Rich people got busted this week for cheating their kids
into top colleges. I don't think this
is news. Do you really think the
current US president would've been accepted into any college based on his own
achievements? Of course not. He's barely literate and admits he hates
reading. Cheating by rich people isn't
new, but it still ticks me off.
I was a good candidate to go to college. Never mind I was a juvenile delinquent. I had excellent grades and a drive to
succeed. My guidance counselor never
spoke to me. I didn't even know that's
what she was supposed to do. Nobody
told me anything about college admissions or financial aid. Dad had known, but he died. One teacher told me to apply for a specific
scholarship and then I was on my own.
Thankfully, I got the scholarship and got through
college, at one time working 3 jobs
while attending school full-time. My
grades suffered from my exhaustion and the sexual harassment I received at one
of those jobs. My grades dropped to a
3.2 GPA and I wasn't considered for boons offered at school like interviews
with prominent companies. I walked
barefoot 10 miles to school in a blizzard, uphill both ways...
Oh, right, the point.
Well, I'm pretty sure it's easier to get good grades when studying is
the only thing you have to do, you have enough food, and you have money for supplies that make your homework easier. Rich people's spoiled brats are already guaranteed to get ahead. They don't need to cheat or lie on their
taxes. Put them all in prison.
I talked to the father of one of my friends at a party. He crowed about how he'd cheated the system
and got significant financial aid for his son.
Never mind this was a wealthy family. I could've stabbed that man in the heart. I sputtered that I didn't get any financial
aid. My friend's father called me
"Stupid!"
Maybe I was stupid, but I have to live with myself. Rich people know how to get what they want,
and they aren't burdened by my sense of ethics. They rig colossal systems to keep getting what they want legally,
let alone more than that. They don't
deserve more than the rest of us, even if they feel like they do. I'd like some of that easy privilege too. "Marsha, Marsha, Marsha!"*
Maybe getting upset about this kind of thing is a colossal
waste of time, but we all like to think successes are earned and we can succeed
too if we try hard enough. "Behind
every great fortune lies a crime" (Balzac) shouldn't stop any of us from
trying to achieve, to do our best, and to be kind to each other in the process.
I'd like more money than I have. I'm not going to cheat to get it. I'm glad the bad guys got caught this time.
I was looking through a box of papers the other day and came
across the receipts for my great-grandparents' house (T.L. and Lucy). I don't know the full story of it, and I
don't know why I kept the receipts when I cleared out my Grandpa's home (Winley
or W.W.). I think I liked seeing how
the debt was paid over time. It shows
love and commitment. You can see those
values in great art and writing too.
The art above is from a gift I gave my niece for
getting her masters degree last year. I'm
pretty sure she didn't give anyone half a million dollars to achieve it. I recently painted an elephant for someone
which would've been great for "colossal" but I forgot to photograph
it. As I've said many times before,
I'll try to remember next time!
*Brady Bunch reference for those of you in other countries
or too young to know.
