Questions That Have Answers

 

Two baffling questions:

1. Why do people feign poverty ... or pretend they are poor even though they are self-sufficient?

2. And why do poor people pretend to be rich? What are their motivations?

It is not uncommon to feel envious of other people's wealth and money. It is the lowest of all feelings as jealousy eats you alive and how you resent your neighbor even a family member who was quite successful in their work.

In a materialistic society such as ours, having a lot of moolah is synonymous with high social and economic standing. It has become more like a status symbol. In a commercial society, having money or wealth and things that can be bought by wealth, such as cars, houses, or fine clothing are considered status symbols.

Poor people pretend to be rich ... and by doing so ... he is feeding a rescue mission to his hungry and fast-slipping self-worth.  His fantasies are a self-employed defense mechanism to satisfy his needs and wants ... giving him a place in the world even though it is just temporary.

People pretending to be rich are sometimes called the pseudo-rich ... the faux richer, a social gatecrasher, or worse a social climber.

On the other hand ... at the other end of the spectrum are the mooch - people with money pretending to be poor. The word's original definition, "pretend poverty," might stem from the Middle English word mucchen which means "to be stingy," or literally, "to keep coins in one's nightcap." 

I have a better term for them - FREELOADERS.

A mooch personality and a freeloader exploit the generosity of others. If one cheats his drinking buddies by writing them a check to avoid paying because he doesn't have cash, when one has the habit of getting a lift or hitchhiking his way to work to avoid bus fares, when one borrows cigarettes and asks for food or money in the streets or when one uses some people's cellphones in the name of saving because he doesn't want to buy a load ... or when one frequent his nocturnal visits in your house because he is always welcome to dine in with you -  moochers and a freeloader can push the limits of friendship by making a habit of manipulating others to avoid paying their fair share.

A Nation Of Moochers and Freeloaders?

Are we becoming a nation of moochers and freeloaders?

It seems like we are experiencing a new culture ... I can feel the shift in American or Filipino characters... we are fast becoming a society of freeloaders and moochers. 

I just went out of Walmart and somebody approached me if I had 3 quarters so he could buy a cigarette. The other day in the mall ... another person came and had the gall to ask for money for food. Do we have beggars in America ... I can almost smell the familiar aroma of mendicancy in Quiapo. It is deja vu 2.0 once again,

While driving in the street I saw another man ... sitting on the side of the street with a poster telling the whole wide world he was homeless and needed help. As we passed by the back of K-Mart ... we saw another woman scavenging for anything valuable in trash bins. And when we turn on The TV, news flashes millions of Americans are dependent on government aid and social welfare programs.

Are we as a nation teetering to the dangers of becoming dependent on somebody's generosity? Is the new moocher culture permeated and saturated across lines of class, race, and public sectors?

Not that I am complaining about somebody's goodness of helping somebody in need ... like in times of hurricanes and natural disasters in the Philippines everybody practices the bayanihan spirit to help out and be counted. I am not arguing about somebody's compassion - somebody's empathy to recognize the suffering of others and then take action to help. We are not here to question somebody's expression of love and solidarity - and his sense of charity.

I am here to argue about the moocher culture ... in which financial independence, personal responsibility, and economic reliance have given way to a mindset where everybody expects the government will be here to help anyway.

But what happens if the help you expect does not come? What happens if the help you need does not materialize? It is such a grim picture ... and this article is a rallying cry for Americans or Filipinos who are content in nurturing a defeatist attitude of "bahala na" ... leaving everything to fate as they say "We will cross the bridge when we get there."

Abraham's One Liner