Can’t buy me class

When I was young (not that I’m old now) I always thought that “wealthy people” is synonymous to “classy people”.

I am happy to say that I have met a lot of wealthy people who are very well mannered and who treats everybody equally. I admired one person in particular. His name is Hilario G. Davide Jr.. Yes, he was the 20th Chief Justice of the Philippines and head of the Judicial Branch of government from November 1998 to December 2005. I was invited to an intimate dinner with his family and friends one evening. That was the first and only time that I met him in person. The experience was one of the most surreal moments of my life.

He, his wife and children ( I met his daughter through the foundation where I worked before and which she supported) were very good hosts. I even participated in the dinner conversation. We talked about Dan Brown’s sensational novel The Da Vinci Code. I was absolutely thrilled to participate in a classy (I can’t find any fitting word to describe it) discussion. I will treasure that experience forever.

And then I decided to try my luck in another country (and sadly I am still here now).

I work for a company owned by a very wealthy family. There, I was exposed to the other side of the coin. I can only shake my head in disgust and disbelief. I saw one family member picking up candy on a dirty floor and popped it into her mouth (ugh). One member after using the washroom, picked up a book, lick his fingers and flipped through the pages (double uggh). They gossip about other people less fortunate than them. They talked about their golds and diamonds and how others can’t afford them. They screamed at a person who displeased them. Please remember that all of these people are grown-ups. The list is long but I can’t force myself to write about them all.

Sigh. Now I know that you really cannot buy good breeding…..