Earlier this month, Russian social networking portal Habrahabr.ru featured photos and some translated text [1] (RUS) from the May 30 Wall Street Journal piece on the online presence of the U.S. homeless – On the Street and On Facebook: The Homeless Stay Wired [2].
The original English-language story has generated 93 comments [3]. On Habrahabr.ru, there are currently 183 responses – and below are some of them:
kakains:
Wow!!! 0_0
Here you don't run into bums with laptops […]isnotme:
Here even if you run into one, you wouldn't think that he bought it.
Unechka:
Here a bum would get killed for this laptop. And, quite possibly, by the law enforcement people.
Sigurd:
Here even an ordinary person who takes out a laptop in the street wouldn't survive for too long…
crazysiemens:
Here it's not even often that you run into an ordinary person with a Macintosh ))
jeje:
If this were April 1, I would've never believed it. But, damn it, we are dirt poor even compared to the bums in the United States.
dymdym:
These are singular cases. We also have all kinds of whiz kids among bums. One is even making movies and winning awards at festivals. But the majority are alcoholics.
r_p:
Here some students can't afford to buy a laptop […]. It's making me sad (
Inskin:
There is some difference – as far as I know, they have summer in California all year round. And there are many open – and free – wifi's, too, I guess. Here in [St. Petersburg], if you become homeless, then nine months of the year a laptop and internet are the last things to be concerned about. :)
Petrucha:
Here vodka is the best laptop.
hypercom:
There, bums can't live without internet, while here educated and well-employed people have no idea what internet is for. This difference is more upsetting that the difference in money availability.
big_jump:
Some people can't understand what they need a computer for, and internet is a totally different dimension for them altogether.