I would agree the mindset of “I can fix things if I were you” could prevent “empathy”. (I was also reading other comments mentioning this is not true empathy but simulation and I found it insightful too.) The key problem is if you would be able to tell if this is something they are able to fix, and what part of this is attributable to what they can do, and what part is attributable to lack of privilege. For example, a blind person cannot really type easily without special equipment. They or their family may not have the money to buy that special equipment. The parents were not able to get a college degree without some form of generational wealth. The same is true for intelligence level. (For example.)
Even growth mindset, is something that is developed through our education, environment growing up, experience, or even something like visa status. This is probably where empathy starts to develop further.
I was just reminded of a story I saw online that is related to this and wanted to share since it was positive and reflective. The story OP shared an experience when walking behind a family; they encountered a homeless and the father turned to the kid and started with something like “study well and after you grow up…”; the OP thought maybe the father wanted to say “don’t end up like the homeless” which is what the poster’s father used to say to them. Instead the father said “help these people to be in better situations”. And the OP found it beautiful and I found it beautiful too. It seems the two fathers both “understood” the pain of being a homeless, but had different understanding on the “how”, and decided to act differently based on that understanding.
I would agree the mindset of “I can fix things if I were you” could prevent “empathy”. (I was also reading other comments mentioning this is not true empathy but simulation and I found it insightful too.) The key problem is if you would be able to tell if this is something they are able to fix, and what part of this is attributable to what they can do, and what part is attributable to lack of privilege. For example, a blind person cannot really type easily without special equipment. They or their family may not have the money to buy that special equipment. The parents were not able to get a college degree without some form of generational wealth. The same is true for intelligence level. (For example.)
Even growth mindset, is something that is developed through our education, environment growing up, experience, or even something like visa status. This is probably where empathy starts to develop further.
I was just reminded of a story I saw online that is related to this and wanted to share since it was positive and reflective. The story OP shared an experience when walking behind a family; they encountered a homeless and the father turned to the kid and started with something like “study well and after you grow up…”; the OP thought maybe the father wanted to say “don’t end up like the homeless” which is what the poster’s father used to say to them. Instead the father said “help these people to be in better situations”. And the OP found it beautiful and I found it beautiful too. It seems the two fathers both “understood” the pain of being a homeless, but had different understanding on the “how”, and decided to act differently based on that understanding.