Monday, September 15, 2014

Blog Post Due Friday- Period 5

http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/10/05/rich-people-just-care-less/?src=mv&_r=0

1.  Read the article.  Consider the author's tone, structure of the essay, and your personal reaction.
2. Please add an intelligent comment (minimum 3 sentences) in response to the linked article from the NY Times.  Be sure to reference specifics from the article.
3. Optional: Comment on a classmates post in a second post (minimum 3 sentences)
*Use only your first name, last initial and class period.

17 comments:

  1. Although I don’t doubt the data presented to us in this article is accurate, I feel like it came across as all those in the highest class, the richest of them all, are all horrible jerks and have no empathy for those less fortunate for them! In this article, author Daniel Goleman states, “Higher-status people are also more likely to express disregard, through facial expressions, and are more likely to take over the conversation and interrupt or look past the other speaker.” Not everyone is like this though, and I do not think that this point was really made in this article at all. Throughout the article, the term “empathy gap” is used, and even though I do believe that we should all pay it forward and do something good and, in turn, good will come back to you, I do not feel that people with more money should be obligated to share their money that they have worked hard for with others! Also, not wanting to share one’s hard earned money with those who have less does not make you a horrible person. Some people do not want to be associated with people unlike themselves because it is uncomfortable for both parties, and I don’t blame them! But saying that the rich people in the society do not care about the lower class people of society is putting many people with one small, similar characteristic into one huge box, which then further widens the gap between the two societal classes. If you really want to solve a problem like this, why don’t we stop the generalization of certain people with certain incomes, and then try to try to figure it out.

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    Replies
    1. It is hard to ignore that Goleman writes with some degree of bias against the wealthy, but is he wrong in doing so? It is an editorial from the Opinion Page of the New York Times, not a news report.

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  2. I agree and disagree with the author. Like Anneliese said, It’s unfair to put the upperclass into a box and assume that all wealthy people do not care about the issues of the lower class. However, I’ve had my own personal experiences with the social fallout between the upper and lower class. I think the best way for me to give my opinion is to share my experiences.
    I’ve grown up as a middle-class girl who lives in Branford. I’m monetarily well-endowed; I live a comfy-cozy life. But that’s because my dad owns a successful small business in New Haven. However, my mom is poor. She lives in Fair Haven. I’ve lived half of my life their. My mom can’t have a job due to mental illnesses. She has to live off disability. This means that the state of Connecticut gives her about $1,200 a month. Unfortunately thats not exactly enough for her to pay all of her bills, own a car, or have an adequate amount of food. Which means that she doesn’t really have any food in her house for the last week and a half if the month. Sometimes she has to ask her friends or me to borrow money, or she goes to a soup kitchen. Many of the times that she asks people for food, they ignore her.
    I watch the way people treat her; I watch the way people, who are lined up in the welfare office just like her, are treated. I’ve watched this my whole life. And you know what, after 16 years of observing all of this go on, I can agree that the “the narcissism of minor differences,”, is a real social problem in our society. I agree that “in general, those with the most power in society seem to pay particularly little attention to those with the least power”. Take my dad for example(I’m really putting my parents on the spot here); he’s kind and compassionate, for the most part… But when a charity or a homeless person asks for a donation, he usually doesn’t donate, especially after a busy day at work. I don’t think it’s because he’s a heartless person, but I do think it’s because he feels that he has more power to a certain extent, or that he feels maybe more superior because of his success. However, if an organization that supports politics or, an organization that my father participates in the most, called the NHHO (New Haven Hispanic Organization), that benefits his social status or bettering the city in itself, asks for money, he often donates. This ties in with “we focus the most on those we value most.

    (Sorry for making this so personal)
    Remi S.

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    Replies
    1. Remi- Thanks for having the courage to make this personal. It helps to make the issue not about "those people" but about "us."

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  3. Personally, I have observed the micro politics described in this article. People who are of higher status do not nod, or respond as much as those of lower status. I think this is because they feel more sociall secure than those who are of a lower status.Those who are in a lower status are responding an increased amount in an attempt to raise their own social standing.

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  4. I believe the author of this article wanted to get people to think. Even if someone were to read just the title, ‘Rich People Just Care Less’, it would probably raise some questions to them. It’s kind of a bold statement that throws all wealthy people into one category. Someone may ask, Who do we categorize as rich? Why do these people care less? What don’t they care about? This piece was very thought-provoking, as opposed to a news story or a scientific piece (although several studies are cited) that simply gives facts that we cannot relate to. As easily as we could read the article and think about other people, maybe those who are extremely rich or extremely poor, it’s important to apply it to ourselves. Do we look down on people who are “lesser” than us? Has anyone ever looked down at us in such a way? The author also says, ”While Mr. Keltner’s research finds that the poor, compared with the wealthy, have keenly attuned interpersonal attention in all directions, in general, those with the most power in society seem to pay particularly little attention to those with the least power. To be sure, high-status people do attend to those of equal rank — but not as well as those low of status do.” This point made me think of The Grapes of Wrath because there were many interpersonal relationships among the migrants. Every family needed help and was more than willing to help other families. There was a lot of networking among the poor then, just as there is today. I feel this article has two purposes, firstly to inform us of why some rich people may seem arrogant, and secondly to get us to think about our interactions with the “lesser”.

    Katey Y.

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  5. I felt as if the author was one sided and very biased towards individuals that were not as well off and who made less money. He stereotypically portrayed all of the wealthy to be condescending and judgmental. Although it may be true that there are rich people in the world who do in fact look down upon those in lower economic classes, I believe and agree with Anneliese that not every person who has a high income is like this. But, Daniel Goleman had only negative things to say about the rich and he clearly favored and defended the middle/lower class. In fact, he stated “the more powerful pay less attention to us than we do to them…” When reading that quote, I thought it was significant that the author decided to use “us” and “we” to describe those who earn less. I then made the assumption that he viewed himself as one with less power. And, although it may be true that there is social power inequality, I felt that it was unjustified to blame the entirety of the upper class since there are people out there who are very successful and share their wealth with those in need.

    Carolyn C. Period 5

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  6. I think that this article made a lot of points that everyone can relate to in some way. I found it so true how when someone is higher ranked than you in something, it automatically goes to their head and you are treated differently, almost looked down upon. The article also mentioned how although we all feel this from others and dislike it, we also all do the same thing ourselves. Most of us don't even notice that we do it. After reading this, it made me realize that I might be someone who "looks down upon people" sometimes just because I may be more experienced or in a higher rank at something. Everyone who reads this should be able to connect this to their own life, which is why I really like how informative this article was.

    Paige M. Period 5

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  7. I felt that this article was very well written and had a lot of good points. I think the title in itself is what grabs the reader in and gets them interested. I know for me I read the title and was interested to see what the author had to say. He basically just put all better off people into one category. He sectioned them off as one group that I do not agree with. Where this article can be true about people who are wealthier caring less. I think that is more to do with the person themself. There are wealthier people out there who do not care about anyone but them selves and it can be apparent who those people are when you meet them. I have also met many wealthy people and families who are some of the nicest people that I have ever met. I do agree with Goleman when he says, “the financial difference ends up creating a behavioral difference.” I agree with this because he was saying before he said that quote that rich people can hire people to watch their kids instead of asking a neighbor so then that can make them value the help of neighbors and friends less making them a little more careless than those who are not as well off as them. But overall I did not feel that it was okay to say that all rich people care less without taking into consideration that not all rich people are the stereotypical carless people.

    Shannon F. Period 5

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  8. I feel as though the rich often get a bad reputation for being heartless, cruel and emotionless. Of course there are going to be some rich people who are this way, but you will also find some poor people with the same emotions. There is a constant self battle that, "Though the more powerful pay less attention to us than we do to them, in other situations we are relatively higher on the totem pole of status — and we, too, tend to pay less attention to those a rung or two down." This is a fatal human flaw. It is not just the rich looking down upon the poor, but the poor looking down upon the poor and the poor looking down upon the rich. It is an ongoing cycle, but the article only showed one side of the cycle.

    Ellie B.

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  9. Many people are responding to this article by saying that not all rich people are mean, and while that may be true, it does not negate the fact that people of a higher socioeconomic ranking are more likely to ignore or mistreat people beneath them in status than lower ranking people are to do so to those above them. This may stem from a lack of empathy from higher ranking people, or it may come from the dependence that poorer people have on those around them. As Goleman says, "high-status people do attend to those of equal rank — but not as well as those low of status do." Poorer people respect those above them because they have power over them, they respect those equal to them because they need them, and they respect those beneath them because they can empathize. Rich people may choose to respect people, but they don't technically need to, which is where disrespect, prejudice, and judgement slip in. Think of it this way: varsity athletes do not need to pay attention to the JV team because they are already above it. It is nice if they do, but it isn't expected. JV athletes pay attention to the varsity team because it is their goal to get to where the varsity athletes are.
    In your own life, you may not judge your peers based on how much money they have, but what about lunch ladies or janitors? If you found yourself in a conversation with a hotel maid and the President of Yale University, who would you pay more attention to? If you could lend five dollars to a popular kid in school or put it in a Dunkin Donuts tip jar, which would you choose? We are all trying to further our social standing, no matter where our starting point is. We just need to remember not to step on each other as we climb.

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  10. Although this article may seem harsh and dramatic in respect to the wealthy population, there is no doubt that it is the truth. The social distance between the upper and lower class is alarming and disappointing, however we have all been guilty of being the "bad guy" at some point in our lives. Though it may be true that the wealthy "more likely to express disregard, through facial expressions, and are more likely to take over the conversation and interrupt or look past the other speaker," it is unfair to assume that they do these things because they are nasty people. By being wealthy you have the luxury of being able to care less about certain things. People who do not have much money need to be more caring because it can affect their survival. It is more crucial for people in a lower class to be more caring than it is for people who are wealthy because they need to have friendship to help them live on whereas the wealthy can substitute relationships with materialistic items. It is true that the wealthy care less, but not because they are cold hearted, but because their ability to live an ideal life does not depend on their relationships with others.

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  11. The actual data to back this up was questionable to me. The article gives the examples of "observed, ..., with strangers in a mere five-minute get-acquainted session, where the more powerful person shows fewer signals of paying attention, like nodding or laughing. ..." and also, "... studied pairs of strangers telling one another about difficulties they had been through, like a divorce or death of a loved one. ...". Are first experiences with total strangers really valid, especially if talking about touchy topics? First introductions are usually awkward; most people don't casually bring up those types of topics. I feel like it could take months or years to even feel comfortable with friends discussing that. Some people, be they rich or poor, are just more open. The political aspect of the 'apathetic rich' wasn't sufficient evidence to me either. Political decisions are always going to make some people happy, some people upset. Empathy for the not-as-rich may play a role with some decisions, but at the same time there has to be consideration for the whole country.

    Meredith J. Period 5

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  12. I very much disagree with the article, "Rich People Just Care Less" because I believe it portrays a very negative outlook on the 1% of the country that is in power because of their money. In this article it is stated, "The more powerful were less compassionate toward the hardships described by the less powerful." Although some of the wealthy inherited their money, many worked for the money that makes them so wealthy. Just because one has millions of dollars more than another does not mean that they didn't experience the hardships the less wealthy person is telling them about. In the article it explains various different studies done to "prove" the fact that rich just care less however it never stated data to back up the studies done. I have a personal connection to the article because I know more than one families that started as nothing but an average middle class citizen who worked very hard to have the money they now have. Yes I believe there are wealthy people who "just care less" but I very much disagree with the statement saying that all rich and more powerful people "just care less".
    Abby A
    Period: 5

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  13. While reading the article, I kept picturing Mr. Scrooge from the Christmas Carol, the mean rich business man who tramples over the little man to further his own riches. And to some extent this is true about many rich people in today's society. I think it all comes down to what our values are in life. To the rich, the value of money is prominent and because the poor don't have much money they find other deeper values in life like family, community and kindness. I think this fuels the generosity that most poor people have to people and to charities because they know the circumstances other poor people are in while rich people may not be aware of the hardships of the common man. In the book the Grapes of Wrath, the poor like the Joad family became close with other families in the same situation, through their common struggles. I believe that if the rich knew the full extent many poor people face, they would be more generous. It think it comes down also to the experiences we face in life, if one experiences many hardships they can relate to the hardships to other people feeling resulting in them caring or donating. But, lets not forget that not all rich are like Mr.Scrooge; there are many generous rich people who care about people by donating a lot to charity and who are generally nice to people. This article clump the rich into one big bad persona that is unjust.

    Owen B. Period 5

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  14. I found this article really interesting, and I definitely agree with and support most of what it is saying. One part I found especially interesting was the discussion on how these attitudes of power and wealth play out in politics. I guess that people will generally always support their own gain, but it always seems so un-empathetic and cruel to me when very very rich people ignore or don't support programs for the disadvantaged. Through the context of this article, these rich people and powerful politicians pretty much just don't care about the people beneath them, which, although a little depressing, makes some sense. It's probably not even coming from a place of cruelty or vindictiveness; people with these political beliefs don't want poor people to suffer, I'm sure. It's just that the sheer concept of being so removed from such a different way of life makes the idea of being poor or needing government support almost unimaginable, and thus, rich people can be perceived as just not caring about those beneath them.

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  15. While I think that the article may sound harsh and giving the wealthy population a overbearing reputation, there is not doubt that there is a lot of truth in this article. I thought that the article was well written and brought up some very good points. I think that this article was written in the perspective that all wealthy people are heartless and they care little to none about any one but them selves, "Higher-status people are also more likely to express disregard, through facial expressions, and are more likely to take over the conversation and interrupt or look past the other speaker." While I think in some situations you will be very likely to find a wealthy person that just thinks so much more highly of themselves. It could be for a number of reasons but you can sense it on their attitudes to other people. But this is not to say that all people who are wealthy don't care about anyone but themselves. I think that the article did a good job showing the reader how yes in your life you're going to find selfish and rude people but to remember that their are good and kind hearted people still in the world.
    Jessie O

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