Do you feel uncomfortable around wealth?...

[Locut0s]

I try to not prejudge people but I have to admit that sadly I often do
, at least when it comes to conservatism. The rich members of my extended family are all very conservative and while I know it's not a 1 to 1 correlation, there's no doubt that a greater percentage of rich people are right wing. Walking around wealthy neighborhoods or fancy hotels I feel uncomfortable, unwelcome. I also sometimes feel some of my own animosity, depending on the circumstance.

It's interesting because I don't feel I in fit in or am welcome in poor neighborhoods either. My family and I are very much middle class. I suppose the people I feel most at home with are the 'intellectual class', though I hate using the term.

If I were to be fully honest with myself I'm sure that jealousy plays more than a small role.

How do you feel about wealth and what types of people do you feel most at home with? Poorer people, intellectuals, hippies?

Note I'm fully aware of the fact that I'm stereotyping people by asking this question. Just go with the flow and assume that I understand that there are many exceptions to any rule.

9 votes, 1 pass | Time left: Unlimited
	Yes I do very much so. Wealth in most forms is usually a big turn off.
	0 (0%)
	It depends on the circumstance. I don\'t feel immediate discomfort.
	3 (33%)
	No I don\'t.
	6 (67%)
	1 DU member did not wish to select any of the options provided.
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[Quantess]

1. I enjoy lovely things and surroundings and food, period.

Those generally tend to have a higher price tag. (I can't afford to pay for any of it myself)
As long as nobody is obnoxious, no.

[BainsBane]

2. I feel uncomfortable and self-conscious around rich people

but that's not the same as having a visceral dislike of it.

[Locut0s]

3. I should reword that I really did just mean more uncomfortable.

[Egalitarian Thug]

4. I'm quite comfortable with the disgust and contempt I have for most of the rich. It is frequently

the topic of the evening. I once had a FedEx executive so near apoplexy (the topic was her company's parasitic relationship with the USPS) that her husband physically took her from the party for fear she would hurt herself.

[Pelican]

18. That just makes you a rude guest/host...

[Egalitarian Thug]

22. Shows what you know, I'm always invited back because I can do it and remain

charming and interesting. Do you imagine that the rich are unaware that many/most of them are parasites? That they don't know what the price of their assets are?

[Pelican]

24. Sounds very charming...

I once had a FedEx executive so near apoplexy (the topic was her company's parasitic relationship with the USPS) that her husband physically took her from the party for fear she would hurt herself

Good times...

[Egalitarian Thug]

31. She inserted herself into the conversation thinking she was going to intimidate me into backing

down because she was a Big Boss. When confronted with facts and logic, she escalated, and just kept digging and digging and digging.

t was a very entertaining episode that is still occasionally recalled.

God times indeed...

[defacto7]

5. I have a problem with obnoxious people.

But I have no problem with the wealthy or people of political position. But obnoxious comes in many forms and it shows itself in every possible level of "thing" ownership of the lack of it. I have been around a lot of wealthy people who are as close to reality and of normal character as anyone I have ever met. It takes a lot more than knowledge of someone's wealth for me to draw a conclusion about their character.

[Locut0s]

7. You are very level headed, this is the wise way to look at things. nt

[LuvNewcastle]

6. I don't like being around people who are

obsessed with wealth, and there are plenty of them in every class. Being rich doesn't automatically make someone an asshole and being poor doesn't make someone the salt of the earth. I hadn't really thought about it before, but I don't really have many friends who are middle class, certainly not upper-middle class. My friends are a rather eclectic bunch, though, and are a hodgepodge of different social and economic classes besides the middle class.

[Locut0s]

8. Nice. Not having any real friends to speak of...

I suppose all my social interactions and views are unhealthily skewed.

[LuvNewcastle]

11. Oh, don't get me wrong, I'm not surrounded by

throngs of close friends all the time. I don't get to see some of them very much. For one thing, I don't do much running around anymore, and a lot of my friends don't live close by. We do stay in touch, though, and we get together when we can.

[JI7]

9. i view them as a joke and laugh at them if they are a certain type

[quinnox]

10. it depends

I don't think all wealthy people are selfish assholes, but a lot of them are. But not all of them. I think some are down to earth and nice people. I have never been in a mansion at a party or something like that so I don't know if I would feel uncomfortable in that situation.

[RedCappedBandit]

12. More like wary than uncomfortable.

I feel at home with anyone that is friendly and not a right winger though, frankly. Lol.

Wealth combined with conservative values is a significant turnoff. Wealth plus liberal values? Fine. Problem is most people don't become wealthy by being an altruistic, progressive, friendly person, in my experience.

[Locut0s]

13. That's my experience as well...

In my case even those who I know who are liberal and wealthy are also still assholes to some extent because that's the personality type it often takes to make it big. They can still espouse liberal views and think right wing people are idiots, but they are very willing to be nasty and rude because they have large egos and are 'better than you'. At least this is my experience with some wealthy liberals.

[madokie]

14. Not at all

I watched a gentleman build a good business with sweat and hard work and a few years ago sell it for enough to set him and his family up for the foreseeable future. The man didn't change, hes still the same person as he was when he was living from hand to mouth. Only difference today he has some security and a few more toys but he's no different. I'm sure I could ask to use one of his toys and he'd give me the keys in a heartbeat. I won't because I'm not the kind to do something like that. Rich or poor matters not to me, good or bad now thats a different story altogether.
I know another gentleman who if he was to quit working today he would have a 7 figure income the rest of his life because of the hard work he's put in the last 40 years. He's no different that he was when he was in a kid in school, just richer is all.
Of course I don't personally know any rich assholes though but I do know a couple good people who happen to be rich due to a lot of long hours and hard work

[MrSlayer]

15. No, I just wish I had it.

But I have found that most congenitaly rich people I've met are dicks. Entitled, arrogant, snooty, stingy and generally unpleasant. I do what I can to make them uncomfortable. New rich people on the other hand, people that came from nothing and got lucky, tend to be really cool. Generous, down to earth, happy to share the goods with you. I like those guys and if I were to somehow fall into money, I'd be like them.

The only thing that makes me uncomfortable about wealth is the knowledge that I'll almost certainly never have it.

[pecwae]

16. No.

Can't think of any reason why I should. Same goes for those with less wealth, different backgrounds, etc. If I like someone, want to spend time with them, they're what matters.

Once a very wealthy friend wanted me to vacation with her, said she would foot the bill. I refused because I felt that if I couldn't pay for it myself I wouldn't enjoy it. I suppose one could say that decision was made because I felt uneasy that she had money and I didn't, but that's not how I saw it.

[WinkyDink]

17. First of all, NOBODY "walk[s] around wealthy neighborhoods." "Wealthy" is WAAAY above "rich."

Secondly, this is a completely ridiculous OP post.

[leftyladyfrommo]

19. I'm in and out of rich people's houses all the time

I just treat them like I treat everyone else. I'm mostly just friendly and funny. And if they need advice for their animals I give it.

I don't want to live like that, tho. I have a tiny house and a very simple life and I like it like that.

And I'm not their friend. I am the hired help. And that is just fine with me.

[KharmaTrain]

20. Define Wealth...

...how much is wealthy? Having a home worth $500k or more or driving a fancy car? Or is it just something you guess to be the caes? I always am fascinated with what people consider to be "too much". I've known many people rich and poor and it isn't the money that makes them that way, it's the life they live. I've known my share of people who tried to portray they had a lot more than they actually did...nice home (huge mortgage) while I've known others who have considerable assets but live in a small house. What appears on the cover isn't always what's underneath.

To answer your question, the most paranoid people I've met have the most money...they're consumed with how they earned it and that others are trying to get at it. To me, wealth is my family...they're priceless...

[catnhatnh]

21. In his book "Class" Paul Fussell describes the middle class...

as the only class that cares what others think of them. He suggests that the poor can't afford to care and the rich feel no need to. Sure makes you wish you could hit the lottery or go play "Grapes of Wrath", doesn't it?

[Recursion]

23. When I'm in India, I'm the richest person everyone I see has ever met

It's changed my view of wealth, to realize I have it.

[Pelican]

32. Same in Afghanistan...

[hunter]

25. Wealth is often uncomfortable around me.

My eyes never see what they want me to see, and I never hear what they want me to hear.

In my so-called "real life" I'm somewhere in the autistic spectrum. That's a professional diagnosis. I'm blind to many social cues and this gets me into a lot of trouble.

If I play the part of an affable absent minded scientist it usually allows me to pass socially. When I was a science teacher I'd have to turn that up to 110% with a small side order of "he'll call your parents!" (or in some cases, probation officer) to keep the kids in their seats. But that takes a lot of energy and I wish I could just be me.

If I ever had more money than I needed I'd be giving it to people who need it. I can't think of any material thing I want for myself at the moment, maybe some new shirts but I'll find those in a thrift store somewhere. Or maybe I'll have to go into a department store for something else besides shirts. But I'd rather not. I don't like shopping.

I'm not sure I can claim to feel "at home" with anyone. People accept me or they don't.

[supernova]

26. No, wealth of itself isn't a barrier

for me.

I have friends from all walks of life. Some wealthy, some poorer than me, some the same economic level as me. It just depends on the person. I try to focus on the things we all have in common. I'm working class. Used to have a bit of liquidity, since 2006 I don't. Have a bit of security I'm trying mightily to hold on to. Like others, I find that conservative+wealth tends to = self-important, overly-entitled asshole.

Not to repeat what's already been posted. Here's another wrinkle I have observed: There is a difference between "old money" and "new money." Old Money tends to have a sense of the more archaic term "noblesse oblige," the idea that if you are given much you are expected to provide much in the community, however you can. Yes, that can come with a nice layer of condescension, but at least they do fund the new library, the new theatre, or that new wing the hospital really needs. "New money" people with recent windfalls don't seem to appreciate this idea at all. As a group they are much more self-absorbed and don't expend much energy in the community. That is what grates.

[Arugula Latte]

27. It depends, but I will say that I've had brief acquaintanceships with

a few people who were mind-blowingly wealthy. One was in a family that is immediately recognizable as one of the richest in U.S. history. These people were ... strange. They didn't know how to act in social settings and lacked basic human interaction skills. Looking back I'm wondering if part of the problem was that they might have been very high on cocaine in the periods I knew them. Also, they had no way of relating to most people's lives.

[olddots]

28. Yes I do because the wealthy are ignorant now when they used to not be.

The difference between rich and wealthy has disintegrated , celebrity has changed ,work has changed ,leisure has changed and poverty has changed.
I hate the rich who become and remain rich by creating the poor and hungry .the "wealthy" are a thing of the past just like the middle class. Is my hatred envy ? no because they are miserable shallow ignorant turd maggots who make the earth shit then feast on it .

ooops sorry .

[bigwillq]

29. No

I don't ever feel uncomfortable around anyone. I am very comfortable with who and what I am.

[JustAnotherGen]

30. Nope

Not at all. . .

And I suspect if you ran into my husband on the street - you would feel quite comfy with him. He's just a simple artist and iron working kind of guy with a 12 year old Yukon and five year old levis. . . .


His tattoos, nose earring (did it himself on a whim 20 years ago), and general escapee from the Hells Angels look is much more likely to put people off! Unless he has his GOOD bandana on . . . Then he cleans up pretty good he does!