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The 'rich kid rant' on Reddit and why people are saying it reeks of privilege

By John Patrick Magno Ranara Published Mar 01, 2023 9:15 pm

It's quite clear that the gap between the rich and the poor keeps on growing wider over time, with both social spectrums having a hard time understanding the other.

Many times, the less privileged would call out the elites for their seemingly lavish lifestyle and ignorant takes on the disparity between the wealthy and the poor.

Wanting to dispel the opinion of the vast majority, a Reddit user who identified themselves as a "rich kid" posted a rant on the platform addressed to those criticizing the lifestyle of privileged children like them

In the now-deleted post published on the University of the Philippines-focused forum, Reddit user u/Fluffy_Origin began to air his disapproval of those ranting about rich kids and their cars.

"Di namin pinili na maging mayaman. Pake niyo ba kung may car kami? Pinaghiapan namin yun para makacar kami," the Redditor stressed.

They claimed that they worked their fingers to the bone just so they could afford a car. 

How? According to them, "I worked at my dad's office for three hours everyday for two months so I can buy a car. Alam niyo, rather than ranting here on how unfortunate you are, why not get a part-time job so makabili kayo ng car? Marami ngayong nag-oopen ng jobs for students, apply kayo."

The user went further with their rant and argued that a person can get a car in just less than a month as part-time jobs nowadays "pay P3,000 per day."

"Do you know how much lang 'yung downpayment ng car? P50,000 lang. You can obviously buy it if you'd like. I think part-time jobs pay P3,000 per day. So P50,000 divided by P3,000 is equal to 16, so in 16 days' time may car na kayo."

They ended their post with the message, "Instead of ranting na wala kayong car, bili na lang kayo. Be productive."

His unpopular take was captured by some netizens on Reddit and has been making rounds on Facebook over the week. One post has earned 16,500 reactions and 8,500 shares as of writing.

Reeks of privilege

While the post seems to be written as a joke and appears to have sarcastic tones, a netizen who shared it on Twitter claims that the person did not intend for it to be satirical based on their previous posts. 

Some resorted to humor and ask others where they could look for such a part-time job that has a four-digit salary per day, if there even is one.

But many saw red after reading the post, claiming that the Redditor's sentiments oozed of arrogance and was expremely out of touch with the reality experienced by the less fortunate.

"I don't think you're entitled to advise people to 'be productive' if your definition of 'pinaghirapan' is working at your father's office for only three hours a day. You reek of privilege," one user criticized.

"When bro said '50k lang' and 'P3,000 per day part time job,' I just knew he HAS to be some sort of apolitical nepo baby who doesnt need to worry about his future because he inherits his dad's company in the future," another one wrote.

Reality check

Other netizens took the time to share their experiences in their daily grind in a third world country as the Philippines.

One person commented on the post that they only get a measly P200 despite working for almost 10 hours, "Not even kidding, I work part time from 7:30 am to 5:00 pm and all I get is 200 pesos and dropping to the bed as soon as I go home. How is it real that they work for three hours a day for two months and get a car?"

"My hubby works eight hours daily and earns P4,000 per day. He has more than 20 years of experience and works in the information technology industry. Saan ba yang P3,000 per day tapos three hours lang ang work?" another one shared.

Some, however, took it as an opportunity to educate the Redditor about the world they are living in.

"'Yung sinasabi niyang three hours of hardwork for two months, katumbas yan ng daily 'commute' hours for years ng iba. So why ask bakit hindi pa bumili ng car kung ganito pala ka-hassle? Kung kaya nila, bibili naman talaga sila. But these employees are underpaid for working more than eight hours," one person emphasized.

Another posted, "Money can't buy happiness and contentment. Yes they will have all the comfort in the world pero nothing is permanent and once they hit rock bottom, then mare-realize nila na life isn't all about comfort."