The burden of being rich, beautiful and privileged

[noname223]

I think a lot about the quantum physics professor. I perceived him as a very principled person who really tried to be a good person.
And I think a lot about my female gorgeous dentist. I don't know her personally. But I perceive her as very kind, jovial to people of lower status.

And honestly I don't think I am like them. I think I would be an asshole if I was rich, beautiful and privileged. I am not sure whether this can be blamed solely on the abuse that I experienced by my mom and all the bullying that happened. I think this has caused some unpleasant character traits.

I think the family of my mom and the family of my dad we are not good people. Something that is obvious we are beyond selfish. I think I am selfish too. But my excuse is I am literally on the edge of suicide I don't have the capacitity to help people in worse situations. And honestly I think my situation itself is pretty pretty bad. And I only very rarely meet someone who is as much of a mental wreck like me in real life. In Germany there are a lot of discussions about nazi archives. I don't know how the name of my ancestors are spelled and I don't know all the names. My personal theory they have a lot of dirty on them. We have the personality of sheeps with no courage in our families. I think it is not a good time point because my grandma could die soon. But maybe I will do research of my ancestors later in life.

My point is: I think we would be assholes if we were rich and beautiful. There is a certain burden that comes with being privileged. And if people don't care about this responsibility the outcome is a country that is similar to the America under Donald Trump. You have to remain aware that you are privileged otherwise you become disconnected to the citizens in your country who have it worse.

And actually there is some irony. ChatGPT pointed that out it is the halo effect. I project a lot into my dentist. Maybe because she is very beautiful. But honestly she seems to be pretty down to earth, I read her self-description somewhere and it sounds really kind and authentic. I wouldn't be that in her position. And I also see how she treats the other staff members. Personally, I have the feeling women are better at handling the responsiblity of power because they know power imbalances themselves more often. But it could be true some thoughts might be projection.

 

[dragonofenvy]

I think if someone were to snap their fingers and make me rich, I don't think I'd be an ass. In fact if I had gotten my job in IT I had planned on paying for the college expenses of some of my friends. There's really nothing I could do with 6 figures because I don't desire anything.

And honestly I don't think I am like them. I think I would be an asshole if I was rich, beautiful and privileged. I am not sure whether this can be blamed solely on the abuse that I experienced by my mom and all the bullying that happened. I think this has caused some unpleasant character traits.

I've been in a similar situation as you. I think you're selling yourself short. I too feel that I am greedy and self-centered, but it is because it is a learned behavior in order to survive. Maybe I'm projecting the halo effect onto you though.

But my excuse is I am literally on the edge of suicide I don't have the capacitity to help people in worse situations.

This is a valid excuse. When your mental health is in the shitter you don't have the means to help others. It's perfectly understandable. It's like a homeless person being guilty they can't help another homeless person get a house.

In Germany there are a lot of discussions about nazi archives. I don't know how the name of my ancestors are spelled and I don't know all the names. My personal theory they have a lot of dirty on them. We have the personality of sheeps with no courage in our families. I think it is not a good time point because my grandma could die soon. But maybe I will do research of my ancestors later in life.

Original sin does not have a bearing on you or your descendants. I think you're trying to use this as a way to prove to yourself that you're a bad person. You are not. Flawed maybe, after all I don't know you beyond the couple of posts from you I've seen but it is not black and white. You seem decent enough to me.

You have to remain aware that you are privileged otherwise you become disconnected to the citizens in your country who have it worse.

Awareness of hardship does not require self-comparison. You can acknowledge that others suffer without constantly looking at your own position relative to theirs. I made a post earlier today about how, at times, I feel guilty for being in a deep depression knowing that the lives of people in Eritrea or North Korea are much worse. Boiling it down to "privilege" is an oversimplification of complex realities. People's live are influenced by many other factors. Their choices, luck, family, and opportunities they have. Would I be privileged if I were making six figures at my IT job? Perhaps, but bear in mind I am also autistic, does my disability make me less privileged in that case?

Focusing on privilege is counterproductive. It encourages guilt rather than constructive action. It is better to ask "How can I make a difference?" as opposed to "How privileged am I?"

Though, I will say this much. I loathe people who feel guilty about their "privilege" and make attempts to "save" others. Their progressive-mindedness leads to poor decision making, and poor outcomes because they do not think their ideas to their logical conclusions nor do they take the input of someone like me seriously when they try to "save" me. I saw a story the other day where a city somewhere in the US removed their shooter-detection system because they felt it put minorities at risk. Mind you, these are progressives that were saying this. The end result was that several people were shot and killed because the police took hours to respond instead of minutes due to the detection system being taken down. In their bid to rid themselves of guilt, they caused strife. They face no consequences for their empathy, and thus they put the lives of others in danger to satisfy it.

It is the same thing with many social programs where I live. People tell me "well, what if you fell on hard times, wouldn't you want help?" I am going to fall on hard times because of how badly I'm getting raped by taxes for these social programs that end up not even doing much in the first place since the government is incentivized to throw money at problems and not solve them. Is it just that I become homeless to satisfy the upper-middle class's need to feel they're helping?

Maybe, maybe not. The point of all of this is, there are many assumptions being made here that, depending on who you ask, may or may not be true in their experience.

 

[RememberingJade]

I as a young, broke, and relatively pretty woman would probably call up my friend and ask her if she wants to go to the cheesecake factory (since we had never been lol) and probably donate a good majority to this woman's and victims of abuse shelter I frequently volunteer at. Maybe open up a small diner to employ the veterans there and continue with life. I never really understood the hoarding of wealth when I think people thrive better in second chances and community. I see more value in helping the younger generations rather than getting old with my money and letting no change happen. Shout out Dolly Parton.