Re: Article ~ Affluent people less likely to reach out to others in times of chaos, study suggests

[Guest guest]

> Affluent people less likely to reach out to others in times of chaos, study

suggests<http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2012/08/30/chaos-psychology/>

>

> http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2012/08/30/chaos-psychology/

Interesting article, . Thank you for sharing.

I was not able to determine how the author defined " upper " vs. " lower "

class individuals. Certainly there is a wide gulf between the

Trumps of this world and a homeless veteran whose home is a cardboard box.

For my own purposes, I will define " haves " as wealthy or middle-class

folks who are, for the most part, on reasonably solid financial ground

for both the present and the future. While the " have nots " do not have

that luxury, being more concerned with maintaining a basic lifestyle

focused more on maintaining food and shelter, leaving little room for

non-essentials.

If we use my definitions, I would totally agree with the premise of the

article.

In my own experience, I have noticed that the people who have been the

most kind and generous toward me (since my financial situation took a

downturn) were folks who lived a genuinely (as opposed to perceived)

precarious existence themselves. Examples would include an unemployed

contractor who did some work on my home free-of-charge, several

unemployed folks who went above the call of duty to help me improve my

tech skills, and a woman from the UK (whom I only know from online) who

made a generous cash gift to my PayPal account so that I could continue

to pay my basic utility bills for awhile. None of these folks were

close friends, just good people whom I interacted with occasionally.

OTOH, those who are more fortunate (including so-called friends) largely

ignored me, or offered pat, superficial solutions just so that they

could feel like they were making a contribution. The worst are the

insensitive comments about homeless people or " becoming another

statistic " in the current U.S. depression -- like I really need to hear

that. Fortunately, most have distanced themselves from me, perhaps to

ensure that I won't ask them for any favors. lol

Great article....

Best,

~CJ

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Let your wise mind be governing your words, not your emotions.