The Greatest Gift

Some of those who think their opinion matters for political reasons should sometimes read the room and say nothing.

There is something truly nasty about wealthy people saying things like -

"The greatest gift isn't what's under the tree, it's the time we've spent (and still get to spend) with our families, the families we choose and our children."- Ivanka Trump.

A reminder of where our heart, souls and values lie, especially in hard times, can be just the thing to help us through. To give us the strength to keep putting one foot in front of the other. To say to the universe, "kiss my butt... I'm not dead yet...what else have you got." To hold on to our defiance and keep pushing through.

The source however, matter very much. The source provides the framework for how we view such words, and quite honestly the wealthy - especially those who wouldn't understand the desperation of living pay check to pay check should just STFU on such matters.

Where do they get off thinking they have the authority to tell people to be happy they have family? They have never wanted for material things in their lives, and the world we live in pushes success in the accumulation of material things.

They wouldn't know what it was like to have variations of mince dishes for a whole week because it was cheap and all that could be afforded. They wouldn't understand the feeling of knowing your clothes are all hand-me-downs becasue your parents couldn't afford the new clothes you need due to a growth spurt. Or the confusion at getting a gift your parents clearly didn't buy because someone took pity on your family and bought the presents they couldn't afford.

Here's a hard truth - wealthy people often don't know shit. They don't have the answers because they don't even know what the relevant questions are. A lot of them are just damn lucky to have been born into it. Truthfully they only reason they care about those under them is because it makes them feel superior and important. They really couldn't give a stuff about your circumstances. That is what entitlement looks like. They believe they are entitled to special treatment and so many are reluctant to disabuse them of that notion, to call them out on their BS.

Why?

Maybe because they don't want the weight of what that money can say to come down on them. Or maybe because they hope that by toeing the line they will get some kind of pseudo fame for 10 whole minutes.

I'm old and I'm tired so I'm calling it out. I don't have to care about your opinion because you have money. If you have it good for you, it's got to make life easier I know that. But just because you have it doesn't mean I have to pay any attention to you at all. You've definitely not earned my respect.

I don't care for any of those shows, you know the ones I mean, where the wealthy show how warped and out of touch with reality they really are. I don't care about you at all if you have money. You've earned neither my respect nor my attention. In fact, if anything, it means I'm less likely to pay attention to you.

I actually think most of you with money, those who do nothing but accumulate it and flaunt how rich you are, are so isolated from the real world that I wonder what delusion you live in, or who you are listening to, that makes you think I give a flying fish what you say.

I am the first to admit that I don't get it. I don't understand influencers. Why should I care what you say or think? If you come from money I'm only likely to completely disregard you, consider you as being completely irrelevant to my life. And if you aren't then what are your credentials, and being pretty doesn't count - do you have a brain to think, or a platform of any real consideration? If it is just because you've managed to convince people that your opinion matters for no real reason I don't care. If you are not an expert in any topic why should I listen?

So many of these self appointed influencers are only in it for what they can get for themselves. (There are a few I follow who are awesome in this space and use it well - to you I wish all the best success.)

So to finish up here is my hot take - if you people with money want ot comment on things you have know understanding about because you think the optics will be good for you - DON'T!

Get back in your freaking boxes. Comment on religion, or politics or alphabet rights, but don't try to comment on things that only matter to those of us who know what it is to live pay check to pay check. Those who manage one moment to the next or are one bad diagnosis or accident away from having to decide between eating or getting thrown out of a home.

Full disclosure here - I am in a position where my status is not as desperate as it once was, and I worked damn hard to get here. If I lose my job it would be problematic but I'd be able to figure something out. I could probably always go back to the position that mentally broke me, but at least I'd keep a roof over my head and food on my table - who cares about the state of my mind?

The truth is I have lived in that space. I understand it, I grew up in it. I once had someone ask how we could survive on what we did because there was no way they could manage it. (I would say it was because they never had to.)

If you've never had to live in that space, never had to face those kind of decisions, or those sort of budgeting restraints (how do I feed my family by making my money stretch) then STFU about family being more important than presents under the damn tree. It is but that isn't the point.

The point is you've never had to feel the pain and you don't have the right to comment.