Classism and greed are making insignificant all other kinds of isms. Ruby Dee
Man, I'm so daft to assume that my telepathic abilities extend to every post in my blog. This is what I had in mind, Diken.
I do understand that the living costs in New York and Zurich and Tokyo is as separated as the distance between communism and capitalism when compared to living costs in Dhaka and Yogyakarta and Maindong. Heck, even the living cost between Sukabumi and Jakarta is pretty diverse, despite the lack of distance between the two.
I get that.
What I don't get is when I see a middle-income urban family of 4 insist on finding the means of purchasing and maintaining a 200m2 house with 7 bedrooms and 9 bathrooms, just so that they can rub it on their relatives that they could.
I don't get it when the money is accumulated for means of show and competition rather than necessity and the improvement of quality of living. I don't get it when parents prefer spending half their salaries on phones and hair-bonding rather than books to read and a glass of fresh milk a day for the kids.
I don’t get it when the money is never enough for the disgustingly wealthy, no matter how much possessions and status they've bought. And I don't get it when the little money that some people have is spent on accessories rather than necessities.
I don't mind wealth. Really, really I don't mind money and lots of it too, if I may. I would love to have a neat shirt that doesn't have bug holes on it for every day of the week. But I wouldn't stipulate that the shirt should hold an Armani logo while my neighbors still can't read, can't feed their children wholesome food for months and have proper means of income, would I?
And I wouldn't mind buying a little bit of a Mercedes, a little bit of a house on the beach, a little bit of first-class travel, if having these things were result of my own hard work, without running over other people's sources of income, or further supporting the endless mouths of capitalistic greed that I've been raised in.
I'm self-conscious that I sound naïve and crazy, even rambling and self-righteous. Maybe that's why I'm grounded in rural Java, with dial-up internet twice-a-week trying to figure out a way for the natives, my own flesh and blood, to make real living instead of slaving as cheap labor in urban cities, right?
Oh, and did I tell you that I've totally crossed out the idea of food for fuel? I wouldn't have done it without you. So thank you.
depending on where you live, a studio style apartment will cost you more!
ReplyDeleteClassism and greed are making insignificant all other kinds of isms.
ReplyDeleteRuby Dee
Man, I'm so daft to assume that my telepathic abilities extend to every post in my blog. This is what I had in mind, Diken.
I do understand that the living costs in New York and Zurich and Tokyo is as separated as the distance between communism and capitalism when compared to living costs in Dhaka and Yogyakarta and Maindong. Heck, even the living cost between Sukabumi and Jakarta is pretty diverse, despite the lack of distance between the two.
I get that.
What I don't get is when I see a middle-income urban family of 4 insist on finding the means of purchasing and maintaining a 200m2 house with 7 bedrooms and 9 bathrooms, just so that they can rub it on their relatives that they could.
I don't get it when the money is accumulated for means of show and competition rather than necessity and the improvement of quality of living.
I don't get it when parents prefer spending half their salaries on phones and hair-bonding rather than books to read and a glass of fresh milk a day for the kids.
I don’t get it when the money is never enough for the disgustingly wealthy, no matter how much possessions and status they've bought. And I don't get it when the little money that some people have is spent on accessories rather than necessities.
I don't mind wealth. Really, really I don't mind money and lots of it too, if I may. I would love to have a neat shirt that doesn't have bug holes on it for every day of the week. But I wouldn't stipulate that the shirt should hold an Armani logo while my neighbors still can't read, can't feed their children wholesome food for months and have proper means of income, would I?
And I wouldn't mind buying a little bit of a Mercedes, a little bit of a house on the beach, a little bit of first-class travel, if having these things were result of my own hard work, without running over other people's sources of income, or further supporting the endless mouths of capitalistic greed that I've been raised in.
I'm self-conscious that I sound naïve and crazy, even rambling and self-righteous. Maybe that's why I'm grounded in rural Java, with dial-up internet twice-a-week trying to figure out a way for the natives, my own flesh and blood, to make real living instead of slaving as cheap labor in urban cities, right?
Oh, and did I tell you that I've totally crossed out the idea of food for fuel? I wouldn't have done it without you. So thank you.
frankly,
ReplyDeleteI dont get it either! and I agree with you.
I personally dont believe happiness is linked to money or wealth. Or at least it should not be. it is a state of mind.
I bet there are more ppl serving life in prison that are happier than billionaires out there.
Jst, the thing is I don think the majority of ppl living on 2 buks a day are all that happy either! no?
PS: glad you gave up tht food for fuel thing :D. . . wht was the deciding factor?