The Difference Of Being Rich And Poor

I was taking a stroll in Lorong Kulit (also known as Road Walk or 'Rowok' to Penangites) together with some friends this morning, looking at goods that ranges between good, interesting or just plain weird, when a thought suddenly crossed my mind. What prompted all these people to sell these copied and generic version of boots, jerseys (I bought the latest Man United jersey anyway, couldn't resist it mate :p), toothpaste and toothbrush (yes, these too...), some antics stuff like the charcoal iron and lots more. Some people would view this place with disgust and contempt. "Why would I want to buy PIRATED stuffs here, when I can get my Prada, Nike and Adidas in a shopping mall, where there's aircond and Nando's to eat when I am hungry?", they would say.

Suddenly, like a divine light shining thru the sky, I was enlightened as to why this kind of problem persists in our society today. The answer is, because of the huge gap between the rich and the poor, the haves and the have-nots. I mean, I consider myself belonging to the middle class in the social ladder, but I would still not buy a whole closet of Man United merchandise even though I am a self-proclaimed die-hard fan of the club. The reason? I don't think I can afford to do that, not if I am planning to have a better life in the future. And I can imagine people who are less fortunate than I, but still want to look good or enjoy the niceties of life thinking the same thing. But where else could they turn to? The commercial world today has spin the notion that the prizes for goods that we are buying is worth it, because of the brand and the face that endorses it. All this is just marketing ploy, which is just plain bullshit to me. But now I understand, that 'pirates' are doing some service to the people. Where the middle class and rich and go to GSC and watch GI Joe on a big screen, the poor family have to settle for a pasar malam VCD copy. Hey, if I am poor and I have kids, I wouldn't want them to suffer the humiliation of not knowing what their peers are talking about in school, right? And isn't enjoying the nice things in life is a right that everyone should enjoy?

As I left the place, I was perplexed as well as confused. How can society promotes the law to stamp down piracy without going down to its roots? And the root of all this, is poverty. Most ills and crimes in society can be traced back to poverty and the government (who by the way, has millionaires and billionaires as Cabinet Ministers) is doing all they can to make sure that the poor remain poor and the rich become richer.

Sigh. What a cruel world we are living in.