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comment by wryme
wryme  ·  4785 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: A note of appreciation from the rich
I don't think it is necessary or desirable to paint such a black and white picture of relations between the rich and the poor. We risk pulling ourselves into the same divisive trap of tainting our world view based on arbitrary distinctions. It used to be the religious versus the heathens. Then it was Colored versus Whites. Now it is Rich versus the middle and lower classes. Is the distinction really any different? In each case we're focusing on one aspect of a group of people and forming prejudices around this singular thing. It is dehumanizing.

The reality is more complex than any simplistic interpretation of the facts may lead us to believe. It insults both our intelligence and our cause when embrace such tactics. I feel silly quoting a Cracked article to make my point, but it is surprisingly appropriate for this very topic:

"Train yourself to get suspicious every time you see simplicity. Any claim that the root of a problem is simple should be treated the same as a claim that the root of a problem is Bigfoot. Simplicity and Bigfoot are found in the real world with about the same frequency. So reject binary thinking of "good vs. bad" or "us vs. them." Know that problems cannot be solved with clever slogans and over-simplified step-by-step programs."

Quote source: http://www.cracked.com/article_14990_what-monkeysphere.html





akbryant54  ·  4785 days ago  ·  link  ·  
I appreciate your thoughtful contribution, but I don't think the point of the text is that everyone should hate rich people or anything like that. The real problem is a system which encourages disgusting inequities and the languishing of human potential rather than the specific beneficiaries of said system. The point is to get people thinking by exposing them to a point of view that they may never have considered. And although it's possible that no single rich person thinks the way this text was written, it's impossible to deny the existence of social stratification and the injustices that result from it.

All that said, although the wealthy may not actually be intentionally malicious towards the poor, they are still not absolved of moral responsibility for their actions by saying that simply "anyone would do the same" or that they're just "playing the game" and "didn't write the rules". The unfortunate fact is that in a world with finite resources we really can't satisfy unlimited desire to posses material goods, and at a certain point the more one possesses the less is available for those in need.

wryme  ·  4785 days ago  ·  link  ·  
From what I can tell, the text doesn't seem to profess any of the specific views you have derived from it. So while I certainly don't disagree with what you're saying, I still don't see how this letter supports anything other than a simplistic viewpoint on a complex topic. I think that you are correct in saying that the letter aims to force its readers to consider another viewpoint, but it lacks the careful analysis that such a topic deserves.
mk  ·  4784 days ago  ·  link  ·  
I find myself agreeing with you both. Personally, I found this piece a bit jarring. But that the same time, I think it has successfully made the rounds as it catalyzes a certain emotion into a perspective that people can share.

The dehumanizing nature of it does bother me, though. It's the foundation of any war. And yet, although many wealthy people don't actually feel this way, the distribution of wealth might be seen to be enacted by someone that did.

akbryant54  ·  4785 days ago  ·  link  ·  
I think it's pretty clear the author of the text disagrees with the inequities of the global capitalist order, but it's not really meant to be a careful structural analysis or anything, it's just supposed to be a powerful rhetorical tool to raise class consciousness and motivate the reader to try to change things. Although I may be ascribing my own political beliefs, I'm pretty sure the text was written by some anonymous anarchist several years ago. Can't find a source anywhere.

Going back to your original comment, what I was trying to say was that the rich/poor divide isn't nearly as arbitrary as racial/religious divides. The rich/poor divide is increasingly important to be conscious of, and it's perhaps even more important to be conscious of the stratification that keeps people poor, and all the ways that robs a large chuck of humanity of its potential, which is what the piece is really about.