Rich People Privileges That They Don't Realize Are Actually A Privilege
It's the little things we take for granted.
Buying a cup of coffee from our corner bodega, going to a movie every now and again, and choosing to take a taxi instead of the subway.
Things that seem trivial to us, but are a luxury to others.
Who worries if they spend that $3.50 on a cup of coffee that they won't have enough to pay this month's rent or electricity bill?
A lot of folks.
Even people who don't live in the height of luxury tend to overlook that they live a privileged life in the grand scheme of things.
A life many others deeply envy.
"What privilege do rich people have that they donβt understand is actually a privilege?"
When You Don't Have To Stop And Think
"Been very very poor and now comfortable."
"Not having to worry about bills is something I think rich people will never understand until it happens to them."
"It was awful trying to decide who to pay and dealing with the ones we couldn't pay."
"The stress was absolutely horrific."- CurvePuzzleheaded361
"I honestly just can't imagine a world where money wasn't a constant ache in the back of my mind."
"Gotta pay rent, gotta pay for food, car broke down time to empty our savings again and eat ramen for a month."
"So I'd say the privilege they're least aware of is not having that sword of destitution around every corner constantly dangling over their head."- Magic_Man_Boobs
"Having to check how much you have in your bank account before going into a store."- Reddit
Having The Law On Your Side
"Being able to afford good legal representation."- evmarshall
"Access to a competent lawyer who has time for them."- Dad_Bod_Gain_Train
Not Needing To Contribute To The Family.
"Comfortably doing an unpaid internship as a student."- SuvenPan
The Luxury Of Choice
"Chasing your dreams."- TheClayroo
"Privilege to fail and have a fallback."- AssistantFew7109
"Having money to fix whatever is wrong in your life."
"Having options and choices."- Historical_Ride8963
No Planning For The Week
"Being able to eat something different all the time."- probably_kitsch
Never Being Cold
"Being able to have the heating on 24/7."- Hip_wizard
It's All In Their Behavior...
"As someone who grew up poor, went to a rich private college on scholarship."
"Understanding the norms of upper middle and upper-class life."
"Poor people raise their kids with different values, ways of talking, ways of thinking, accents, different skills etc."
"It was a steep learning curve for me."- miltonfriedman2028
When You Can Hire Someone Else...
"Not having to worry about little things that take up poorer people's days."
"ie yard work, shoveling snow, cleaning the house."- Cynicole24
Not Living In Fear
"Freedom from the constant overhanging worry about money."- The_Safe_For_Work
"Never being afraid some unexpected expense will cripple your entire livelihood and possibly destroy it entirely."- Wimbleston
It's also rather ironic that the number of people who never bat an eye about spending any sum of money almost always feel bad for themselves about something.
Making them in need of an even bigger reality check than they were already entitled to.
When you watch Keeping Up with the Kardashians or Lifestyles of the Rich & Famous you're mesmerized.
Must be all the grandiose opulence.
At least I am.
Wondering how does one become a part of all that grandeur and how much does everything cost?
Redditor Kalieth asked:
"What's the most outrageously expensive thing you seen in person?"
Wrist Bling
A 12 year old Russian kid who came to stay at a 'summer camp' I worked at, that has a Β£64,000 Rolex. We later found out that his '14 year old cousin' was actually his 28 year old body guard, and he was the son of a Russian diplomat. All around nice kid, though!
gucci mane dancing GIFGiphyThe Lewrk
The set designs for fashion shows. When I was working as a scenic carpenter I was always amazed at the amount of money spent on scenery that will go right into the trash for events that last 30 minutes to a couple of hours. We covered an empty warehouse floor in Manhattan with something like 50,000 square feet of beveled oak boards in one instance. Material costs aside, we had a crew of around 20 guys making at minimum $25/hr working for days around the clock to make it happen.
In a Gloved Hand
The Patek Philippe Grandmaster Chime in steel at an "Only watch" showing in London. All the big watch companies do a one-off for the charity auction, and Patek usually only do watches in precious metals. A grand complication in steel is truly a one-off. It sold for 31 million Swiss Francs (close to 35M USD).
I actually held it in my (gloved) hand.
Art
The CEO of my husband's company years back held a christmas party at this house (at the time, the company was a start up and there was maybe 20 employees). He had original Picasso art work on his walls. I have no idea how much they were actually worth, but I thought that was pretty cool.
picasso GIF by Alex ApostolidesGiphyShips Ahoy!Β
My sister used to work on superyachts. I'd go visit her every now and again and stay on the boat during the off-season (in crew quarters). This was about half a billion euros worth of boat.
And it was pretty damn fancy. It had glass flooring and staircases, that turned opaque if you stood on them so people couldn't look up your skirt, all the usual fancy boat crap like a spa and gym and movies that hadn't even been released at the cinema yet.
Days of Luthier
Years ago, I apprenticed as a luthier. The shop I worked in was almost entirely guitar repair, and one day a woman came in with a violin. She said it was her grandfather's (or maybe great grandfather's? I can't recall), and he had played in the Detroit symphony. It was obvious that the fingerboard had been replaced at some point, and the instrument was really old. Like, REALLY old. My boss knew a guy who specialized in violins, so he drove a couple hours to have him take a look at it. The guy told him to get it out of our shop immediately and send them to a specialist in Chicago.
He said it was early to mid 1700's, and was an exceptional instrument. Everyone has heard of Stradivarius violins, but not many people have heard of Guarneri, his rival. Apparently, there are still a few "lost" Guarneri violins out there, and this guy thought that this was one of them. My boss trusted this guy, and I trusted my boss (he has toured as the personal guitar tech for the like of Kenny Rogers, Big & Rich, Robert Randolph, etc.), so we called this lady up, told her where to go, and gave it back to her.
We didn't want to get her hopes up too high just in case the guy was wrong, and I think she decided not to look into it further (I was under the impression that a trip to Chicago was not financially feasible). I'll never know if I held a real Guarneri or not, but if I did, I held a $10,000,000+ violin.
When at Harrod's....
Outside of the Crown Jewels and art museums, I went to Harrod's and saw a chandelier worth Β£50,000.
Edit: Some people are taking this quite literally. To be clear, yes, of course I've seen more expensive items, hence the Crown Jewels. This wasn't a grand hall chandelier. This was something you could hang over a standard dining room table.
I Hear a Symphony
My high school orchestra teacher (who is also concert master for the Arkansas Symphony) was loaned a $12 million Stradivarius anonymously for an upcoming performance. I wasn't allowed to touch it, but I got a solid look at it, as well as heard it from three feet away.
season 2 wow GIF by NBCGiphyIn Diamonds....
A freshly drafted NFL rookie stayed at a hotel I worked at and partied a little too hard. When checking out he left over 100K in jewelry in the room. I was tasked with going and getting it and securing it till someone from his posse could come get it. I wore it for a few hours for fun.
Heavy AF and so freakin' shiny. A bracelet that was wider than the biggest watch covered in diamonds, and a chain that went past my sternum and probably 1/2in in thickness also completely encrusted in diamonds.
Dive In
I went to a party at a pool house when I was a teenager just the pool house was 4,000 sq ft. The kid's grandfather invented sheetrock.
Labor Day Reaction GIF by NEONGiphyWhat's the most outrageously expensive thing you've seen?
Not everybody who lives in this nation has the good fortune to be able to survive on a high income.
In fact, some households are maintained with a very small or modest budget every month. Some houses with multiple children often worry about putting food on their kids' tables. Some people don't have basic amenities that we took for granted, such as TV.
u/BigDaddyCoolDeisel asked:
Photo by Mathieu Stern on Unsplash
Here were some of the answers.
Outsourcing
When you can start to hire people to do things for you to save you time. Nannies, shoppers, cleaners, dog walkers, etc.
Heat Control
Turning the heating on. Lived most of my winter life wearing hoodies, multiple pair of socks on, sipping tea, carrying a hot water bottle with me from one room to the other (reheating the same water). Cool trick: wrap your clean clothes/underwear around a hot water bootle when you're showering, the feeling of putting them on warm is priceless.
Just Plain Old Self Care
Regular doctor's office visits or seeing a dentist at all for anything other than an emergency.
Real Cereal
Having name-brand anything. Clothing, food, toys. We only had hand-me-downs, thrift store items, and dented off-brand canned goods. We rarely had meat with meals, and also "split" everything when there wasn't enough to go around.
I loved sleep overs at my friend's houses, as we could play video games with real game controllers and accessories, and have name-brand cereal in the morning.
Learning Curve
Being able to not only eat at a "fancy restaurant" like Outback Steakhouse or Pappadeuxs.. but being able to order anything and as much as you like from the menu.
Growing up, we only went out to eat a handful of times and it was to pizza places.
The first several times I went to an actual restaurant after college, I was extremely intimidated by prices and etiquette, to the point that I didn't enjoy it. Because of this I made sure my kids were very comfortable going out to eat.
Impending Doom
Not telling the difference between the start and the end of the month. Ofc there are some differences today (I'm not THAT rich obviously) but it's not so obvious as it was when i was a kid.
Pri. Vil. Ege.
I had a friend who was surprised that I've never been skiing and said that all people should know how to ski. I had to remind her that not everyone has a second house near the mountains nor do they have money to even visit the mountains for the weekend
The Necessities Of Life
New clothing. Not secondhand.
I was one of the poorer kids in a poor school. The other kids would talk about going to KMart or Target for new clothes, and it just blew my mind.
We'd go to the thrift shop, only buy things on sale...and when we couldn't even afford that, our parents would ask friends with kids around our age for hand-me-downs.
Even now, buying new clothing seems like an extravagant luxury (and again, I'm talking about clothing from Target, not Nordstrom). I'm very glad that my son enjoys thrifting and putting together weird outfits because he's a weird artsy kid...but if only one of us can get new clothing, it's him.
A Real Excess
Wasting food in a restaurant, that's rich people for me. We never waste a single bite of food, but those people who waste that much food must be too rich.
Fair Weather Life
Proper health insurance, the ability to afford to take your pets to the VET. Having full coverage insurance on your car, a car that isn't 20 years old, the ability to take said car to the mechanic for repairs.
Women Are Revealing All The Things They'd Enjoy Doing If Men Had A Curfew In Eye-Opening Thread
Twitter user @DanielleMuscato started a viral thread this past Tuesday, September 25, that's become essential reading for every male in the world who doesn't understand the privilege that comes with their gender. In her original post, she asked the women the women of the world a simple question: "What would you do if all men had a 9pm curfew?"
Ladies, a question for you: "What would you do if all men had a 9pm curfew?" Dudes: Read the replies and pay atteβ¦ https://t.co/DCf3VBKngSβ Danielle Muscato (@Danielle Muscato) 1537907633.0
For many women, the premise opened up a world of possibilities.
Oh my god. The mind reels. Go dancing? Take a walk? Open the front door without fear? https://t.co/v66MM38Btfβ Emily L. Hauser (@Emily L. Hauser) 1538343104.0
literally don't even know what to write because there's so many things https://t.co/rPYPNk5OPuβ π¦ (@π¦) 1538342616.0
Sit on the beach at night. https://t.co/MEAMr4R91Iβ authentiKAYLI (@authentiKAYLI) 1538388526.0
Simply being able to go for a walk at night appeared on many lists.
@DanielleMuscato @DLChamplin Iβd go for a walk in the dark without leaping out of my skin at little noises. Just thβ¦ https://t.co/cGLkABivkGβ Emma Smart (@Emma Smart) 1537908960.0
I'd walk a city in peace. https://t.co/EhnQY2JI2Tβ Sonja Yoerg (@Sonja Yoerg) 1538062174.0
Many simple acts men take for granted must be avoided at all costs by women who fear for their safety.
I'd sleep with ground floor windows open on a summer night https://t.co/HrkxYZlHzkβ Jane Burns (@Jane Burns) 1537925186.0
Imagine how different ALL of my life would have been. So much freedom! All the places I would enjoy on my own, andβ¦ https://t.co/y0LOkQX4OEβ Christina Eliason (@Christina Eliason) 1538360365.0
I'd run at night. I π would π run π so π much π at π night π https://t.co/ToE2odrFAqβ Kat(her)i(n)e Riley (@Kat(her)i(n)e Riley) 1538392193.0
@_missdani @shaunahenryart @tlmoran @DanielleMuscato Running with headphones, music as loud as I want, on a trail wβ¦ https://t.co/PemlaynWrkβ MCG (@MCG) 1537929089.0
With men out of the picture, these women definitely saw an improvement in their nightlife.
My whole life would have been different, and now my daughter's life would be different. https://t.co/52YCx1K4ANβ Melissa Hillman (@Melissa Hillman) 1537928393.0
This thread really resonates with me, and I expect with most women. You get used to a life where people have to offβ¦ https://t.co/jjklCA30miβ Laura Green (@Laura Green) 1538339145.0
@DanielleMuscato Public transit. Iβd take all the public transit.β Bronwyn Harris (@Bronwyn Harris) 1537907782.0
This is an essential thread. Read these replies. Me, I'd walk everywhere. I'd grocery shop late at night when it'β¦ https://t.co/41Ccard8LAβ Leslie Poston (@Leslie Poston) 1538328377.0
Women must be constantly wary of their surroundings in a way many men never even consider. Even taking public transit is something women will avoid without accompaniment.
@DanielleMuscato Long, calm, solo nighttime walks. That would be amazing.β Bronwyn Harris (@Bronwyn Harris) 1537907755.0
Some men also sounded off on the thread expressing their shock and support.
@DanielleMuscato Iβm a white guy who regularly visits other countries by himself, walking city streets after midnigβ¦ https://t.co/NamkTEZ9wlβ Randall Stephens π³οΈβπ (@Randall Stephens π³οΈβπ) 1537927697.0
But the list of potential nighttime activities seemed to go on and on. Women have had a huge chunk of their lives limited by the threat that men pose.
@rebeccaloar @LexWojTran @KosmishArtist_ @DanielleMuscato Oh, to enjoy a drink alone in a bar! Just me, my book and an excellent bartender.β kidamy (@kidamy) 1537918155.0
@rebeccaloar @caitRgateR @kidamy @LexWojTran @KosmishArtist_ @DanielleMuscato can you imagine getting up to go to tβ¦ https://t.co/nDOgG9nMaRβ HM Esmerie (@HM Esmerie) 1538259866.0
It's time men started believing women when they describe their fears.
I've tried to explain this feeling, these feelings, to men, and always been told I'm exaggerating, but look at everβ¦ https://t.co/HL7iKjcHshβ AuroraBorealice (@AuroraBorealice) 1537968117.0
@DanielleMuscato @foodnpolitics Also I would go out dancing, drink and dance and not constantly monitor myself? Andβ¦ https://t.co/slThLmNqEUβ Erynn Brook (@Erynn Brook) 1537938157.0
@DanielleMuscato As long as everything else stays open past 9...go live my best life! Go to the grocery store Go fβ¦ https://t.co/1gUCbs9Vp2β OR4Now (@OR4Now) 1537908111.0
Do men even know just how afraid women are of them? I think MOST men have no clue as to how limited and cautious woβ¦ https://t.co/Y1ZjlAV4E4β SARENA (@SARENA) 1538389591.0
To grow up in their world, women must be ever-vigilant, and ever-enraged.
@DrBeagleman1 @DanielleMuscato Wow, I feel horrible right now. None of this has ever occurred to me as an issue. Iβ¦ https://t.co/a5gZyzAivNβ Houston Wolf (@Houston Wolf) 1537929199.0
@houstonwolf @DrBeagleman1 We are. To paraphrase @IjeomaOluo: "It is very hard to survive as a woman in this worβ¦ https://t.co/qIjEsaOaOJβ Danielle Muscato (@Danielle Muscato) 1537930805.0
Run with both earbuds in, AT NIGHT. Not cross the road to the other sidewalk. I wouldn't worry about keeping my phoβ¦ https://t.co/bnbRFqUSNOβ Karma Brown (@Karma Brown) 1538062256.0
There's no question: it's time we improved ourselves as a culture.
Oh my god this thread. Almost every woman says they walk with their keys between their fingers. :( Society, we havβ¦ https://t.co/yXCcPXVngmβ Andrew Trotman (@Andrew Trotman) 1538037286.0
H/T - Twitter, Scary Mommy