4 ms·

I think "the sum seems unimportant" is something a wealthy sociopath might think. I'm around lots of things I could steal that feel relatively cheap, but I don'

I think "the sum seems unimportant" is something a wealthy sociopath might think. I'm around lots of things I could steal that feel relatively cheap, but I don't, nor do I litter, etc., not because I couldn't get away with it, but because it feels wrong and icky, and I would be ashamed of myself.

nemo 12y ago
I grew up in a neighborhood in CA that gentrified fast since it was on the coast so I wound up with a lot of millionaire neighbors (doctors, lawyers, actors, pro sports people, a remarkable number of people who scammed government contracts). One thing about it was that the richer the people were, the more you'd find among them those who had a sense of really being better than people who weren't as rich - even if they basically stole their money it made them feel like they were special and successful and better than others because of it, and different rules applied to them. Certainly not all, but some, and they stood out. Their kids who I was in school with inherited that attitude, and did things that made my skin crawl, like doing school fundraisers and spending the money on a cocaine party, or getting a Corvette for their 16th birthday and crashing it since they'd wanted a Porsche (my god I hated that kid), shoplifting for kicks, or wasting expensive things in front of less wealthy people for entertainment. Having a lot of money can seriously mess with some people's heads.
- judk 12y ago
  I suspect you saw about 5 people being conspicuous out of hundreds of less exciting folks. I am sure some poor folks committed some crimes as well.
  - nemo 12y ago
    It was certainly more than 5, esp. in school where it was more like 5-10%. There were more than 15 kids at the coke party, and they were just one clique among many. I did try to emphasize that those people stood out. There weren't anything that could be described as poor people in the area that I interacted with, certainly nowhere near my neighborhood, and the poorest people in the school district were middle-class.

nemo 12y ago

I grew up in a neighborhood in CA that gentrified fast since it was on the coast so I wound up with a lot of millionaire neighbors (doctors, lawyers, actors, pro sports people, a remarkable number of people who scammed government contracts). One thing about it was that the richer the people were, the more you'd find among them those who had a sense of really being better than people who weren't as rich - even if they basically stole their money it made them feel like they were special and successful and better than others because of it, and different rules applied to them. Certainly not all, but some, and they stood out. Their kids who I was in school with inherited that attitude, and did things that made my skin crawl, like doing school fundraisers and spending the money on a cocaine party, or getting a Corvette for their 16th birthday and crashing it since they'd wanted a Porsche (my god I hated that kid), shoplifting for kicks, or wasting expensive things in front of less wealthy people for entertainment. Having a lot of money can seriously mess with some people's heads.

judk 12y ago
I suspect you saw about 5 people being conspicuous out of hundreds of less exciting folks. I am sure some poor folks committed some crimes as well.
- nemo 12y ago
  It was certainly more than 5, esp. in school where it was more like 5-10%. There were more than 15 kids at the coke party, and they were just one clique among many. I did try to emphasize that those people stood out. There weren't anything that could be described as poor people in the area that I interacted with, certainly nowhere near my neighborhood, and the poorest people in the school district were middle-class.