My father used to say that wherever he traveled around the world, "Poverty looks the same everywhere." This may be true, however, I have come to learn that affluence does as well. The compounds and gated communities that hold the wealthiest oligarchs may be red granite, white marble or made from acres of brick, their styles might reflect ultra modern sensibilities or Victorian "high style", but they are essentially the same in many other respects. The help is coming from faraway. Whatever minorities exemplify the lowest classes are doing the yard work and they are segregated and sequestered into the far flung reaches of either the tops of the highest buildings or the most remote regions so that they do not have to look at the poverty they thrive upon. I have seen the same thing in every country I have visited. Wealth detests mixing with common folks.
I was struck by this fact many, many years ago. Wealth buys comfort and in the minds of the wealthy, they should not be required to even look upon the poor and middle classes. We make them feel uncomfortable. I really must say overtly that these are not flaws of the people, but human behavior built up over the years by subtle phrases and non-verbal communication. The aversion of the eyes, the writing off of those"less fortunate", the desire to enjoy ones wealth all combine into a complex mix of fear and desire, hatred and distraction. The ultimate end to this training is to "know" that poverty represents a threat to full enjoyment of the wealth that has been made off the backs of others. Even trust babies, who never have to work a day in their lives think that they deserve their opulent and cushy lifestyles. The last thing the oligarchs want is to have to be part of a community that includes "those people".
The running mouths of idiots "prove" that, "When those people were allowed into our community, crime went up, housing prices dropped and it changed our town forever." Even the poor seem bent on segregation, if they could just afford to get into that little better neighborhood, they think, things might change for them. In fact, some of the best neighborhoods I have lived in were a mix of colors, income levels and as a result were many miles from the enclaves that shelter the wealthiest among us. Wealth breeds power and by sidling up near one another, they can be assured that their children will play with the right kind of people. They can be assured that the vast majority of the poor will not be able to afford to drive out to their mansion and that if ever one does, they will be conspicuous because they just don't "belong" there.
Here's the thing, if you live along a golf course, you know how much the greens fees are. If the golf course is a private affair, you know what the dues are to belong to the country club. The best way to assure that no schleps will walk past your house is to make sure the course is expensive. This came fully into my consciousness yesterday as I looked for properties. Blank land on which to carve out a homestead has always been a desire of mine. I would like to build using the tricks of the trade that I have learned that will allow me to make what a friend lovingly referred to as a zero-net-energy home, one that has no utility bill. Heated by the sun, cooled naturally by strategically positioned trees and close enough to town to walk everywhere. Anyway, I was looking for properties. Around the five acre (2 Hectare) size, it was plain to see which properties were amongst the wealthy and which were left for everyone else. Sitting within several miles of one another were parcels as low-priced as twenty acres (8 ha) for fifty thousand dollars and all the way down to five acres (2ha) for $400K. Several sad facts conspire when you have the money. Being at the end of a cul de sac means no one will come down the road, except to your place. When you get "far enough" off the beaten track, if you see anyone, you can be assured that they do not belong there and if you pay enough for your place, you should be able to expect absolute privacy, your own personal view and no one can tell you what you can do with that place.
On the other hand, when you look at the affordable places, you may have to look across the street at the county highway garage, or a landfill.The neighbors may have some cars that they intended to work on jacked up in their yard and their pets, if they have them, are assured to bark at inconvenient times and come snooping around, unless you have a good sturdy fence. It is funny on one level,because if you don't laugh about it, you will cry. What passes for inconvenience for the wealthy is just daily life for those of us who cannot afford our private piece of heaven. The vast majority of the planets population must put up with the actions, the habits the sounds and frequently the smells of their neighbors.
Instead of a great human family, we have a broken system that allows the oligarchs to sequester themselves into regions that are homogenous. When they "go slummin'" it is by choice, not necessity. They use a variety of tools and techniques to keep the "rif-raff" out. Lot size, square footage of permissible structures and restrictive covenants are just a few. In the United States of America, it is hard to feel united, because the rich and powerful deny our existence routinely. We seem to have the only culture in which the poor and middle classes self-chastise themselves for not being wealthy. For some reason, I think it is mathematical illiteracy, everyone loves to be infatuated with the idea of winning the lottery. We all wish for our day in the sun, but as the days play out, we are always faced with the umbrella of wealth held over our heads.
As we have seen repeated ad nauseum, when enough commoners move into a neighborhood, the wealthy move out, leaving for the next exclusive compound, where they don't have to be bothered with even looking at the rest of us. Keeping the real world at a distance seems to be the way oligarchs like it. Building a community would require finding out what the neighbors think and the rich and powerful just don't care.
I was struck by this fact many, many years ago. Wealth buys comfort and in the minds of the wealthy, they should not be required to even look upon the poor and middle classes. We make them feel uncomfortable. I really must say overtly that these are not flaws of the people, but human behavior built up over the years by subtle phrases and non-verbal communication. The aversion of the eyes, the writing off of those"less fortunate", the desire to enjoy ones wealth all combine into a complex mix of fear and desire, hatred and distraction. The ultimate end to this training is to "know" that poverty represents a threat to full enjoyment of the wealth that has been made off the backs of others. Even trust babies, who never have to work a day in their lives think that they deserve their opulent and cushy lifestyles. The last thing the oligarchs want is to have to be part of a community that includes "those people".
The running mouths of idiots "prove" that, "When those people were allowed into our community, crime went up, housing prices dropped and it changed our town forever." Even the poor seem bent on segregation, if they could just afford to get into that little better neighborhood, they think, things might change for them. In fact, some of the best neighborhoods I have lived in were a mix of colors, income levels and as a result were many miles from the enclaves that shelter the wealthiest among us. Wealth breeds power and by sidling up near one another, they can be assured that their children will play with the right kind of people. They can be assured that the vast majority of the poor will not be able to afford to drive out to their mansion and that if ever one does, they will be conspicuous because they just don't "belong" there.
Here's the thing, if you live along a golf course, you know how much the greens fees are. If the golf course is a private affair, you know what the dues are to belong to the country club. The best way to assure that no schleps will walk past your house is to make sure the course is expensive. This came fully into my consciousness yesterday as I looked for properties. Blank land on which to carve out a homestead has always been a desire of mine. I would like to build using the tricks of the trade that I have learned that will allow me to make what a friend lovingly referred to as a zero-net-energy home, one that has no utility bill. Heated by the sun, cooled naturally by strategically positioned trees and close enough to town to walk everywhere. Anyway, I was looking for properties. Around the five acre (2 Hectare) size, it was plain to see which properties were amongst the wealthy and which were left for everyone else. Sitting within several miles of one another were parcels as low-priced as twenty acres (8 ha) for fifty thousand dollars and all the way down to five acres (2ha) for $400K. Several sad facts conspire when you have the money. Being at the end of a cul de sac means no one will come down the road, except to your place. When you get "far enough" off the beaten track, if you see anyone, you can be assured that they do not belong there and if you pay enough for your place, you should be able to expect absolute privacy, your own personal view and no one can tell you what you can do with that place.
On the other hand, when you look at the affordable places, you may have to look across the street at the county highway garage, or a landfill.The neighbors may have some cars that they intended to work on jacked up in their yard and their pets, if they have them, are assured to bark at inconvenient times and come snooping around, unless you have a good sturdy fence. It is funny on one level,because if you don't laugh about it, you will cry. What passes for inconvenience for the wealthy is just daily life for those of us who cannot afford our private piece of heaven. The vast majority of the planets population must put up with the actions, the habits the sounds and frequently the smells of their neighbors.
Instead of a great human family, we have a broken system that allows the oligarchs to sequester themselves into regions that are homogenous. When they "go slummin'" it is by choice, not necessity. They use a variety of tools and techniques to keep the "rif-raff" out. Lot size, square footage of permissible structures and restrictive covenants are just a few. In the United States of America, it is hard to feel united, because the rich and powerful deny our existence routinely. We seem to have the only culture in which the poor and middle classes self-chastise themselves for not being wealthy. For some reason, I think it is mathematical illiteracy, everyone loves to be infatuated with the idea of winning the lottery. We all wish for our day in the sun, but as the days play out, we are always faced with the umbrella of wealth held over our heads.
As we have seen repeated ad nauseum, when enough commoners move into a neighborhood, the wealthy move out, leaving for the next exclusive compound, where they don't have to be bothered with even looking at the rest of us. Keeping the real world at a distance seems to be the way oligarchs like it. Building a community would require finding out what the neighbors think and the rich and powerful just don't care.
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