Rich, poor, survivor
When the poor walk long distances, it’s because of necessity. They cannot afford to buy a reliable car, especially if they rely only on their minimum wage of $6.05 an hour for food, housing, clothing, and utilities.
When the rich take long walks after parking their SUVs along the Beach Road pathway or walk in place at their favored gym, it’s to de-stress or exercise. And then post their workout selfie on Facebook. But for short trips to a store or a restaurant, they use their car.
But there are also those who survive hitching a ride from home to work. Or they ride an unlicensed but reliable and affordable “taxicab” for $3, $4 or $5, depending on the distance and time of day. Those rides are often new Toyota, with cool features, nice sound system and strong air-conditioner compared to sometimes rickety legal taxis that charge you more than what you can earn in several hours.
Or they drive their car that’s likely at least seven, 10 years, or much older than their children.
The ones with money change their cars as often as the CNMI holds midterm or gubernatorial elections. Or add more to their garage collection to mark their birthday or after getting a hefty executive bonus. Then some of them sell their old rides to those who cannot afford to buy new ones.
When the rich ones’ cars break down, they go to authorized auto dealers for repair. The poor try to fix their own bicycles, if they have one.
The others with almost Marpi landfill-bound cars check with their auto mechanic friends first to see if they can get their ride fixed for free or for a very minimal service fee, or in exchange for a pack of cigarettes or a six-pack beer. Or they visit a nondescript Chinese or Filipino auto shop that does not cost an arm and a leg for even the most complicated services.
When the poor eat little, it’s because they cannot afford a big meal.
When the rich eat little, it’s because they’re on a special diet to maintain or reduce their waistline. They also willingly pay more for so little amount of supposed to be healthy food.
The others happen to know who’s throwing a birthday party, a beach party, a village fiesta, or where the daily prayer is for someone who had just passed on, for a free meal.
When the rich goes thirsty late at night when stores are not supposed to sell alcoholic drinks anymore, they go to their wine cellar or their own mini-bar at home. The poor can barely buy bottled water.
The survivors know where to buy beers and spirits well beyond 10pm. Others go to bars that do not close until 2am. They also know which bars can sell you alcoholic drinks until you can no longer walk.
Or, they join the neighborhood drinking session, even without contributing any drinks or chasers.
Or they buy cheaply from those illegally re-selling beers from the Army and Air Force Exchange Service or troop store in Puerto Rico.
When the poor ones are tapped to help their fellows, they do so mostly with little fanfare. The others donate their time and effort for worthy causes, when they cannot donate money.
The really poor ones beg, but the rich ones raise funds usually for others, or at least that’s what they want us to believe.
And when the rich raise funds for a cause—helping life-saving programs or protecting the environment, to name a few—they buy the tickets in advance, giving them reason to wear silly costumes or ridiculous outfits depending on the party theme or don their most precious jewelry, suits or gowns, and then make sure the community knows about it through the press and social media.
When the poor and powerless are caught with a different version of truth, they are accused of lying and could go to jail for it.
But if they are rich and famous, they claim being misquoted even if the interview was recorded.
When the poor are caught stealing, they go to jail.
When the rich and powerful are caught red-handed in flagrant violation of the law, they work up a credible defense and people who have good or bad things to say about them are interviewed by the press. They run for office and get elected again and again by CNMI voters.
100% Correct!!!
Still engaging in the Politics of Envy and division?
It is sad that you never learned to value the inherent dignity and worth of each human person, but persist in judging and demonizing the “rich”.
Buenas Haidee,
Remember in the early two thousand, we hosted a gathering at Black Micro (Barracks) to informed contract workers about their plight in the CNMI. You and your so call elitist friends stated that we wanted recognition only, but for your info. we don’t want any of it. Either you are poor or rich in the CNMI, we all take a dump the same way and we need to move on with our lives. Maybe you should get your advise or advice from Mr. Hunter, because you and him knows more about our island chain issues affecting us. When the time we needed you the most in the past, you turn a blind eye on us. You are full of it.
Read Mein Kampf or the writings of Marx and Engels as well as those of Fidel Castro. You will find many or your same preachings in them. Try your very hardest to shy away from “absolute” statements and you will have a healthier outlook on life. No one has died of starvation on this island since the end of WWII. Please stand in line at the monthly food stamp distribution and look at how many obese people you see (not all, but far too many) and the number of relatively nice cars being driven by recipients. If you can get into the heads of many of these “rich” people you talk about, you will probably see that even though they have money, they are not truly happy as some of those “poor” people you say are being held down by the rich. Poor people jst arriving here due to some calamity should get a helping hand for a while. But if they have lived here all their lives, why is it that they “deserve” more than what they brought upon themselves by failing to accept the education offered to them, sidetracked by drug use or are just to darn lazy and chronic underachievers? Not all poor people are poor due to their own efforts, such as children or the very old who worked hard all their lives, but as grasshoppers rather that ants, as the folk story goes. I agree, there are also a lot of selfish people who inherited their riches, usually when they became adults and have no sense of community pride, but an absolute redistribution of wealth is not what the greatest generation died fighting for, I assure you.
Lots of judgement going on in this! There are indeed rich people, poor people, and those in between. But, far too often, people make very envious and ignorant judgements based on skin color.
Let me offer an example. I am white. My significant other and I moved here from the states for the adventure of it. Let me be clear: it was not for the money, as we took a significant pay cut to come here! But, we are thankful because we have met so many genuinely nice people here and have loved our time here! However, we have also been met with a lot of judgement! We were recruited here via CHC because there simply are not enough applicants with the entry-level education to fill mandated needs and positions; locals get first priority in job openings here, and rightly so. Somehow, since our work is through CHC, people assume we are “rich”. Sadly, it couldn’t be further from the truth, ha! What they don’t understand is the years and years of hard work, the eight long years of college, the quarter-of-a-million dollars in education debt, the saving up to afford to pay for a very mediocre SUV (which we fix ourselves), the inability to afford health insurance (thanks to education debt fixed at 7% apr), and the continuous effort to buy smart and save. No, we are not poor. But we are also not rich. We both came from very poor families and worked hard, against all odds, to make education our priority.
It is sad to me when, instead of trying to go out and do good or further one’s own education, greed and envy are encouraged by this kind of writing–making it sound as though wealthy people are all stuck up elitists that don’t deserve their money. Behind most wealthy persons are individuals with a very strong work ethic. That is not to say they haven’t had great opportunities come their way, because I’m sure many of them have. But, it is foolish to suggest that poor people are poor because of their circumstances and nothing can be done about it. Is it harder for a poor person to rise out of their situation? Yes! Is it possible? Absolutely! But it takes time and persistence. I can’t tell you how many poor people I observe drinking, or smoking, or chewing betel nut. How much are alcohol and cigarettes? They’re surely not free! What if that money was saved, rather than spent? What if individuals made a more concerted effort to take care of themselves, so they can continue to work, to toil, to advance? What if people took care of themselves so they could better care for others or for this beautiful island?
I don’t believe for an instant that here, in the CNMI, the people are powerless. They are strong and capable. People are subjects only to themselves. Start caring to improve your life and those around you by encouraging success, encouraging hard work, encouraging generosity (regardless of socioeconomic status), encouraging personal responsibility and encouraging kindness. The people of the CNMI are a very kind and welcoming people–please don’t encourage the worst in all of us by making rash generalizations that apply to a very small sampling of people here.