ideaswerelikekittens:

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.

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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.

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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.

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 feel like a lot of people really misunderstood what I was going for, so let me clarify.

I don’t think that rich people necessarily deserve what they have.  i also don’t think that someone is a bad person for having something they did not earn. when i said ‘have / have earned’, the slash was an or, not an and.  the argument i was trying to make was if someone is absurdly wealthy, they are not inherently a bad person.  if they are somewhat selfish, and like spending money on themselves, i don’t really care.

if someone is rich, and is a dick, they remain a dick.  i just think people shouldn’t be despised for spending money on themselves. 

i don’t think charity is something we can really assign as a bare minimum.  it’s an ideal, something i hope people will have within them, but i don’t think i can hate someone for not being charitable enough for my liking.  i can develop a lot of respect for people who are charitable, because that is a wonderful trait.  but i can’t hate someone for not having that trait, if everything else about them is relatively inoffensive.

i didn’t say anything about people with less money, or people living in poverty deserving their situation.  what i said was, there is an assumption that rich people are all dicks, by virtue of being rich.  i think this is similar to assumptions that poor people are lazy, in that it is completely wrong, and ignores everything about the individual situation. 

i was trying to say that people should be judged based on their actions, not whether you think they deserve what they have, or whether they do what you would like them to do (or would do in their place) with their status.

also, i cringe at anyone thinking i agree with Rand about anything.

i feel really terribly misunderstood here, because it rankles that someone would suggest i don’t think it’s worthwhile to help those in need.  all i said was, being rich when someone else is poor doesn’t necessarily make you a bad person, even if you show no signs of guilt about being rich.