georgephillip
Diamond Member
"'The rich are different from us,' F. Scott Fitzgerald is said to have remarked to Ernest Hemingway, to which Hemingway allegedly replied, 'Yes, they have more money.'
"The exchange, although it never actually took place, sums up a wisdom Fitzgerald had that eluded Hemingway.
"The rich are different.
"The cocoon of wealth and privilege permits the rich to turn those around them into compliant workers, hangers-on, servants, flatterers and sycophants. Wealth breeds, as Fitzgerald illustrated in 'The Great Gatsby' and his short story 'The Rich Boy,' a class of people for whom human beings are disposable commodities.
"Colleagues, associates, employees, kitchen staff, servants, gardeners, tutors, personal trainers, even friends and family, bend to the whims of the wealthy or disappear.
"Once oligarchs achieve unchecked economic and political power, as they have in the United States, the citizens too become disposable."
Like Fitzgerald, Chris Hedges spent his early years among the rich and famous. At age 10 Chris earned a scholarship to an exclusive New England boarding school, and he spent some of his vacation time in the homes of his classmates:
"I spent time in the homes of the ultra-rich and powerful, watching my classmates, who were children, callously order around men and women who worked as their chauffeurs, cooks, nannies and servants.
"When the sons and daughters of the rich get into serious trouble there are always lawyers, publicists and political personages to protect themGeorge W. Bushs life is a case study in the insidious affirmative action for the rich.
"The rich have a snobbish disdain for the poordespite well-publicized acts of philanthropyand the middle class.
"These lower classes are viewed as uncouth parasites, annoyances that have to be endured, at times placated and always controlled in the quest to amass more power and money."
Chris Hedges: Let?s Get This Class War Started - Chris Hedges - Truthdig
"The inability to grasp the pathology of our oligarchic rulers is one of our gravest faults."
"The exchange, although it never actually took place, sums up a wisdom Fitzgerald had that eluded Hemingway.
"The rich are different.
"The cocoon of wealth and privilege permits the rich to turn those around them into compliant workers, hangers-on, servants, flatterers and sycophants. Wealth breeds, as Fitzgerald illustrated in 'The Great Gatsby' and his short story 'The Rich Boy,' a class of people for whom human beings are disposable commodities.
"Colleagues, associates, employees, kitchen staff, servants, gardeners, tutors, personal trainers, even friends and family, bend to the whims of the wealthy or disappear.
"Once oligarchs achieve unchecked economic and political power, as they have in the United States, the citizens too become disposable."
Like Fitzgerald, Chris Hedges spent his early years among the rich and famous. At age 10 Chris earned a scholarship to an exclusive New England boarding school, and he spent some of his vacation time in the homes of his classmates:
"I spent time in the homes of the ultra-rich and powerful, watching my classmates, who were children, callously order around men and women who worked as their chauffeurs, cooks, nannies and servants.
"When the sons and daughters of the rich get into serious trouble there are always lawyers, publicists and political personages to protect themGeorge W. Bushs life is a case study in the insidious affirmative action for the rich.
"The rich have a snobbish disdain for the poordespite well-publicized acts of philanthropyand the middle class.
"These lower classes are viewed as uncouth parasites, annoyances that have to be endured, at times placated and always controlled in the quest to amass more power and money."
Chris Hedges: Let?s Get This Class War Started - Chris Hedges - Truthdig
"The inability to grasp the pathology of our oligarchic rulers is one of our gravest faults."