Thursday, June 12, 2014
This is a debatable statement but
could be one of the most authentic things I have heard in a very long time. How
many times have we heard: ‘money=power’? I know I hear it more than ‘knowledge=power’.
Is there a disconcerting belief that the wealthy are afforded the right to be
rude, arrogant, self righteous, and demanding. If so, then why is that?
Suppose a man next to me has an
endless amount of disposable income. I am recently released from prison and
living hand to mouth. Is he better than I am? Can he treat people worse than I
can and get away with it? It’s wrong. Financial status should not automatically
allow people to behave in a certain way. In today’s society however, it has
become clear that it is the way of the world.
You may wonder why this topic?
Well I overheard inmates discussing me
and my family from the previous day's visit. Their dialogue was essentially a a comparison over the rumors they have heard about me; that my Mom and Kevin have these types of cars,… they live in
huge houses (and they even own more than one),… they travel to Boston and Chicago
every other weekend… and I am the only child.
Their statements were so grandiose, so
exaggerated. I wanted to turn the corner and clear up true facts from fiction
but, I did not. Then, one of the inmates made a final statement: “No
wonder he is such an asshole. He’s rich and rich people can do whatever they
want to!” I was speechless and could do nothing but walk away.
My mother enables our family to live a comfortable life but, we do not do what we want, whenever we want. Especially not me,
for that matter. I admit that I can be an asshole but, that is because of reasons that have
nothing to do with wealth. The reality is that I have nothing. The perception
however is quite the opposite. I get that because in here, perception = fact.
Politeness is something I cannot afford
here. I decided to let them think what they want because in the end, it will not effect me
either way. The fact that I am correcting them, or putting them in their place
could be considered an act of politeness, right?
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