EquALLity wrote:
Over $3,000. It's not a big deal if I can get the money with a job, though.
Why is it costing so much? What's the cost breakdown?
That's an enormous waste of money. You could go see the great wall of China for that.
I don't think it's good to spend that much on personal experiences, though. Think of how many people and animals that kind of money could help. In terms of personal uses, you could use that as a down payment on an electric car.
Sure, we need a little entertainment, but it's possible to be frugal and practical about it, and recognize that some forms of entertainment are not a good value proposition.
You could go to D.C. for like $500 total
another time. And do it for a real purpose where your presence will make a real difference, like attending an animal rights conference.
EquALLity wrote:
That's one person's experience, and he still seems happy to have gone.
It sounds like he won the trip or something.
You'd have to spend all summer to earn that money, and that has a serious opportunity cost.
EquALLity wrote:
I doubt it. Security would probably be very strong.
The area you would be, like him, would be outside secret service protection. People would have guns. The police would try to suppress a riot, but that's not a sure thing. You've seen how competent the police have been so far at suppressing violence at the rallies.
EquALLity wrote:
I know I won't meet them, but seeing it happen in person is so different from seeing it on TV. It's like the difference between watching a sports game on TV and actually going to a stadium
I don't understand that either, but in a stadium at least you can kind of see the thing. It's more of an emotional/sentimental thing. If you think about it critically, it doesn't matter where you are when it happens, you're just as much witnessing history on one screen or another.
EquALLity wrote:
, except it's a historic moment and it actually matters.

It doesn't matter that you're there. You could save a lot more lives this summer by not going: and those are lives that really do count on you.
Your being there or not will change nothing for the world. It will just be a personal experience which will fade quickly into memory.
EquALLity wrote:
And I'd get to see the Washington monument too, I didn't even think of that. I mean, I'd see the White House etc. in person. That'd be such a great experience. It's really not the same as seeing a video.
I'm sure you'll go to D.C. many times in your life. This seems like a big deal now, I know, but try to keep it in perspective.
Save up to go to a climate or AR conference or something else that will hold more meaning and significance to YOUR presence, and where YOU can really make a difference.
Going to this is really no different than spending 3k on a super bowl ticket. Your presence doesn't mean anything, so it's superficial.
EquALLity wrote:
Yeah, I'll do volunteer work too. That'd be great. But it's not like I can't do both.
It does mean that, though. It's going to take you most of the summer to earn that money. There's an opportunity cost to your time. Less studying, less learning, less volunteering. You'll be tired from work, and you won't have the time or energy to do much else.
Unless you're on speed, which I do not recommend.
EquALLity wrote:
What jobs are that great that I can do? My options are really limited here.
NEXT summer you'll make money doing something more meaningful which will give you experience. Wait until then. Use this summer to build up your skills and knowledge and volunteer. Don't waste your time earning 3k from a useless job, only to waste that 3k on a superficial experience of watching it on a screen outside in another place. Do something meaningful with your time.
EquALLity wrote:I like Mrs. Greens, so maybe I'll see if they're hiring. It's a pretty pro-veg store, though it does sell homeopathic stuff.
But then, I'd be displacing someone, right? >.<
You would.
EquALLity wrote:What else is there?
Study and volunteer. That's meaningful.
You won't regret not going to this. It's not worth the cost and it won't help you, anybody else, or the world that you go to it.