By Nusrat Jahan Progga

What many people fail to understand is that little problems also matter. Not every speech or every article written has to be about a big obvious issue of the society, that is printed as newsflashes every here and there.
This article is going to talk about a few words that affect me and some of the people around me. Few words that go “You’re so rich!”
Well, yes, I am. I am better off than most of the general population, and so are some of my friends. I am also aware of the fact that I probably have no right to complain. However, hear me out.

The “you’re so rich” conundrum has two parts to it. First is the misconception. My father is the joint owner of a Mercedes car (I beg you to not think that I am bragging). One of my classmates found out and told some others, which led to me being treated differently. In this case, differently stands for them slapping a “you’re rich! What will you understand” right across my face every time I tried to relate with them regarding some problems. What they did not know is that it is my father who is rich, not me. They did not know that I lived just like any other girl, and I bought only one dress for Eid while they bought seven. I grew up to be a teenager who pays for some of her coaching tuitions, and other necessities herself by working two jobs. I was better off than some, but did that make life a smooth ride for me? Maybe a bit, but not as drastically trouble-free as some though it did. I have been through things that a lot of average teenagers have been through, and all the money in the world could not fix the issue for me. In case you are still wondering, the misconception lies in the equation where money and happiness are proportional to each other.
Do I sound like a rich girl on a rant? Because there are more like me and I rather rant than let this carry on.

Which brings me to the second aspect of the issue- Children are susceptible to a lot of complexes. When you constantly badger someone by calling them rich and telling them how they are better, you are actually unknowingly installing a superiority complex inside them which spreads like cancer. They live, maybe a bit more luxuriously, but through some of the same basic struggles, because do not forget- they have brown parents too. However, if you hammer into their heads that they get to do “whatever” they “want” then chances are that even if they don’t, they WILL start doing so. They will act without thinking of the consequences just because a bunch of classmates made them believe that they are at the top of the social hierarchy- the crème de la crème. Thus, creating an environment where they do things because “they simply can”.

Of course, it would be unfair to blame just the people around us. Thorough analysis shows that most disorders start from home. Maybe if we bug some people’s houses, we might hear the moms a.k.a. “bhabis” saying things like “We cannot do this. We are not like your friend” or even worse “That lady has it so easy because her husband keeps throwing money at her and her kids”, in turn leading their own children to think of themselves as inferiors.

These two aspects give rise to another problem: the great class difference. You expect the seemingly “well off” people to be modest, but you hate it when they are. Society tells me “Oh do not be modest! We all know how much money you have in your bank”, and if because of that I stop acting modest, they will hate me for being a showoff, regardless of me actually showing off or not. It is as if society is in desperate need of a common enemy, but cannot make up their mind on whom to hate. This calls forward the instance where someone, rich or poor, cannot blend in because people will always box them into a certain social class no matter what.

I know what some of you are thinking right now. I am just an over-privileged girl who does not like how nicely society treats her. You might also think “what’s so bad about being called rich”; well, the sentence itself might be a compliment to some, but the psychological effect that this sentence brings forth is what is concerning. I am just trying to show some people that their hate towards the rich is something they created themselves and that it is time, that we start thinking before we speak. Because even the most harmless of statements can have oddly great consequences.