You Do Not Have To Act Poor To Be Accepted By Us

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The point to this simple essay is not to criticize the work of Rachael Sacks’ essay I’m Not Going To Pretend That I’m Poor To Be Accepted By You. The point is to explain where us poor people come from and why we may not be very fond of rich people.

I am not by any means rich although I am not poor. I believe my family is what most would consider middle-class Americans. I have never been to a private school, and in fact, I dropped out of my public high school at the age of 16. I am now 19 and unemployed. My school did not have air conditioning. When it rained, some hallways would have trash cans filling with water from the leaks in the roof, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Some points Rachael had made in her essay bothered me, but after reading it over a few times, I realized she had good intentions. It seems that she was trying to say that people should not judge her or others because of their financial benefits and that she will not judge others. In the Affluenza case getting so much attention and especially because of the outrageous sentencing, it is why I believe her essay has struck a cord with so many Americans — it was perceived the wrong way.

I’m not here to defend her essay, though. Not too long ago I was standing outside of the local gas station and I was two dollars short of having a drink, so I decided I would ask a wealthy looking man driving 2012 Ford F-250 if he had a dollar or two he could spare. He rudely told me to fuck off, so I did. After he finished pumping gas, he paid the man with a $100 bill, yet did not think twice about helping a young boy in need of some help. This is the typical attitude of a rich person these days, so less fortunate people such as myself dislike most wealthy people.

None of us think, “This person is rich, so they are scum,” right off the bat, but after being treated like you are nothing more than a dog from these people, you begin to dislike all of them. I can’t count the number of times I had been looked down upon because my pants have a small hole in the crouch and my hat is camouflaged. I smoke cigarettes and I am trying to work at McDonald’s simply because I can’t get a job anywhere else. I can’t eat without a job, and basically if it wasn’t for my father today, I would be cold, hungry, and probably about ready to give up on myself.

It’s not how wealthy people flaunt their riches that bothers people it is the “I’m rich, so I’m the shit” attitude that people dislike. I know that it is possible for rich people not to be the spoiled brat that most are; and they still have on the gold and diamond jewelry and drive the nicest newest cars out, but they are cool because they treat average people with respect and they understand that most people today struggle to feed their families and when kids get sick, parents have to work overtime for two weeks to just cover the co-pay at the doctors. Life is hard for us and to have someone who is just living life with no worries whatsoever looking down on you feels as if wealthy people all are the devil trying to kick us down into the dirt even more.

I personally have a few friends who I consider to be rich. They are awesome people. They have nice things, but aren’t over the top. If we throw a party, sometimes they buy the beer and other times, they might buy food. That is the type of rich people we need in this world. We all know they are rich as hell and they do not by any means try to act poor, but we still accept them and we are happy to be their friends. Even if they weren’t rich, we would still be their friends because they are great people caring and goodhearted individuals.

The moral to my essay is that people who are poor are not going to look down on you if you are simply rich, but we will look at you like you’re a turd if you have a shitty attitude towards us less fortunate folks because we are not sitting up high on that ivory tower of yours with you. We are busting our asses so you can have your double mocha frappes and you ranch chicken wraps. So stop being that rich brat and start being a cool friendly rich person. Try donating to a charity, bringing food to the local food bank, and helping people. You don’t need to do much to do something. Make one friend that is that is “poor” and don’t look down on them. Just try having a good time with them the way that they have fun — without spending money.

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