wavyarms | (no subject)

Time-wasting!

The Spoiled Meme:

Do you have:
() your own cell phone
() a television in your bedroom
() an iPod
() a photo printer
(1) your own phone line
() TiVo or a generic digital video recorder
(2) high-speed internet access
() a surround sound system in bedroom
(3) DVD player in bedroom [laptop counts]
() at least a hundred DVDs
(4) a childfree bathroom
() your own in-house office
() a pool
() a guest house
() a game room
() a queen-size bed or larger
() a stocked bar
(5) a working dishwasher
() an icemaker
(6) a working washer and dryer
() more than 20 pairs of shoes
() at least ten things from a designer store
() expensive sunglasses
(7) framed original art
() Egyptian cotton sheets or towels
(8) a multi-speed bike
(9) a gym membership
() large exercise equipment at home
() your own set of golf clubs
() a pool table
() a tennis court
() local access to a lake, large pond, or the sea
() your own pair of skis
() enough camping gear for a weekend trip in an isolated area
() a boat
() a jet ski
() a neighborhood committee membership
() a beach house or a vacation house/cabin
(10) wealthy family members
() two or more family cars
(11) a walk-in closet or pantry
(12) a yard
() a hammock
() a personal trainer
(13) good credit
() expensive jewelry
() a designer bag that required being on a waiting list to get
() at least $100 cash in your possession right now
() more than two credit cards bearing your name
() a stock portfolio
(14) passport
() a horse
() a trust fund (either for you or created by you)
() private medical insurance
() a college degree, and no outstanding student loans

Do you:
() shop for non-needed items for yourself (like clothes, jewelry, electronics) at least once a week
() do your regular grocery shopping at high-end or specialty stores
() pay someone else to clean your house, do dishes, or launder your clothes
() go on weekend mini-vacations
() send dinners back with every flaw
() wear perfume or cologne (not body spray)
() regularly get your hair styled or nails done in a salon
() have a job but don't need the money OR
() stay at home with little financial sacrifice
() pay someone else to cook your meals
() pay someone else to watch your children or walk your dogs
() regularly pay someone else to drive you
() expect a gift after you fight with your partner

Are/have you:
() an only child
() married/partnered to a wealthy person
() baffled/surprised when you don't get your way
() been on a cruise
(15) traveled out of the country
(16) met a celebrity
() been to the Caribbean
(17) been to Europe
() been to Hawaii
(18) been to New York
() eaten at the space needle in Seattle
(19) been to the Mall of America
(20) been on the Eiffel tower in Paris
() been on the Statue of Liberty in New York
() moved more than three times because you wanted to
() dined with local political figures
(21) been to both the Atlantic coast and the Pacific coast

Did you:
() go to another country for your honeymoon
() hire a professional photographer for your wedding or party
(22) take riding or swimming lessons as a child
(23) have a Sweet 16 birthday party thrown for you (I'm sure I had a party, but it was just like every other year)

Apparently over 30 means you're spoiled. But I'm not sure I'd agree with that, b/c I think just meaning that being able to go to graduate school for music, and owning my own computer, and not having to worry about money b/c my family can be a safety-net, can be considered being spoiled. Right? Maybe the author of the meme is trying to get at "privileged?"

Also, "access to a regular source of nookie" should totally be on there.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Maybe the author of the meme is trying to get at "privileged?"
Even if that's the case, there are too many things on the list that are completely a matter of personal choice and behavior for it to be meaningful. The only way good credit is a sign you're spoiled is if someone has bailed you out; for it to be a sign of privilege, you'd have to assert that spending beyond one's means is somehow an intrinsic incident of being middle- or lower-class. (I'm taking a meme too seriously again, aren't I. Speaking of wasting time....)

for it to be a sign of privilege, you'd have to assert that spending beyond one's means is somehow an intrinsic incident of being middle- or lower-class.

Isn't it possible this is true? Suppose your necessary expenses exceed your income, if you have a minimum wage job and a family?

Sure it's possible, but it isn't _intrinsic_. Some people may never be able to make ends meet, usually due to severe illness. But regardless of the other circumstances, personal choices can still determine the ultimate severity of the situation. (This gets complicated, though. One of the obvious ways to tell that the public health system is broken is the incentive to dispose of wealth in order to qualify for Medicaid - essentially turning otherwise idiotic personal choices into a practical necessity.)

12. Man I was doing awesome until the "have you" category. I'm half as spoiled as you. As the younger child I think that's quite a feat. =P

Also, what celebrity have you met?

Well, I've sung with Lorin Maazel and Charles Dutoit. I didn't exactly meet them, but I figure singing should count. And studying with Flummerfelt counts for something. (They're all music celebrities.)

I think "celebrity" means someone that People magazine would be interested in. I've never heard of any of those people.

Actually, for purposes of this meme, I think I have to agree with your brother. Meeting Paris Hilton (not that I'd want to) would probably be dependent upon having a certain amount of money or moving in a certain social strata, whereas meeting Lorin Maazel is more dependent upon having a certain amount of musical interest and/or talent. I think the question is intended to read, "Have you ever met someone who's been profiled by Entertainment Tonight?"

I only got 11. I would also agree that a lot of the items on the list are very poor indicators. Like, having been to New York is no biggie if one lives around here... or if one lives in NYC itself. And having your own skis isn't such a big deal if you're from Vermont! :-) And yes, the good credit thing definitely bugged (although, I suppose one can't have good credit unless one has established some credit; my siblings (the two that are semi-grownup, that is) have poor credit because my mother thinks that credit cards are evil and has brainwashed them into never getting the requisite one card that could be used to build credit. So maybe even having the ability to establish credit is an indicator of a privilege that not everyone has?) However, I guess the thinking is that, while individual items on this list may be innocuous, there's no way having upwards of 30 of the items would apply to the average working-class person?

there's no way having upwards of 30 of the items would apply to the average working-class person?

I think this is probably true - and people probably prefer to think that their lives are hard, rather than easy, so we all try to find flaws with the system!

I think this one is at least skewed towards the U.S., and more than that, to the coastal U.S. A hammock? Don't a fair number of people in warm climates, from all over the social strata, sleep in them? And having a horse doesn't make you spoiled if you spend twelve hours a day on it herding cattle, or if horse is the only reliable means of transportation. (Maybe it makes you luckier than the folks who have to walk, and it means you have to feed the horse... but if you live near grass, or on a farm, feed is cheap.) Also, travel doesn't have to mean luxury. I know people who are flat broke, barely making the rent, and have worked their way up from tough places for years, who have seen both coasts. You can do that with a thumb and some chutzpah. Or, say, in the navy.

I'm not arguing that I'm not damn lucky. I know I am. I have a roof and a college degree and living parents. I come in at 21 I think, but I often wasn't sure how to answer. My framed original art was a gift from an ink brush painter in the storefront artists' project. My parents have a hammock, and my landlords have a lawn. Do I have local access to water if I live by the coast? All these things are gifts, and I don't mean to say otherwise.

So how would you put together a meme to rank how spoiled people are? I think the author's intent was to make people stop and say, "Hey, I guess I am luckier than other people" but there's a lot of holes, so it doesn't seem to have that effect. (I agree with the criticism of the "good credit" one particularly.)

The trouble is that they're asking me to challenge my assumptions, but they aren't recognizing their own. I think the first step is to figure out what about each of these elements counts as 'spoiled' and clarify. Do they think having a horse, for example, indicates spoilage because it costs a certain amount, or because they assume you ride only for pleasure?

If I were to make one, I'd lean towards How lucky are you?, which may give more perspective and won't put people on the defensive. There's an exasperated air about this one that's most of what I react to. Most of all, I don't think this one shoots high enough. I'd ask specific questions:

Do you drink coffee?
Do you eat different kinds of food every day?
Do you eat food imported from another country?

Then the kicker: well, x% of the world can't. I'd come up with a statistical extimate of how many people in the world do not have that choice. Then (help, math majors!) figure out from the sum of the questions where the one answering falls on a global scale of opportunity. Of course it'd be limited and rough, but I bet it would be revealing.

How am I spoiled if I bought the things I have with my own money? Of the 41 things I have, most I got via my own hard work, or via volunteer work (ex: dined with local politicians). I thin the Meme is stupid unless you are under 17... (IMHO)