pebblebrusher t1_je1mn8s wrote
Reply to comment by Vic_Hedges in The reason you were born is to be productive & exploited your whole life, as a reward you're sold freedom in years that you wouldn't be a productive worker anyway. by KHUSTOM
I’m with you there. I am very grateful. I live an insanely privileged life, and because of my starting point as a white upper middle class man, it has been easier for me to work hard and succeed in a traditional capitalist sense. I am certain that I would have had huge hurdles to overcome if I had been born to poverty.
Your point makes sense in a true meritocracy, which does not exist in the US.
Vic_Hedges t1_je1p7h2 wrote
I honestly think that a huge contributor to the political divide is purely driven by emotional jealousy and vindictiveness, not by anything logical.
I think upper income people would be far more willing to make economic sacrifices if they were framed as charitable acts towards those less fortunate, rather than impositions by the lazy and entitled.
Or at least, they'd have a tougher time justifying their unwillingness to do so. Demonizing the poor is how you justify mistreating them, and when the poor are screaming about how you are greedy, lazy and underserving of your wealth, it's not hard to understand why people are anxious to dismiss them.
pebblebrusher t1_je1qkz8 wrote
So just to make sure I’m hearing you right, it’s poor peoples fault for being angry at a system that leaves them in the dust? I agree with you that people would be more likely to make economic sacrifices to benefit others if things were framed that way. But who is framing things that way? It’s the mainstream media pushing narratives, the impoverished don’t have that power. And who owns the mainstream media? The wealthiest among us. We can blame them, not the poor who are often (justifiably) disenfranchised by a system that doesn’t serve them.
Most people just want to feed their families and have a roof over their head, and it really is that simple. These narratives of poor folks being lazy or entitled just aren’t accurate and don’t paint the whole picture.
Vic_Hedges t1_je1sgef wrote
My point is that of course they're not accurate, but neither are the "rich people are all lazy and greedy" narratives. People on both sides of the spectrum are demonizing the other side because it makes it easier to hate them.
Be angry all you like, but that's not going to fix anything, unless you're angry enough for a real revolution. And I don't think we're anywhere near that point yet.
pebblebrusher t1_je2addy wrote
Agreed that we’re not near a real revolution. But I don’t like the both sides narrative. One side is in a position of power to make change. It’s not an attitude of rich people being lazy or greedy or whatever. I have no issue with rich people in general. I just think it’s absolutely unjustifiable that the wealthiest 1% has more wealth than the bottom 50%, and we have people starving in the land of plenty. And one of those two sides has the power to make that change. And I’m not talking about like, well paid athletes, musicians, lawyers, whatever. I’m explicitly talking about capital owners and the top 1%
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