Rob). How ridiculous to ever insinuate that RKH is too privileged!
Rob’s only privilege is the gift of his powerful mind and utterance from the Creator. Our innate qualities are indeed our gifts and privileges.
Rob may be many other things but HE IS NOT disingenuous.
Authenticity. Yes. Ironic that the man that won the 2016 election thus causing the campus aristocrat class to crumble was/is that authentic model and his opponent that was rejected was criticized during the election as not.
“they talk about diversity quite a bit, but they don't talk about class diversity.
And if you bring it up, often people will kind of acknowledge that that is an issue and maybe we should focus on it. But then they say, “Anyway, let's set that aside for now…”
Class diversity is an AFTERTHOUGHT.
Changing this attitude is a KEYSTONE to fundamental change in the human world.
(E.g. Yes, ANYONE can volunteer, ANYONE who isn’t working 24/7 to make ends meet.)
These questioners seem hostile. Just your sort of rogue perspective is challenging their brittle virtue hierarchy. ("Rogue"only in the sense of common sense, fresh air from the street.)
The concept of "luxury beliefs" mentioned by Henry James and Adam Smith reminded me of a verse from Ecclesiastes: "There is nothing new under the sun."
Reading this article, I again feel deep gratitude for your decision to take your personal experiences and insights, and put them together into Troubled. Truly reliable historical analyses about the Biden administration and the shift away of the general population from left-progressive dogmatic positions during his Presidency will have to be made decades from now. It does seem obvious to me, however, that your book -- similar to others' work -- put forward one of the least polemic and most accessible *reasons* for moving away from beliefs that prop of fragile egos: there are real lives in the balance, and pretending otherwise is committing the real moral wrong.
This was a good one. I think it’s true that people who have really experienced trauma/ stress don’t like to talk about it.
One question- what about the fact that young people tend to leftist/ socialist- doesn’t this play in to the acceptances of “ luxury “ beliefs ( which often are leftist/ socialist)? I have often thought that faculty who should know better just play to this tendency in young people.
I really like that your looking and writing/talking about luxury beliefs and child develop ....... And how all of this effects/affects people......persons. If we don't know on some level, how we can keep developing out to be the" best-self" person we are meant to be? "Our level of excellence" for our self first and the good impact we may have on the people we have a level of influence on as well. :)
Salute to the keepers of the castle.
Rob, how did you manage to keep your cool amidst the luxury belief scions? The stress of reading your article was just too much - I need a safe space for a good cry.
Rob,
I finished your book on Friday and have plenty of notes in the margins. I’ll work on weaving them into a cohesive narrative over the next few weeks. As a former foster youth who graduated from Yale College in 2004, I deeply related to your upbringing and admired your ability to communicate with respect and humility. We seem to have a lot in common beyond just foster care and Yale.
In this article, you wrote:
"If you’ve truly been through something stressful or traumatic, there’s a reluctance to speak about it. You don’t want that to be your identity. You want to rise above it by embracing a different aspect of your identity…And if you ask them to talk about those experiences, they don’t know how to put it into words that are sort of just the right amount of uncomfortable for the reader, kind of the Disney version of the story rather than the real thing."
That passage perfectly captures where I am now—though perhaps that will change someday.
This year, I found inspiration in your book and JD Vance’s as well. The concept of the "privileged poor" has been on my mind recently. Growing up in New Haven, I was surrounded by opportunities to excel from a young age, with encouraging teachers and Yale in my backyard. I never doubted my ability to achieve great things. Looking back, I can recognize the privilege I had amidst the adversity.
Lastly, don’t apologize for wanting money. Money is simply a tool—it provides security, choices, and the ability to help others. Perhaps even more important than making money is managing it: the ability to live within (or below) your means and set yourself up so your money works for you, not the other way around. =)
"Oh, if the people knew the luxury beliefs guy was at this nice restaurant, what would they say?" And I reply, "I like good food."
That’s my authentic feeling about it.”
🤣🙄 People like Rob grew up with COMMON SENSE — one should never lose it…
I’ve been going through online subscriptions and Un subbing from a few of them. This interview made me upgrade to paid! Keep up the great work. I’m on board for a year now.
Rob's writings provide a lot of food for thought.
Same with me, Jimbo…
“critics of your position would say that you're clouding what are very real distinctions between oppressor and oppressed, and privileged and unprivileged, by making such claims about these categories seem disingenuous.”
(Such a SLOPPY MINDED thing to say and it lacks any real INTELLECTUAL horsepower.
We can never let this happen (to Rob). How ridiculous to ever insinuate that RKH is too privileged!
Rob’s only privilege is the gift of his powerful mind and utterance from the Creator. Our innate qualities are indeed our gifts and privileges.
Rob may be many other things but HE IS NOT disingenuous.
I just find it so bizarre that classes were cancelled the day after the 2016 election. Totally bizarre.
Authenticity. Yes. Ironic that the man that won the 2016 election thus causing the campus aristocrat class to crumble was/is that authentic model and his opponent that was rejected was criticized during the election as not.
“they talk about diversity quite a bit, but they don't talk about class diversity.
And if you bring it up, often people will kind of acknowledge that that is an issue and maybe we should focus on it. But then they say, “Anyway, let's set that aside for now…”
Class diversity is an AFTERTHOUGHT.
Changing this attitude is a KEYSTONE to fundamental change in the human world.
(E.g. Yes, ANYONE can volunteer, ANYONE who isn’t working 24/7 to make ends meet.)
And in that novel, there are characters talking about the radicals of the upper class and how their beliefs are “their biggest luxury.”
AMAZED TO THIS QUOTE !!
These questioners seem hostile. Just your sort of rogue perspective is challenging their brittle virtue hierarchy. ("Rogue"only in the sense of common sense, fresh air from the street.)
The professor’s questions…
The concept of "luxury beliefs" mentioned by Henry James and Adam Smith reminded me of a verse from Ecclesiastes: "There is nothing new under the sun."
Reading this article, I again feel deep gratitude for your decision to take your personal experiences and insights, and put them together into Troubled. Truly reliable historical analyses about the Biden administration and the shift away of the general population from left-progressive dogmatic positions during his Presidency will have to be made decades from now. It does seem obvious to me, however, that your book -- similar to others' work -- put forward one of the least polemic and most accessible *reasons* for moving away from beliefs that prop of fragile egos: there are real lives in the balance, and pretending otherwise is committing the real moral wrong.
This was a good one. I think it’s true that people who have really experienced trauma/ stress don’t like to talk about it.
One question- what about the fact that young people tend to leftist/ socialist- doesn’t this play in to the acceptances of “ luxury “ beliefs ( which often are leftist/ socialist)? I have often thought that faculty who should know better just play to this tendency in young people.
Hi Rob,
I really like that your looking and writing/talking about luxury beliefs and child develop ....... And how all of this effects/affects people......persons. If we don't know on some level, how we can keep developing out to be the" best-self" person we are meant to be? "Our level of excellence" for our self first and the good impact we may have on the people we have a level of influence on as well. :)