Eat the Rich! They Don't Understand the Pandemic!

    

     Before you start dunking on me about how I shouldn’t be bitching and moaning about people with money please press the backspace button on your browser and get the fuck off my blog. :)) Just kidding! I know that wallowing in the fact that I am literally below the poverty line and was rejected from rent stabilized low income housing doesn’t change my financial situation. But, I’ll be damned if it doesn’t let off steam and lessen my urge to slap everyone with a Channel bag on the subway.

    So the reason I'm writing this is because I find myself, despite my low economic station, very often surrounded by people with money. And there's something about constantly being in their company that just gives me a rash. When I first moved to New York I knew that rich people lived there, I just didn’t know why. But after my first trip to the grocery store I figured it out: it’s astronomically expensive to live comfortably in this concrete hellscape. For example:  $900 gets you your very own 4x4 box with one window facing an alley. And, no that’s not an exaggeration. I’ve seen peanut butter priced at $12.99 and granola at $17.99. wtf???!!!! Is it made of gold?! If that doesn’t paint a picture in your head let me say this: Trader Joe’s the cheap grocery store in town. Yeah. Shit's rough out here.

    Throughout my college years I became very well acquainted with the prices you have to pay to live in the big apple. And you know what? Fine. Sure, it took a global pandemic and a reluctant government stimulus for me to afford groceries once a week instead of twice a month, but I know that I had made a choice to come to New York and be a starving artist. And I was willing to embrace and endure that even if it was much more literal than I ever imagined it ever would be.

    So, its not that I don’t know that I’ve put this on myself I just didn’t anticipate that while I have a mattress and 6 dust bunnies to my name I’d be surrounded by people who pay $280/month for a gym membership. Or people who can spend $200 on dinner and wine once a week. I’ve seen  children walking around with diamond Tiffany’s tennis bracelets worth more than I’ll ever make in my life. And I know, I knowwwww I can hear you all already. "Okay??? And whats your point Sarah? You're fiscally challenged. We get. Join the club." And my “point” is this: When you have no money, but you are catering to people with money there's some (small but noteworthy) psychological effects.

Since moving here all my jobs have been customer service gigs in one of the wealthiest parts of Manhattan. After five years of employment I can solidly say that it is also one of the snobbiest places in Manhattan. (and no I will not be disclosing where. use your imagination.) I've had some absolutely wiiiilllddd things to me. Ranging from the classic "Do you know who I am?" to the more creative "I care less about your life and more about my reservation." And so, my dear reader, using those examples, I would like you to imagine being paid less than a living wage to cater to people who make 30x what you do and who speak to you like you are a plebeian.  Are you imagining it? Are you feeling a tightening in your throat and a desperation in your chest? Because that's how I feel. The subtext of their words and actions are "because you are in the position of service you are lesser than me." Or " Because you are in customer service it is okay for me to treat you this way." or both.

    Obviously this attitude and treatment of people in customer service is NOT AT ALL reserved just for the rich. People are rude all the time period. But, when someone who makes 400,000/yr and up yells at me (who makes around 13,000/yr) for telling them that we don't give out the wifi to customers and how that's atrocious considering how much money they spend here and how they basically create my paycheck it fucks with my head!! I'm sorry!! But it does!! It makes me feel like I am worth nothing and the efforts I'm making to get more cash so I can like, I dunno, eat are useless. I will always be an unworthy surf who chose the arts over money and because of that I deserve to be abused. And what's surprising to me is that this is not a small sample size of customers who treat me and my coworkers this way. I'd say it's 25%. And that's too many.  And in the wake of the pandemic this class disparity and lack of common decency from those richer than me has only gotten worse. 

    If you look at a COVID-19 infection rate of NYC you'll see that the neighborhoods of Manhattan (where those with the $$$$ live) usually have a around a 2% infection rate. Yeehaw. How sweet. Everyone is able to be holed up in their homes and work their desk jobs. They're able to do the right thing. Now take a look at the boroughs. See a difference? If you're not looking at the map the infection rate for neighborhoods in Queens, Brooklyn, the Bronx, and Staten Island ranges from  4 to 13%. That's um, a big difference. And I can't help but wonder: Is that partially because we're all getting on public transport and going into manhattan to work those service jobs? We’re exposed to all 5 of the boroughs germs 3-6 times a week and then we bring it all back to our own living spaces. That has to be a contributing factor right? 

    Additionally, just to keep things spicy, there are at least 2 employees a week at my job testing positive for COVID-19. Yike. And the ultimate cherry on top of this sick cake is that patrons of my job are constantly saying to me "Wow I hope you don't close. That would be so hard for me! I love coming here." and "Wow, I can't wait to go Florida. They're so much more normal with the pandemic there." and "The goverment restrictions are so stupid. NYC is fine we should be able to do what we want."  Like? Okay, why don't you save your breath and just spit in my face and tell me I don't matter. With every passing month that I haul ass to my non essential job 1 hr away on the germy subway I realize that these people and I live in very very different worlds. And that's not a bad thing! (I mean nobody should be forced to live off my wages but that’s a whole other discussion.) It's a different type of wounding when someone who can more than afford to stay at home chooses to throw hundreds of dollars at a business that is non-essential (who can't be bothered to pay me a living wage) and complains to me about how they can't go out to dinner. Like. Dude. How tone deff can you be? 

    Sometimes people realize their kinda acting fucked up on their own accidentally and it's kinda funny. I had a customer say to me the other day "Ya know it's a shame that you can't get the vaccine. Because you're not an essential worker.....but.....you're....here." Reader, it is the funniest thing to watch someone have an epiphany. This old woman really came to terms with the fact that her participation in the company I work at during a pandemic hinders me and my coworkers health. And it was nice to see someone sit with that for 5 minutes before continuing to live her life unchanged.

  I feel torn typing this. One part of me thinks I’m being too sensitive, and another is very confident in the fact that watching others have while I am left greatly lacking (and consistently assisting in their having and getting barated in the process) is bound to affect me somehow. That's just human nature right? Cause and effect? And for the most part I take it in stride. People are mean to me, they have money, I don't, whatever. Once a month I'll have a little cry about how hard it is to live like this and move on. But, when you sprinkle in the fact that I have to risk my health to go to a job that doesn't pay me enough to assist people who continuously reveal their lax grip on reality by complaining about how the pandemic is over and they should be able to do whatever they want I'm gonna be butt hurt. End of story.

stay safe & slutty xoxo,

 sarah L