Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!husc6!cmcl2!brl-adm!umd5!uvaarpa!mcnc!decvax!decwrl!hplabs!hplabsz!taylor
From: klg@dukeac.UUCP (Kim Greer)
Newsgroups: comp.society
Subject: Re: Effect of Computers on Society at Large
Message-ID: <1791@hplabsz.HPL.HP.COM>
Date: 30 Mar 88 02:13:45 GMT
Sender: taylor@hplabsz.HPL.HP.COM
Organization: Academic Computing, Duke University, Durham, NC
Lines: 42
Approved: taylor@hplabs

Ralph Marshall writes:

> It seems to me that this group should also be addressing the problems
> faced by people who are not computer literate at any level, and thus
> are in severe danger of becoming part of a permanent underclass in our
> society...

Ralph,

I think you answered part of your question yourself:

> Yet this is the same country where we have unbeliveable rates of 
> high-school drop-outs who are often unable to even read English well 
> enough to understand on-screen prompts and instructions.

My response is that if someone does not like the state they are in
they should do something to change it.  Let's ignore for now the 
people who really, truely are incapable of "using computers".  I
believe that most people who are at least a little a bit literate
can, with _a little help_, perform virtually anything necessary
on a computer in their day to day life.  Note that I did not say
they will become experienced assembly language programmers 
overnight.  In your posting, your example was the ATM.  If the
man cannot use the ATM, maybe he should actually go in the bank
( yes, people still _actually_ go in banks  :)  ) and ask the
employees for some instructions.  I think this is usually offered
by the bank when accounts are set up anyway for ATMs.  Anyway,
my point is :  If someone is "disenfranchised" from using 
computers because they can't read, let them learn how to read.
All through high school, I saw the people roaming the hallways
causing disturbances during classtime and who now I'm sure are
incapable of doing anything with their lives...because they are
semi-literate at best and are generally ignorant (ie, uneducated).
Is this my fault? No.  They made their decisions; I made mine.
As I said, this may seem harsh.  I don't want to deny anyone their
fair share of life's rewards.  But ! people are generally able
to do anything they really want to.  People are responsible for
making their lives what they wish them to be.  Others cannot, and
generally should not, do this for them, outside of making 
available the opportunity to do so.

Kim L. Greer