When you watch the rich living their lives ....

[Charon]

rich people are total douchebags tbh

 

[Harke the Boeotarch]

^ We´re rich compared to most people in India. Are we douchebags too?

 

[RhynePorter]

I generally try not to watch the rich live their lives kind of pisses me off especially when so much needs to be done around mine and there is literally no money to do it with! I try and try so hard but am plugging the hole in the Titanic with bubble gum.

Can you tell me more and how can we help?

 

[Telstra]

Not sure we have any basis for comparison. We have one video of an aged comic actor, and no video of Telstra.

Even if the videos were trustworthy as indicators of how both figures lead their lives, we would only have Chaplin's for consideration.

So, rather than the thread being about the two compared, it is more aptly about whether or not we approve of Chaplin. Then there's the problem that he is supposed to somehow represent the entire upper class around the world. Big job that.

I'm not interested in a very dead actor's lifestyle. To say that it is a moot point is an understatement.

No this thread is all about you guys lives compared to the rich guy like chaplin in the video.
So just compare his life to yours, are you worse off than him?
Since i joined jub, nothing is about me at all.

 

[Essex Boy]

Well it's Saturday night and nobody's got anywhere to go, so let's have a literary soirée.


WORLDLY PLACE
by Matthew Arnold

"Even in a palace, life may be led well!"
So spake the imperial sage, purest of men,
Marcus Aurelius. But the stifling den
Of common life, where, crowded up pell-mell,

Our freedom for a little bread we sell,
And drudge under some foolish master's ken
Who rates us if we peer outside our pen—
Match'd with a palace, is not this a hell?

"Even in a palace!" On his truth sincere,
Who spoke these words, no shadow ever came;
And when my ill-school'd spirit is aflame

Some nobler, ampler stage of life to win,
I'll stop, and say: "There were no succour here!
The aids to noble life are all within."


SPECTATOR AB EXTRA
by Arthur Hugh Clough

As I sat in the Café I said to myself,
They may talk as they please about what they call pelf,
They may sneer as they like about eating and drinking,
But help it I cannot, I cannot help thinking

How pleasant it is to have money, heigh-ho!
How pleasant it is to have money.​

I sit at my table en grand seigneur,
And when I have done, throw a crust to the poor;
Not only the pleasure itself of good living,
But also the pleasure of now and then giving:

So pleasant it is to have money, heigh-ho!
So pleasant it is to have money.​

They may talk as they please about what they call pelf,
And how one ought never to think of one’s self,
How pleasures of thought surpass eating and drinking—
My pleasure of thought is the pleasure of thinking

How pleasant it is to have money, heigh-ho!
How pleasant it is to have money.​

Here's the rest of the second one.

 

[Zeno Lorea]

Wasn't that Alan Clark on Michael Headline?

Indeed it was. But it's also something my mother would always say.

 

[NotHardUp1]

No this thread is all about you guys lives compared to the rich guy like chaplin in the video.
So just compare his life to yours, are you worse off than him?
Since i joined jub, nothing is about me at all.

I guess I don't buy the implication that one's life is better or worse than another's, barring physical pain or mental illness. I guess that is one reason I have always felt heartache when encountering the mentally ill.

Rich people have many cares that come with the accumulation of money and possessions. Poor people have many cares about the need for basic income and the basic needs it provides. Both have relationship issues and familial stress.

In my experience, I have not found the rich to be more or less happy than the poor. It comes down to attitude and whether one enjoys what one has, and that includes time. I know for a fact I've seen poor people enjoy their collard greens and cornbread every bit as much as a rich person his Beef Wellington.

Many of us do not enjoy our jobs, but it is always within our power to focus on that or our lives outside our work. The same goes for politics, community, education, and other circumstances.

There is just as much enjoyment in an afternoon spent playing cards with friends as there is in some far-flung resort with fruity drinks and tanned bodies. Joy is where the heart is happy and it really doesn't depend on riches.

As for Chaplin, all I gleaned from his video is that he was quite educated, which is no surprise considering he was a performer and comedian.

 

[PalacePaul]

I don't think they live better than me at all
Of course they have better furniture, better houses ... etc but look at their body language

your thoughts ?

Agree. I don’t think they live any better than I do. I don’t think their expensive furniture is better than my cheap Ikea table and my night table picked from the street. I don’t think their expensive cars are better than my second hand Citroën C3: we all drive wherever we want.
Money and expensive stuff don't bring you love, peace of mind, health or anything like that.

Of course now you can all start arguing about poverty and paying for healthcare… but that’s not the point

 

[Telstra]

I guess I don't buy the implication that one's life is better or worse than another's, barring physical pain or mental illness. I guess that is one reason I have always felt heartache when encountering the mentally ill.

Rich people have many cares that come with the accumulation of money and possessions. Poor people have many cares about the need for basic income and the basic needs it provides. Both have relationship issues and familial stress.

In my experience, I have not found the rich to be more or less happy than the poor. It comes down to attitude and whether one enjoys what one has, and that includes time. I know for a fact I've seen poor people enjoy their collard greens and cornbread every bit as much as a rich person his Beef Wellington.

Many of us do not enjoy our jobs, but it is always within our power to focus on that or our lives outside our work. The same goes for politics, community, education, and other circumstances.

There is just as much enjoyment in an afternoon spent playing cards with friends as there is in some far-flung resort with fruity drinks and tanned bodies. Joy is where the heart is happy and it really doesn't depend on riches.

As for Chaplin, all I gleaned from his video is that he was quite educated, which is no surprise considering he was a performer and comedian.

Good post and i agree

 

[Dominus]

Agree. I don’t think they live any better than I do. I don’t think their expensive furniture is better than my cheap Ikea table and my night table picked from the street. I don’t think their expensive cars are better than my second hand Citroën C3: we all drive wherever we want.
Money and expensive stuff don't bring you love, peace of mind, health or anything like that.

Of course now you can all start arguing about poverty and paying for healthcare… but that’s not the point

Bolded. You've never been dirt poor have you?

I don't consider us rich... yet. But even when we are rich, I doubt we will ever be upper class. Both husband and I enjoy what people consider middle class to lower class stuff way too much. Like going out to movies and stuff. And we hate upper class stuff like golf. So, I doubt we will ever blend in with those guys.

 

[unloadonme]

Both husband and I enjoy what people consider middle class to lower class stuff way too much. Like going out to movies and stuff. And we hate upper class stuff like golf.

Golf is the most middle class thing going!

 

[Dominus]

Golf is the most middle class thing going!

Don't get me wrong. We like nice stuff. But we have been invited out to activities some consider classy and we didn't enjoy those things at all.

 

[Telstra]

People who have been dirt poor growing up then became ''well off'' will never waste money on anything until they die.
Call them stingy what ever but they don't want to go hungry ever again.

 

[NotHardUp1]

People who have been dirt poor growing up then became ''well off'' will never waste money on anything until they die.
Call them stingy what ever but they don't want to go hungry ever again.

I don't think you can say that as any truism. I've known plenty of people who grew up in poverty who are not unduly frugal now that they have good incomes and nice things.

I count myself among them. We had utilities turned off when I was a kid. I lived in houses without hot water or indoor bathrooms. I remember times when we had only just enough to eat.

But I nor my siblings are ungenerous. And we are able to spend money without living in fear of want. If anything, having lived austerely gives a certain freedom from fear. Once you've been through severe hardship, you don't fear it like those who know nothing of it.

It's a bit like knowing those who have died. Once you've been close to death, it isn't some abstract source of fear. It's simply where we are all going.

 

[Alistair]

People who have been dirt poor growing up then became ''well off'' will never waste money on anything until they die.
Call them stingy what ever but they don't want to go hungry ever again.

That's far from the normal. Just look at how many lottery winners are broke in 10 years after winning

 

[Vannie]

My cabbage empire has not changed me either way.

 

[Telstra]

I don't think you can say that as any truism. I've known plenty of people who grew up in poverty who are not unduly frugal now that they have good incomes and nice things.

I count myself among them. We had utilities turned off when I was a kid. I lived in houses without hot water or indoor bathrooms. I remember times when we had only just enough to eat.

But I nor my siblings are ungenerous. And we are able to spend money without living in fear of want. If anything, having lived austerely gives a certain freedom from fear. Once you've been through severe hardship, you don't fear it like those who know nothing of it.

It's a bit like knowing those who have died. Once you've been close to death, it isn't some abstract source of fear. It's simply where we are all going.

its a non scientific observation but just look at the holocaust survivors, how many of them are starving until they die?
They know what terrible hardship was like ... so they simply save and save until they die (not wasting any money)

 

[Dominus]

People who have been dirt poor growing up then became ''well off'' will never waste money on anything until they die.
Call them stingy what ever but they don't want to go hungry ever again.

You remind me of two people: myself and a homeless kid I took in while in Arkansas.

I went to the University of Chicago for my undergrad. There, I met many kids of well-off families, including one girl who I knew was worth hundreds of millions. Before I went there for college, I always had this impression that wealthy kids were the pickiest eaters out there and they were all stuck up mean girl type. Befriending these millionaire kids certainly proved me wrong. They were the kindest and most realistic people I had ever met. Not only that, they ate just about everything you put in front of them.

One time, the topic of the durian fruit came up. They knew I was from the part of the world that had some. So, they begged me to bring in some. For those of you who don't know, read this.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Durian

Anyway, when I finally brought in one, they were absolutely horrified by the smell. And then they crowded around and took turn eating it.

It wasn't until years later that I finally found the answer to why these sons and daughters of very wealthy families were so adventurous in tasting new foods, much more adventurous than most middle class and lower class people I knew. And the reason is simple. Their families trained them from a very young age to eat and enjoy everything under the sun because they don't want the embarrassment of their kids not being able to eat at the state dinner with the prime minister of Japan. On the other hand, middle class and lower class people seldom have such opportunity. So, why eat anything other than KFC and big mac and chicken fingers?

Now, common sense tells us that if you grew up poor and on food stamps, you would eat anything to survive right? This is exactly the opposite of my observations over the years. Poor people, especially those who grew up on food stamps, are the pickiest eaters I have ever seen. And I don't blame them. Their pallets have been conditioned to like processed crap that's also the cheapest stuff out there to eat. I know, I'm not very politically correct. But I don't care.

So, years later, when I was in Arkansas I took in an 18 year old gay youth from the street. Long story short, during one of our conversations, he began to tell me exactly how rich people behaved. If you're rich, you're suppose to act like this, this, this, and that. I didn't say anything at the time, but to me these were nothing more than fantasies that the poor tell each other how rich people act.

My point is the rich are not some kind of monolithic borg collective. Some are generational rich. Some started off in the middle class and ended up rich. And some grew up in the most impoverished conditions imaginable. Everyone has a different take on life. I have met stingier than stingy recently rich. I have also met the most generous recently rich.

I have a close relative who is in the top 1%. He regularly buys lunch for his workers. Remember the great Gatsby and how he held regular parties at his place? This guy is like that. He regularly holds parties at his estate where everybody is invited. The more the merrier. And pretty much anybody can borrow his boats at anytime to take their families out. Does that sound like someone that "will never waste money on anything until they die"? Oh yeah, and I know for a fact that this guy grew up in the most impoverished conditions of Vietnam. At one point, he and his family ate sewer rats... so did my family. His big sister once told me that when he was little, one time he said he was hungry so they fed him rice and salt. He took bites out of the big chunks of salt and ate it with rice. Anymore doubt this guy came from the worst conditions out there?

I'm not saying they are all like that. People are different. Individuals are individuals. You can't box people in like that. It's nothing more than fantasies the middle class and the poor tell each other about how the 1% behave.

 

[Kyanimal]

I have been fortunate, to have had the privilege, of getting to know people from all strata of Life on this planet, from the anonymous dirt poor, to the super rich and famous. For the most part, I've been in the middle, to lower middle, while being able to relate to the extremes.

From all of that, I've learned that people can not be fitted into convenient boxes. What may be true for some members of a given group, does not hold for others recognized as being in the same group. That goes for any aspect of humanity that you can think of. Individuals are individuals. What they bring to their situations is defined by them, more than they're defined by their situations. Stereotyping loses validity with the lightest of surface scratches.

If you hold off judgement, apart from preconceptions, you'll gain much more when not confined by your own prejudices. Proceed with an open mind, and heart. You'll be surprised.

Now I have to track down a durian, or two!

 

[Telstra]

You remind me of two people: myself and a homeless kid I took in while in Arkansas.

I went to the University of Chicago for my undergrad. There, I met many kids of well-off families, including one girl who I knew was worth hundreds of millions. Before I went there for college, I always had this impression that wealthy kids were the pickiest eaters out there and they were all stuck up mean girl type. Befriending these millionaire kids certainly proved me wrong. They were the kindest and most realistic people I had ever met. Not only that, they ate just about everything you put in front of them.

One time, the topic of the durian fruit came up. They knew I was from the part of the world that had some. So, they begged me to bring in some. For those of you who don't know, read this.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Durian

Anyway, when I finally brought in one, they were absolutely horrified by the smell. And then they crowded around and took turn eating it.

It wasn't until years later that I finally found the answer to why these sons and daughters of very wealthy families were so adventurous in tasting new foods, much more adventurous than most middle class and lower class people I knew. And the reason is simple. Their families trained them from a very young age to eat and enjoy everything under the sun because they don't want the embarrassment of their kids not being able to eat at the state dinner with the prime minister of Japan. On the other hand, middle class and lower class people seldom have such opportunity. So, why eat anything other than KFC and big mac and chicken fingers?

Now, common sense tells us that if you grew up poor and on food stamps, you would eat anything to survive right? This is exactly the opposite of my observations over the years. Poor people, especially those who grew up on food stamps, are the pickiest eaters I have ever seen. And I don't blame them. Their pallets have been conditioned to like processed crap that's also the cheapest stuff out there to eat. I know, I'm not very politically correct. But I don't care.

So, years later, when I was in Arkansas I took in an 18 year old gay youth from the street. Long story short, during one of our conversations, he began to tell me exactly how rich people behaved. If you're rich, you're suppose to act like this, this, this, and that. I didn't say anything at the time, but to me these were nothing more than fantasies that the poor tell each other how rich people act.

My point is the rich are not some kind of monolithic borg collective. Some are generational rich. Some started off in the middle class and ended up rich. And some grew up in the most impoverished conditions imaginable. Everyone has a different take on life. I have met stingier than stingy recently rich. I have also met the most generous recently rich.

I have a close relative who is in the top 1%. He regularly buys lunch for his workers. Remember the great Gatsby and how he held regular parties at his place? This guy is like that. He regularly holds parties at his estate where everybody is invited. The more the merrier. And pretty much anybody can borrow his boats at anytime to take their families out. Does that sound like someone that "will never waste money on anything until they die"? Oh yeah, and I know for a fact that this guy grew up in the most impoverished conditions of Vietnam. At one point, he and his family ate sewer rats... so did my family. His big sister once told me that when he was little, one time he said he was hungry so they fed him rice and salt. He took bites out of the big chunks of salt and ate it with rice. Anymore doubt this guy came from the worst conditions out there?

I'm not saying they are all like that. People are different. Individuals are individuals. You can't box people in like that. It's nothing more than fantasies the middle class and the poor tell each other about how the 1% behave.

I took the time to read quickly.
I don't know what are you talking about and sort of not on topic