Agreed, but I think given the kind-of self-deprecating tone elsewhere, this was intended as a jibe at OP’s own superficial knowledge rather than at the transportation systems of developing countries.
They were men who had to work in a massive wilderness where the only “infrastructure” was a bunch of rivers.
So they would just build a goddamn boat right there in the middle of nowhere with some bark they ripped off a tree, and canoe across a fucking continent. And where they couldn’t paddle, they would get out and carry the damn thing, even when it was loaded down with a mountain of beaver skins.
Nobody “dismisses” these guys.
I’ll tell you who we do “dismiss”: The aristocratic assholes back in Europe who funded this whole phenomena with their insatiable hunger for ridiculous furry top-hats made out of giant pond rats (a fashion statement which they somehow failed to realize should do nothing but scream out to society at large in towering letters of fire, “I AM A BRAINLESS GIT”).
In short, you sound unpleasantly dismissive of jungle-donkeys. ;)
I don’t quite understand your point here, but no matter. As the others have noted, it’s not that you seemed to have bad intent with that phrasing. It just stuck out uncomfortably to me and I felt like pointing it out since you might not want to convey the connotations that it seems to be carrying.
I realise you only meant this flippantly, but… it sounds really unpleasantly dismissive to me. Just wanted to flag this.
Good luck with the money, I’m afraid I have no useful knowledge!
Agreed, but I think given the kind-of self-deprecating tone elsewhere, this was intended as a jibe at OP’s own superficial knowledge rather than at the transportation systems of developing countries.
Yeah, this struck me too. I don’t think you had any bad intent, I get that you were trying to make fun of yourself, but it didn’t quite work.
I’m going to point you toward http://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/ Not as smart on average as LW, but more focused.
...
Do you know who the voyageurs were?
They were men who had to work in a massive wilderness where the only “infrastructure” was a bunch of rivers.
So they would just build a goddamn boat right there in the middle of nowhere with some bark they ripped off a tree, and canoe across a fucking continent. And where they couldn’t paddle, they would get out and carry the damn thing, even when it was loaded down with a mountain of beaver skins.
Nobody “dismisses” these guys.
I’ll tell you who we do “dismiss”: The aristocratic assholes back in Europe who funded this whole phenomena with their insatiable hunger for ridiculous furry top-hats made out of giant pond rats (a fashion statement which they somehow failed to realize should do nothing but scream out to society at large in towering letters of fire, “I AM A BRAINLESS GIT”).
In short, you sound unpleasantly dismissive of jungle-donkeys. ;)
I don’t quite understand your point here, but no matter. As the others have noted, it’s not that you seemed to have bad intent with that phrasing. It just stuck out uncomfortably to me and I felt like pointing it out since you might not want to convey the connotations that it seems to be carrying.
Ohhh~~?
Try to think about it from this angle: What are the connotations of you saying that the phrase seems to carry “dismissive” connotations? ;)