I’m not saying SOME people really don’t have medical issues that prevent them from running, but it is very common to find new aches and pains that can be fairly easily remedied. Some people will never (want to or be able to withstand) long distances, but I really think most people can complete a 5k.

(I had the same issue with hiking long distances, fixed with insoles)

I’m hard on myself. I need to work on being less hard on myself, rather than raising my already-high standards. I would have said the same to the former-reader; he is probably being too sensitive, and expecting too much of himself. You can only be so frugal, and beyond that point it’s unreasonable to push yourself more.

Trent, this is not one of your greatest posts, for the many reasons indicated by the commenters.

My thought on the running neighbor. Do encourage her. IF you start to exercise more, because you see her out exercising, tell her. It will make a difference. And we do all have different goals. IF her goal is to improve her running times, then no, I would not share her goals. IF her goal is to be a healthier, person, then yes, I share those goals. I do it walking outside, on my treadmill and using my stationary bike. I have lost almost 47 pounds doing it and would love encouragement from others who consider me a good role model to help them decide that it is possible.

I think this is a fairly limited example, though. Yeah, kids who have parents who, the financial aid calculators say, can pay for college but who (a) refuse to or (b) actually can’t are in a crappy position. But this does not equate to some overarching privilege poor kids have because occasionally they can get monetary benefits that kind of sort of level the playing field between them and kids whose parents can afford to pay for college. I mean, really.

But I had to reread that portion of the post to really understand what he was saying. I can get most of what Trent is trying to say but this wasn’t very well written.

There’s still confusion over what the point of the example with the neighbor is about. I know he’s trying to illustrate a point, but why are the goals different.

I also wanted to point out that this isn’t the first time there has been a krefuffle in the comments because Trent’s writing isn’t very clear.

Second, being poor is not is not an advantage in and of itself. However, being below the income requirements for grants that allow you to go to school for free is an advantage. I don’t see how you could argue otherwise. Two students, one from a middle class family and one from a poor family go to the same school, get the same degree and go out and get the same job. The first has $60K in student loan debt, the second has none. Is this one advantage enough to make the second kids life “better”? That is impossible to say. Trent’s point was that in most situations you can look at anyone and see them as having an advantage over you. Or, you can focus on the tools in your toolbox to meet your goals. (and by the way, this is coming from some one who has spent a long time broke who is married to someone who has been poor. Really poor. As in no water or electricity, sharing a can of beans with his brother poor, and he and I are on the same page here. I don’t see what the point of questioning someone’s impoverished street cred is.)
Kerfuffle, kerfuffle, kerfuffle.

This post doesn’t make a lot of sense to me, period. It started with one point, ended on another, and neither was explained.

I find my view align with Johanna’s much more so than Trent’s. But I read TSD because it provides me a different perspective from someone with a different upbringing.

From a while back, if I remember correctly, Johanna had a background similar to mine, and so I find my views are quite different from Trent’s and pretty similar to Johanna’s.

And being poor is an advantage? Haha… that’s rich… spoken like a true person who’s never experienced poverty.

For example Trent’s neighbor – if she’s just running for exercise how is that a different goal? Or does she run to train for marathon– I could see how that’s a different goal, although I can’t see how it would make Trent jealous unless he wanted to be able to run or run marathons.

And going back to the example of people with an unfair advantage – usually the people listed are those who have money – were born into it or got lucky. You don’t often see a list of low income/working poor listed as having an unfair advantage.

Over all I get the point that Trent was trying to make, but again, if he’d taken a little bit more time on the post there wouldn’t be this kind of confusion.

This isn’t the first time that there’s been a “kerfuffle” over something Trent wrote that was unclear.

But “guilt” could push you to exercice if you are not doing it already. But I feel that negative emotions are not great motivators….. too depressing.

Right, defensiveness isn’t always about guilt. Sometimes you’re defensive because people really are attacking you. I mean, it’s important to know the difference but people are too quick to dismiss any defensive feelings as unjustified, I think.

I see them often in blog comments (not here, elsewhere) and occasionally in real life – people who have good paying jobs, a nice house, good cars, but whose budgets are stretched for whatever reason. So they whine about the unfair advantage that lower income people get via WIC, food stamps, Medicaid, etc. Uusually the low income (or in some cases no income ) people are described as being lazy, dishonest and cheating the system to get an advantage.

However, I’m not sure if that’s what Trent was talking about because his post is not very clear.

I know people are going to jump on me if I say this but if Trent would take more time on some of his posts and expand his ideas a little bit more there wouldn’t be this kind of confusion.