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Comment by bubo_bubo | Hacker News Reader

When you buy a BMW, you have an extra asshole installed.

/snark

But seriously, in my early 20s I did land surveying. I found that the richer the neighborhood, the nastier the neighbors were. I've had people be rude to me because they think "something is up" when we were simply trying to document how one neighbor can buy 6 inches from another to make a legal setback for a garage. And then I've had just random people offer me coffee on a chilly morning. I'll let you guess which was the upscale and which was the working class neighborhood.

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There is also a big difference between old money and new money. And hard-earned money vs. inherited money.

My dad used to deliver furniture as a side job for a local upholstery shop. Most of the clients had money, but some were rude while others (esp. the "old hard earned money" types) were extremely friendly.

I am sure it doesn't help that plenty of people say ugly things like "eat the rich." Plenty of rich folks "have dozens of friends and the fun never ends -- that is, as long as they're buying." If you know all the people around you would not hesitate to sell you out and only have any so-called respect whatsoever because you have money and power, it isn't like you are getting any empathy.

That shit cuts both ways.

My sense is the kind of people who say "eat the rich" actually are rich, they're just cash poor and pretending that's the same as real poor.

In my experience actually poor people want to be rich and would rather they not be eaten when that happens. It's the kids from privileged backgrounds with self-loathing and anger issues who embrace "black bloc" politics most warmly.

I am probably biased coming from mostly urban environments lately.

Seriously wtf. Black bloc is hated by yuppie liberals the most.

I live in an old-money, hard earned neighborhood. People are a marvel: Respectful, polite, kind and always willing to assist if they can.

"old-money, hard earned"

I'm confused. That phrase reads to me as "inherited and thus old money, I was poor or middle class but worked hard and made myself rich the hard way"

In my understanding, you used opposite situations to describe the same people. Can you tell me what I'm missing here?

Elites that are reproducing themselves but with "old" values so-to-speak, often they have a family history of doing the same job. They work hard to maintain their living standards.

To get a little more in details wrt to the demographics: I am thinking about lawyers, physicians or researchers which have assets >5 million who had to go through the grind of tough academic programs, highly competitive and skilled professions etc.

I am opposing this to rich heirs, actors, athletes, lottery winners, just-sold-my-pizza-app-startup etc. who like to show-off their recently acquired wealth. This is not a universal example obviously, there are outliers everywhere. Only talking about trends here.

Rich athletes? It's literally true that they work hard for their money.

old/new money suffices without an indicating your opinion whether people worked hard, or not.

You are describing people who are rich because they and their lineage belong to professions. That's a kind of modern aristocracy, and like most aristocracies they have good manners and obey a kind of noblesse oblige.

But also, most of the unequal laws and policies in a country are created to prop up the position of such people. E.g. house-price inflation helps only those who already own - or stand to inherit - houses.

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