Last week, the grand prize for the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office’s (PCSO) 6/58 Lotto Draw surpassed the billion-peso mark, which the institution has referred to as a “historic moment”. The news spread like wildfire, and before long, lotto outlets were swarmed by people from all walks of life. It’s hard to blame them; who would’t want to instantly win PhP 1.18 billion? Granted, 20% of that will be deducted for tax under the new TRAIN law, but the reduced amount of PhP 944 million is still a boatload of money. So I repeat, it’s hard to blame those who participate in… legalized gambling.
People are taught that money isn’t everything, money can’t buy you happiness, and a lot of other similar-sounding phrases and words of wisdom. To certain degree, I agree with lines of thinking such as this. Money can never give you full satisfaction in life, and even those who have it all aren’t immune to hollow, empty feelings that plague humans since the dawn of time. Money should never be the end-game, nor should it be the only reason why we are passionately doing what we do. But we also can’t deny that these legal tenders tend to play a huge role in our lives, not just in the bigger picture of things, but also in our day-to-day grind.
It doesn’t need much explanation, we can see the need to have money daily — how are we supposed to eat without it, go to places of work and play without, or look stunning in designer clothes without it? Money really talks, but regardless how talkative it is, money is also not easy to obtain. The difficulty in obtaining money increases even further when you are born penniless. Some of the privileged ones still need to grind in order to pay bills and buy what they want, but they already had a head start — they were fortunate enough to have old money that sent them to school which helped in securing the job they currently have, or in the business they currently own.
The same can’t be said with people living within or below the poverty line. They have to hustle and grind twice, or maybe even thrice as much for them to engage in basic human activities such as, you know, eating a meal. These people live for today, hoping they can get by on this day, and worry about the next day when it arrives. They don’t care for life insurance, or vacations, or investments and things like that; they don’t even know if they’ll survive long enough for insurances to matter. What’s important is that they have money to buy food on the same day money was acquired. And often, for the tinderas, the drivers, the construction workers, there is no daily guarantee how much money will be acquired, or if there will even be any money acquisition that’s going to happen today.
Why am I still mentioning this? This rich-poor dichotomy has already been discussed in all mediums, by all kinds of people everyday. This topic should have run its course by now, right?
There are still people thinking that the poor are what they are because they don’t work hard enough. There are still people who victim blame others for getting mistreated by foreigners because they chose to work abroad instead of looking for jobs locally. There are still preachy people who think people should just word hard instead of betting on luck in the lottery as an instant way of getting rich.
While people like these still exist, I feel there is a need to bring up the comparisons on what is like that have a lot of money versus not having anything at all.
It is unfortunate that remarks like the ones previously mentioned still prevail in the minds of people, even the educated ones. These lines of thought come from a position of privilege, and the ones saying them usually have no idea what it’s like to be on the other side of the fence. They use their own experiences and circumstances as standards, and project them to others. Sure, these standards might have worked for them, but like a lot of things in life, there is no single correct way to do things. What was effective for you doesn’t mean it’s effective for me, and vice versa. We may ind kindred spirits whose experiences mimic ours, but that still isn’t a reason to impose what you know and what you think is best on others.
To say that the poor are poor because they don’t work hard is a disrespect to them and is telling of the kind of person making those ignorant remarks (looking at you, certain social media influencer whose name I won’t mention so you won’t get clout from me). You don’t have to look for to see just how hard the masa works. Look around, jeepney drivers braving the roads for more than 12 hours a day; or the vegetable vendor at the market screaming at people to entice them to buy her produce. That’s grinding if you ask me.
Victim blaming mistreated OFW’s because they’d rather work in other countries instead of at home is exorbitantly ignorant. Why do people think OFW’s leave the country where there families live to work abroad? Because it’s fun and full rainbows and butterflies in other countries? No, it’s because they don’t have a choice. They couldn’t find stable jobs locally, forcing them to look for work elsewhere. They can go from one company to another and send resumes as much as they want, but some things are out of their control — lack of education, lack of skills, lack of backers, or all of the above. They are merely victims of circumstance.
The last point brings us back to the our intro. People should really stop giving others so much crap for trying their luck with lotto tickets. A case can be made for the lazy ones who ask others for money to buy the tickets. But if you’ve ever been around outlets that sell lotto tickets, it’s not hard to see that even those with stable jobs wait in line to buy tickets. It’s not like they’re not working to earn money, but the lotto is an opportunity to change your life in a spit second. They aren’t quitting their jobs and make betting their only means of livelihood. It’s just a backup plan, and whilst the chances of winning are very slim (1 in 40 million), it’s still a non-zero chance and people should go for it if they want to and can afford to do so. As Han Solo said in Star Wars: A New Hope… “Never tell me the odds”.
Money isn’t everything, but it sure is essential for surviving in the modern world. There are obviously multiple ways of doing so, but as long as people are earning money in legal ways, others are in no position to interfere. Just do what you do, and let others do what they do. Sure, suggestions and advise is certainly welcome, but try to not get all judgmental. Do not impose your visions of “what should be” to other people’s “what is” — both are often thought of as the same, but in reality they are two entirely different things.
patrickkennan.com 