I think “first world problems” is the intelligentsia’s “you may be a redneck if…”

To wit: If you’re complaining that your download from MSDN is running at a measly 650KB/sec average, you’re experiencing first world problems.

And yet, I can’t believe how long it is taking to download some old-assed .iso so I can build some ancient bit of architectural cruft that is both so integral to our workflow that it demands a special place in the VM migration strategy and not important enough to devote development resources to usher it into the modern age.

And, since I’m still waiting, is it a second order first world problem to have a problem with the idea of first world problems? I mean it just feels like some facile way to dismiss legitimate structural problems the world faces, not to mention the day-to-day annoyances we have to muddle through just because we want to survive day-to-day in whatever society we’ve been blessed to be born in to. See, I am smitten with the phrase “first world problem.” On the other hand, when someone other than myself uses it, I feel like dickpunching them. Like, yeah, you’re the enlightened being who has achieved complete balance.