I rode with a politician years ago in one of his many posh cars. We rode past a suburb and found many a peasant in their misery and poverty. The panes were dark tinted and wound up. There was no reason to wind them down because the car was only a few days old and the air conditioner was in perfect order. The tinted glass seemed to me like the gulf separating the rich man and Lazarus in paradise.

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“Sir,” I said suddenly, “how do you big men feel whenever you drive past poor people like these?”

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“Japheth,” he responded with a smirk spread upon his face, “do you want an honest answer?”

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I gave him the nod.

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“You see, the fact that we have and they don’t is what makes wealth so beautiful. It makes no sense when everyone is made rich. We are not meant to be equal.”

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Grimacing, I told him he did not only sound disdainful and conceited, he was also being resentful and less concerned over the plights of the downtrodden.

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“You should know sir that even if you feel that all men were not meant to be equal, it shouldn’t be expressly uttered in the manner that you just did. You are only privileged sir and..”

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“Japheth, we need not argue over this. You said you wanted an honest answer, and I gave it to you. As a politician, I know exactly what you wanted to hear but if I had told you, you would have said it wasn’t an honest answer. You would have said it was because I am a politician. Do you think actors are the only people who could act? No, no, no. We politicians act better. I could begin to cry in your presence and pretend that I care about the plights of the people and you might be tempted to believe that I indeed care. But I gave you an honest answer Japheth; an honest one.”

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I heaved a sigh. He went on smoothly;

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“The poor always think that the rich hate them with a passion but I must tell you the truth, the reverse is the case. It is the poor who hate the rich with intense passion. The rich do not hate them as much. Too bad they hate themselves even more but the rich don’t. The rich introduce themselves to their children, exchange ideas and explore greater heights but the poor can’t do that for themselves. If you get very rich now and decide to still hang out with the poor people you knew before, they will kill you with envy. They only want to hear the bad things that happen to you, the battles you did not win and the calamity that you continually drag with you. They can’t sell an idea to you but if you do sell one to them, they will betray you. Betrayal is more common amongst the poor than it is amongst the rich.”

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I said there were still good people amongst the poor.

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“Yes,” he agreed. “There are quite a handful of them truly but one other problem with the poor is that they can never be satisfied.  No matter what you do for them, they will still find a reason to complain. They hate us and also hate themselves. That is the most painful thing about them. They are aggressive and intolerant. They think you owe them because you are privileged to be rich..”

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He went on nonstop. Finally, he said something I will never forget. “Japheth; if I give you this car and you drive it home, only a few poor people will come to congratulate you. But if after a period of one month, the news breaks out that the car has been stolen, they will all come to empathize with you. That is the trademark of the poor; empathy!”

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I was to know a few days later that he was right to an extent. I was chauffeured in a limo for the very first time and that experience brought to the fore that indeed there is a deep-rooted hatred buried in the heart of many a poor person; so deep it could consume everyone in a sweep.

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That limo-ride experience which can be found in the subsequent chapter opened my eyes to a lot of things…

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THE WILDERNESS EXPERIENCE by Japheth Prosper