This article, by no means, tries to imply all wealthy individuals are arrogant. It only humbly attempts to bring to light a phenomenon we’ve all become arguably immune to.
You must be familiar with the sinking feeling of inadequacy and the rage that follows if you’ve ever been rejected entry to a night club because you weren’t.. dressed for the occasion. While you read this, keep that in mind.
Just a while ago, news made the headlines about an Indian chief minister who caused an Air India flight to be delayed almost an hour because of his excessive entourage that had to follow him around everywhere. Never mind the fact that every other person on the plane’s time was being wasted.
Never mind the fact that this same privilege would not have been given to anybody else had they been late for an international flight. So, why was this the case?
Money talks.
By no means is India the only country where the wealthy elite reigns supreme over those that deign to be ordinary. Sadly, this phenomenon can be seen in almost every country around the world.
In both developing and developed nations, there’s a wealth disparity that needs to be addressed economically, but how about the resulting animosity between the groups? The wealthy ignore the presence of the middle-class and poor, while these sects are angry with the well-to-do. Why? A part of it is, of course, that it isn’t quite ‘fair.’ The other half is a reaction to the quiet and implied superiority of the wealthy [wiser, more beautiful, better accomplished].
Let’s plainly address the arrogance that comes with money that allows you to look down on another man, believing he doesn’t deserve quite the same treatment you do. In a swirling sea of VIP lounges, privileged club memberships, snooty ‘exclusive’ nightclubs, we’ve looked far past equality.
This haughtiness has been seen with many a man that has come into a lot of wealth, by virtue of hard work or birth. There’s isn’t anything quite wrong with being rich, unless you blatantly disregard for the feelings and needs of the people around you, or you see the needs of the poor as inferior to your own.
I can’t count the number of times I’ve wanted to tell a fellow well-to-do kid:
Being born into wealth is a cause for celebration, not for arrogance.
Certainly not the kind of ‘nose-up, head-high, I’m too good to speak to you’ breed we’ve all encountered at some juncture. What happens when the numbers in your bank account dwindle?
It’s not only the wealthy that are guilty of this elitism. Even an association with the wealthy can bring it about: Walk into a high-end store in Dubai and the shopping assistants will take a quick glance and instantly tell that you’re not ‘worth’ their time because you haven’t bothered to spend a wad of cash on a bag that has someone else’s name on it.
You are certainly a waste of the waiter’s time if you show up to a restaurant at the new waterfront in a t-shirt and jeans (Filth). They have every right to judge you and conclude that you are worth less than the glammed up lady that walked through those doors in bone-damaging heels, don’t they?
No- no, they don’t. I’ve had enough of the smoke and mirrors of elitist culture. Isn’t it time we spent our money on helping one another in a world where stark inequality ruins the lives of so many, and renders so many others completely (and willfully) blind? Isn’t it?
Are you going to let money decide how you treat people?
Do you agree with the author? If so, what can be done?
Tell us in the comments below.
Featured Image courtesy Huffington Post.