I don’t think anything is good in absolutes. It’s not good to always hate people richer than you. It’s not good to hate in general. And I don’t think it’s good to assume that all people that show animosity towards people with more money hate them, or show animosity towards them for no good reason.
The thing that frustrates me about “people with more money” (or for that matter, people with less money) is when they assume that poor people deserve to be poor because they haven’t worked hard enough. Or, speaking in the generalities I abhor, when The Upper Class finagles its way out of taxes through loopholes, or when people complain about having to give money in taxes for the lower classes, etc, etc, etc. There are so many people caught in cycles of poverty, so many forces beyond their control exerting pressure on them to keep them where they are.
Of course it isn’t impossible for people to bull themselves up by the bootstraps, and they should want to, but it can be next to impossible without some help. Barbara Ehrenreich’s excellent book, Nickel and Dimed, does a great job of illustrating those forces.
This is also my frustration with Ayn Rand. She throws together her theories which support the idea that she’s rich because she deserves it and then everyone else who reads it agrees because they believe too that they deserve it. And you know what? Most of them probably did work really hard, and they do deserve what they have. But, that doesn’t mean poor people deserve to be poor, and don’t deserve help. Sometimes people just need a safety net.
(Sorry if it seems like I have a chip on my shoulder, but my family benefited from some social services while I was growing up, but now I am a successful, taxpaying member of society making my own contribution. And I believe the majority of those that receive services have stories more similar to mine.)
All I expect out of “people with more money than me” is empathy. Warren Buffet is someone that I have great respect for. He lives his life unostentatiously, and gives so much back. Bill Gates is another who lives his life how he will, but gives so much back. I see people in the city who are probably making only $35K and act like rich dicks, I don’t like them anymore than people that act that way with 10X the salary.
That said, I really enjoy your tumblr Broken Gentleman, and I look forward to your response.
And Broken Gentleman, I’ve been reading your tumblr for a while now and have always enjoyed it so this certainly isn’t meant to be
brokengentleman:
i’m constantly confused by the immediate assumption that rich people, even the ones surrounded by those in poverty, are somehow evil. i’m so far from rich that even contemplating this is amusing, but still - are the wealthy expected to spend money only on others? are they not allowed to enjoy what they have / have earned?
i just think that being loaded and relatively selfish is exactly what 90% of the population would do if they became billionaires. as such, i try not to judge the actual billionaires for spending their money on nice things.
maybe it’s just me, but hating someone because they have more than you did / do is the same as hating someone for having less. so don’t be a dick.
