lesson learned

so i learned a valuable lesson tonight. or maybe i was reminded of something that i kind of already knew. the perceived need for money can be a powerful influencer on people. 

it can make them think they need to befriend an individual when they really don't. it can cause them to see people who they at least perceive to have money as being users and manipulators -- as people who think they are better than others and therefore use their money to get what they want. it can make them feel that they are free to be abused because they think they have to put up with the abuse to benefit from the largesse. it's sad really that the hunger for money can so skew the way people see themselves and see others in the world around them. 

what's even sadder is that in many cases all of the scenarios i described are true for some people. some people with money do think it makes them better than other people and entitles them to use and treat people as objects for their own gratification. 

the question becomes in both cases, "how do you know what type of person you're dealing with?" is the person before you a genuine person who truly wants to be your friend or is it someone who sees you as someone that will bring them financial benefit and so ultimately will resent you for the misperceived power they feel you now have over their lives? is the person someone who truly thought you were friends, cares about you and hopes for your well being or is it someone who just wants to use their financial advantage to insinuate himself into your life and burden you with his problems and issues?

it's a dilemma. which perception of the individual do you choose to believe? i've seen it from personal experience. i can only speak from one side of that dynamic. and in that case, the other individual chose wrong. still, hopefully, we'll both be the wiser for it.