Skip to content
By using Twitter’s services you agree to our Cookies Use. We and our partners operate globally and use cookies, including for analytics, personalisation, and ads.

This is the legacy version of twitter.com. We will be shutting it down on June 1, 2020. Please switch to a supported browser, or disable the extension which masks your browser. You can see a list of supported browsers in our Help Center.

  • Home Home Home, current page.
  • About

Saved searches

  • Remove
  • In this conversation
    Verified accountProtected Tweets @
Suggested users
  • Verified accountProtected Tweets @
  • Verified accountProtected Tweets @
  • Language: English
    • Bahasa Indonesia
    • Bahasa Melayu
    • Català
    • Čeština
    • Dansk
    • Deutsch
    • English UK
    • Español
    • Filipino
    • Français
    • Hrvatski
    • Italiano
    • Magyar
    • Nederlands
    • Norsk
    • Polski
    • Português
    • Română
    • Slovenčina
    • Suomi
    • Svenska
    • Tiếng Việt
    • Türkçe
    • Ελληνικά
    • Български език
    • Русский
    • Српски
    • Українська мова
    • עִבְרִית
    • العربية
    • فارسی
    • मराठी
    • हिन्दी
    • বাংলা
    • ગુજરાતી
    • தமிழ்
    • ಕನ್ನಡ
    • ภาษาไทย
    • 한국어
    • 日本語
    • 简体中文
    • 繁體中文
  • Have an account? Log in
    Have an account?
    · Forgot password?

    New to Twitter?
    Sign up
vgr's profile
Venkatesh Rao
Venkatesh Rao
Venkatesh Rao
@vgr

Tweets

Venkatesh Rao

@vgr

This is my conversational account. For my work follow @ribbonfarm, @breaking_smart, @artofgig. Tweets are 90% vacuous views, apathetically held. Mediocritopian.

Los Angeles, CA
venkateshrao.com
Joined August 2007

Tweets

  • © 2020 Twitter
  • About
  • Help Center
  • Terms
  • Privacy policy
  • Imprint
  • Cookies
  • Ads info
Dismiss
Previous
Next

Go to a person's profile

Saved searches

  • Remove
  • In this conversation
    Verified accountProtected Tweets @
Suggested users
  • Verified accountProtected Tweets @
  • Verified accountProtected Tweets @

Promote this Tweet

Block

  • Tweet with a location

    You can add location information to your Tweets, such as your city or precise location, from the web and via third-party applications. You always have the option to delete your Tweet location history. Learn more

    Your lists

    Create a new list


    Under 100 characters, optional

    Privacy

    Copy link to Tweet

    Embed this Tweet

    Embed this Video

    Add this Tweet to your website by copying the code below. Learn more

    Add this video to your website by copying the code below. Learn more

    Hmm, there was a problem reaching the server.

    By embedding Twitter content in your website or app, you are agreeing to the Twitter Developer Agreement and Developer Policy.

    Preview

    Why you're seeing this ad

    Log in to Twitter

    · Forgot password?
    Don't have an account? Sign up »

    Sign up for Twitter

    Not on Twitter? Sign up, tune into the things you care about, and get updates as they happen.

    Sign up
    Have an account? Log in »

    Two-way (sending and receiving) short codes:

    Country Code For customers of
    United States 40404 (any)
    Canada 21212 (any)
    United Kingdom 86444 Vodafone, Orange, 3, O2
    Brazil 40404 Nextel, TIM
    Haiti 40404 Digicel, Voila
    Ireland 51210 Vodafone, O2
    India 53000 Bharti Airtel, Videocon, Reliance
    Indonesia 89887 AXIS, 3, Telkomsel, Indosat, XL Axiata
    Italy 4880804 Wind
    3424486444 Vodafone
    » See SMS short codes for other countries

    Confirmation

     

    Welcome home!

    This timeline is where you’ll spend most of your time, getting instant updates about what matters to you.

    Tweets not working for you?

    Hover over the profile pic and click the Following button to unfollow any account.

    Say a lot with a little

    When you see a Tweet you love, tap the heart — it lets the person who wrote it know you shared the love.

    Spread the word

    The fastest way to share someone else’s Tweet with your followers is with a Retweet. Tap the icon to send it instantly.

    Join the conversation

    Add your thoughts about any Tweet with a Reply. Find a topic you’re passionate about, and jump right in.

    Learn the latest

    Get instant insight into what people are talking about now.

    Get more of what you love

    Follow more accounts to get instant updates about topics you care about.

    Find what's happening

    See the latest conversations about any topic instantly.

    Never miss a Moment

    Catch up instantly on the best stories happening as they unfold.

    1. Venkatesh Rao‏ @vgr Apr 11
      • Report Tweet
      • Report NetzDG Violation

      There’s something unseemly about a society where a lot of people have to rely on charity to survive and there is an uncritical charity-cheerleading track of the discourse flowing withgratitude, humility, etc. I appreciate those who do basics-giving, but it’s a job for taxes

      5 replies 36 retweets 171 likes
      Show this thread
    2. Venkatesh Rao‏ @vgr Apr 11
      • Report Tweet
      • Report NetzDG Violation

      The US is particularly prone to this pattern. Americans *like* a society built on benefactor-benefactee relationships of humility/gratitude as a basic building block. “Charitable person” is in the top 5 American archetypes. ESP religious and high-society subtypes.

      6 replies 7 retweets 35 likes
      Show this thread
    3. Venkatesh Rao‏ @vgr Apr 11
      • Report Tweet
      • Report NetzDG Violation

      Inefficient though it might be there’s a dignity-preserving aspect to receiving safety-net support from a well-run bureaucracy that catalyzes personal agency and provides an impetus towards self-sufficiency in a way personal dependence on “the kindness of strangers” does not.

      4 replies 2 retweets 52 likes
      Show this thread
    4. Venkatesh Rao‏ @vgr Apr 11
      • Report Tweet
      • Report NetzDG Violation

      I suspect conservatives who get into a moral panic about creating parasitic dependency/welfare queenism etc actually *want* to preserve the humiliation-based culture of community charity (not saying those who give *want* to humiliate, but that’s often the structural effect)

      5 replies 10 retweets 58 likes
      Show this thread
    5. Venkatesh Rao‏ @vgr Apr 11
      • Report Tweet
      • Report NetzDG Violation

      Venkatesh Rao Retweeted

      I know this is sincerely the ideal many people believe to actually be true, but is just wildly psychologically implausible on the receiving end at least, *excelt* where both are part of a religious culture https://twitter.com/unorthodoxxxy/status/1249049542630051841?s=21 … https://twitter.com/unorthodoxxxy/status/1249049542630051841 …

      Venkatesh Rao added,

      This Tweet is unavailable.
      3 replies 0 retweets 25 likes
      Show this thread
    6. Venkatesh Rao‏ @vgr Apr 11
      • Report Tweet
      • Report NetzDG Violation

      The actual effect of being the beneficiary of highly personal charity is often resentment. Beneath the mask of expressed gratitude is often anger, a sense of unwanted burden/obligation, unworthiness, low status in the community etc. It can drive people to leave communities.

      3 replies 3 retweets 48 likes
      Show this thread
    7. Venkatesh Rao‏ @vgr Apr 11
      • Report Tweet
      • Report NetzDG Violation

      Blanche duBois in A Streetcar Named Desire is of course the best-known American portrayal of the oppressiveness of “kindness of strangers” cultures. Tennessee Williams’ other play Glass Menagerie has similar themes. There was a really good quote by him on dignity I can’t find

      1 reply 1 retweet 17 likes
      Show this thread
    8. Venkatesh Rao‏ @vgr Apr 11
      • Report Tweet
      • Report NetzDG Violation

      Basically, problems created by industrial scale extraction, negative externalities, or direct cruelty can’t be solved by palliative measures based on family and church scale compassion. Impedance mismatch. You need same responses that rhyme with the causes.

      6 replies 6 retweets 52 likes
      Show this thread
    9. pt‏ @pouyatafti Apr 11
      • Report Tweet
      • Report NetzDG Violation
      Replying to @vgr

      what's your take on UBI?

      1 reply 0 retweets 0 likes
      Venkatesh Rao‏ @vgr Apr 11
      • Report Tweet
      • Report NetzDG Violation
      Replying to @pouyatafti

      Gone back and forth on UBI a lot. I think it is total hypocrisy unless you also advocate open borders, in which case it becomes unviable. But in a Covid19 world where borders are closed for stronger reasons, it might both work and be non-hypocritical.

      12:42 PM - 11 Apr 2020
      • 1 Retweet
      • 8 Likes
      • Kyle edumurphy multi_modality jo brrr Seitz Drake E. pt _
      5 replies 1 retweet 8 likes
        1. New conversation
        2. Joshua Skaja‏ @JoshFrets Apr 11
          • Report Tweet
          • Report NetzDG Violation
          Replying to @vgr

          Why not just put a wait time on UBI for new citizens?

          1 reply 0 retweets 2 likes
        3. Venkatesh Rao‏ @vgr Apr 11
          • Report Tweet
          • Report NetzDG Violation
          Replying to @JoshFrets

          That might work

          0 replies 0 retweets 0 likes
        4. End of conversation
        1. will minshew‏ @wminshew Apr 11
          • Report Tweet
          • Report NetzDG Violation
          Replying to @vgr @pouyatafti

          in your definition does open borders mean open citizenship or just migration-by-right? with the latter I think its tenable everyone is free to move here & live/work; citizenship requires a higher level of commitment (& responsibility, benefits)

          0 replies 0 retweets 2 likes
          Thanks. Twitter will use this to make your timeline better. Undo
          Undo
        1. edumurphy‏ @razorsmile Apr 11
          • Report Tweet
          • Report NetzDG Violation
          Replying to @vgr @pouyatafti

          ... why does it require open borders to be non-hypocritical?

          0 replies 0 retweets 1 like
          Thanks. Twitter will use this to make your timeline better. Undo
          Undo
        1. Ankur‏ @ankurrsharma Apr 11
          • Report Tweet
          • Report NetzDG Violation
          Replying to @vgr @pouyatafti

          It’s hypocritical because it’s universal?

          0 replies 0 retweets 0 likes
          Thanks. Twitter will use this to make your timeline better. Undo
          Undo
        1. New conversation
        2. Tyler‏ @tpage8 Apr 11
          • Report Tweet
          • Report NetzDG Violation
          Replying to @vgr @pouyatafti

          I’m missing something. Borders don’t seem to have anything to do with UBI

          1 reply 0 retweets 0 likes
        3. Tyler‏ @tpage8 Apr 11
          • Report Tweet
          • Report NetzDG Violation
          Replying to @tpage8 @vgr @pouyatafti

          I mean, the the “open or it’s hypocritical part”.

          0 replies 0 retweets 0 likes
        4. End of conversation

      Loading seems to be taking a while.

      Twitter may be over capacity or experiencing a momentary hiccup. Try again or visit Twitter Status for more information.

        Promoted Tweet

        false

        • © 2020 Twitter
        • About
        • Help Center
        • Terms
        • Privacy policy
        • Imprint
        • Cookies
        • Ads info