Re: Americans: sometimes it seems we are spoiled children
I do think a lot of people are spoiled rotten. I have to disagree with ya anunitu however about growing up poor, simply because of my own experiences; although I may be wrong, but here's my two cents on the matter.
I grew up rich, and I can definitely say it set a goal in my mind for what I want "someday" - sort of a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow I'm chasing fiscally, I guess. I remember being the girl who bought name brand stuff, spoiled herself with expensive bath and body products, thought "working out" meant going to a special gym or having expensive workout equipment or a special diet program, bought high-end products or just things on a whim sometimes, and so on and so forth. I remember never wanting for anything, with nice clothes and a kitchen stuffed with food and fancy cookwares. There's a lot more to that, of course; with all the terrible things my family was capable of, I did go hungry, sometimes being forced to starve for days on end, so in a way it was more of a dystopian brand of being rich - but the fact remains that when things were good, they were very good and prosperous, and despite the bad environment I believe I was very spoiled materially speaking.
I was that girl for a while, but when things got really bad with family-life and I found myself booted out at 16 for refusing participation in a cult, everything I had was stripped away. At 18 I was battling homelessness, found myself in HUD housing in the middle of the most dangerous part of the ghetto hearing gunshots and some dude who'd come out of his house to scream at the top of his lungs at 3am every night. Suffice to say I went from rich to very poor wondering whether I'd get my next meal or whether I'd be on the streets in one of the most crime-ridden areas of the entire DFW Metroplex in Texas (trust me, that's saying something). From there I had to crawl my ass back from the brink, no thanks to my family members who have since made certain that every dollar legally meant for me was embezzled to themselves under the table (and before you ask, no I have not tried to pursue legal action against their theft - I'm all too aware that they can afford lawyers who'd stomp me right into the ground if I dared to try). They currently live in million dollar homes, drive brand new cars, kick back in their in-home personal theater to sip expensive wines while stroking their custom-bred pedigree dog - and they can still look me in the eye and tell me they're lacking in money, while I'm wearing threadbare clothes I've stitched up myself to make them last another year if I can. But I don't lack quite like I once did. I have food, I have an apartment of my very own, a nice kitty named Nocturnus, my own car, and even a knockoff phone with a QWERTY keyboard; it may not be fancy, it may be really stressful some months and my budget may be tighter than a preacher's butt, but I'm okay.
Looking back on everything, I don't regret any of it, and I'm very glad I have been able to experience what it is to be both rich and poor, to have everything and nothing. I daresay most Americans have not known the kind of hunger that can potentially kill you, but having known it, I feel better for it; it humbles you, it makes you think about life differently. I think having seen both ends of the spectrum I can learn from both and I'm better armed to choose my path in life. Someday I do want to be able to afford anything I might want and not just anything I need - it's a far-off goal that I'd be okay with not ever attaining but I also feel no guilt in reaching for. I'd like to do it better than my family did, if I ever get there; I'd like to spend it on experiences, not stuff, and stay far away from the sheer evil of high class society. I'd like to use it to explore and learn and make memories, not for status. Oh well, I figure a girl can dream anyway.
Anyway, overall I agree, many Americans are spoiled rotten and have their priorities completely wrong. I would add a lot of us are lazy as hell - my generation in particular has countless numbers of losers who have just given up because the economy didn't instantly provide them with jobs, and now mooch off their parents shamelessly thinking they're totally entitled to it. 30-somethings living in Mommy's basement surrounded by pizza boxes is now a nightmarish reality that's all too common, and it makes me sick. I was basically living adult life at 16, so people like that really grind my nerves raw!!
I do think a lot of people are spoiled rotten. I have to disagree with ya anunitu however about growing up poor, simply because of my own experiences; although I may be wrong, but here's my two cents on the matter.
I grew up rich, and I can definitely say it set a goal in my mind for what I want "someday" - sort of a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow I'm chasing fiscally, I guess. I remember being the girl who bought name brand stuff, spoiled herself with expensive bath and body products, thought "working out" meant going to a special gym or having expensive workout equipment or a special diet program, bought high-end products or just things on a whim sometimes, and so on and so forth. I remember never wanting for anything, with nice clothes and a kitchen stuffed with food and fancy cookwares. There's a lot more to that, of course; with all the terrible things my family was capable of, I did go hungry, sometimes being forced to starve for days on end, so in a way it was more of a dystopian brand of being rich - but the fact remains that when things were good, they were very good and prosperous, and despite the bad environment I believe I was very spoiled materially speaking.
I was that girl for a while, but when things got really bad with family-life and I found myself booted out at 16 for refusing participation in a cult, everything I had was stripped away. At 18 I was battling homelessness, found myself in HUD housing in the middle of the most dangerous part of the ghetto hearing gunshots and some dude who'd come out of his house to scream at the top of his lungs at 3am every night. Suffice to say I went from rich to very poor wondering whether I'd get my next meal or whether I'd be on the streets in one of the most crime-ridden areas of the entire DFW Metroplex in Texas (trust me, that's saying something). From there I had to crawl my ass back from the brink, no thanks to my family members who have since made certain that every dollar legally meant for me was embezzled to themselves under the table (and before you ask, no I have not tried to pursue legal action against their theft - I'm all too aware that they can afford lawyers who'd stomp me right into the ground if I dared to try). They currently live in million dollar homes, drive brand new cars, kick back in their in-home personal theater to sip expensive wines while stroking their custom-bred pedigree dog - and they can still look me in the eye and tell me they're lacking in money, while I'm wearing threadbare clothes I've stitched up myself to make them last another year if I can. But I don't lack quite like I once did. I have food, I have an apartment of my very own, a nice kitty named Nocturnus, my own car, and even a knockoff phone with a QWERTY keyboard; it may not be fancy, it may be really stressful some months and my budget may be tighter than a preacher's butt, but I'm okay.
Looking back on everything, I don't regret any of it, and I'm very glad I have been able to experience what it is to be both rich and poor, to have everything and nothing. I daresay most Americans have not known the kind of hunger that can potentially kill you, but having known it, I feel better for it; it humbles you, it makes you think about life differently. I think having seen both ends of the spectrum I can learn from both and I'm better armed to choose my path in life. Someday I do want to be able to afford anything I might want and not just anything I need - it's a far-off goal that I'd be okay with not ever attaining but I also feel no guilt in reaching for. I'd like to do it better than my family did, if I ever get there; I'd like to spend it on experiences, not stuff, and stay far away from the sheer evil of high class society. I'd like to use it to explore and learn and make memories, not for status. Oh well, I figure a girl can dream anyway.
Anyway, overall I agree, many Americans are spoiled rotten and have their priorities completely wrong. I would add a lot of us are lazy as hell - my generation in particular has countless numbers of losers who have just given up because the economy didn't instantly provide them with jobs, and now mooch off their parents shamelessly thinking they're totally entitled to it. 30-somethings living in Mommy's basement surrounded by pizza boxes is now a nightmarish reality that's all too common, and it makes me sick. I was basically living adult life at 16, so people like that really grind my nerves raw!!
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