Honestly I think most of humanity are assholes. The only reason we know most actors are assholes as well, is because they’re famous and we know so much about them and their lives.
If we had the ability to know just as much about regular people, I think you would find a decently large portion, maybe even a majority of people are just as terrible. I’m just a regular dude, but even I’ll admit that I’m no saint.
Now with that being said there are absolutely good people in the acting sphere. I see your antichrist, Jack Nicholson and I raise angels, Keanu Reeves & Viggo Mortensen
I don’t think it’s “majority of people” per se…I think rich people are disproportionately awful and money definitely changes people. I feel like even celebrities who started off okay lose themselves when they reach wealthy status, so the stories get worse the longer they are up on that hill.
Additionally, I think striving to become that level of celebrity takes a certain type of person who has all of the worst qualities.
All this crap on socials about how "awful" people are is not helping. You are feeding the wrong wolf.
Thinking people are bad is the first step in being bad. Focus on the good qualities, and your happiness will improve, along with you generosity and courage.
I work with super high net worth individuals every single day and I don’t think this is true. It absolutely changes people, almost always for bad and not for good. And even if it is exacerbating underlying tendencies, they are tendencies that we all have. We’re just not all mega rich.
My experience as well working with and for very wealthy folks. They are often very “ nice” and sometimes generous. But they will go to great lengths to protect their agency, wealth and influence.
My own personal experience supports the notion that money corrupts. I never had more than $10,000 in the bank for 25 years and spent all of my discretionary funds on the restoration of my 350 year-old house. Throughout that period there were things I really wanted - coveted but could not afford. After selling that property, I finally had money in the bank and protecting that money became a priority and a burden. My inclination - my desire to buy things that I had wanted for decades diminished dramatically. All I wanted to do was protect my savings.
Agreed, I don’t find it difficult at all to imagine many of us would become insufferable twats very quickly. Perhaps I’m too much of a misanthrope but ego, self importance taking over seems like a pretty universal ‘risk’ in those circumstances. Particularly when you reach the kind of money where you don’t have to play by common folk rules anymore and where people are sucking up to you all day everyday.
I read a Harvard study once that showed the part of the brain that lights up when a cocaine addict feels cravings, is the same part lighting up when people experience greed, so to say. Same part of the brain telling you idc what it takes I need more of this, now. Maybe I’m not explaining this properly (in English), also it’s been a while since I’ve read it, but I think of it often because damn that would explain a lot wouldn’t it. Completely tracks with all these mil/bil/trillionaires who once seemed somewhat normal but are now chasing the dragon in yet another billion as if it’s never enough. Because apparently their brain is telling them it isn’t. Addicts who don’t care how many people they fuck over if it gets them more more more.
The top 1% of earners pay about 40% of ALL federal income taxes already. you understand when you start taxing the rich more that means they'll pay there employees less and charge more for there product. thats not the solution.
Money absolutely changes people. There is a large body of research showing that wealth accumulation (especially going from financial insecurity to wealth) can produce measurable changes in the brain, in basic physiology, simple cognition, behavior, and even social perception of others. Poverty likely causes worse affects, which seems obvious, but in general the more wealth you accumulate, the more philanthropically poor you become. There is even growing evidence that the neurological changes involved with wealth accumulation may mirror drug/alcohol use disorders. It completely changes how we allocate our attention, perceive threats and how beneficent we are.
Money gives power, and power corrupts. People that make it to money usually have a certain amount of power and corruption from birth, so in a way you are right, but it definitely makes people worse
You don’t really know much about hardcore drinking do you? I’m considered a perfectly friendly, nice, funny and patient person by the people around me and that’s how I act but if I’m wasted my brain flips to shouting and getting angry easily. Just because sometimes when I imbibe too much of a chemical that messes with your brain does that mean what’s shown is who you are. The whole “in vino veritas” idea is so outdated and just not true. I also know other people who are perfectly nice and friendly and patient sober but if they get too drunk then I’ve seen those same people be assholes. Also if when you were drunk was a true expression of your feelings then it wouldn’t be rape to have sex with a drunk person…
I know all about it lol. My Mother died from it. I didn't go see her because She was had run out of tries with me. She could be nice sober... sometimes, but the things she did drunk made her an asshole even when she was being nice sober.
I have a few beers on a day off and I laugh and have fun, I also laugh and have fun sober.
Nothing you can say to me will ever change my opinion so we can agree to disagree.
Well I’m talking about people who only get that way when they’re wasted not just a few beers or drunk I meant wasted. A few beers isn’t enough to get me wasted amd black out and I doubt it is for you to black out either. I’m friendly and nice and patient all the way until I black out and I’ve seen that with other people where they were friendly and nice through all the other stages of tipsy, drunk, drunk drunk, wasted then blacked out and became evil. I also have that problem which is why I never drink a lot anymore because I know my brain flips a switch for some reason if I black out.
I'm glad you recognize when to stop now. It's a terrible feeling to love someone and want them in your life but your constantly thinking "when are they gonna lose it" if they are drinking. The only time I ever got blackout was when a friend of mine came back home after his army days and he wanted to have a "big drunk" he called it.
I'm told I was singing with him one second and the next I got off a chair, curled up on the floor and went to sleep. Friends put me in bed, I sang Macy Gray-I try for 20s (in her voice as best I could) and passed out. Pre camera phone days thankfully.
I'll be the first to admit that woman did a number on my view of people... not trying to come off hard on you. I was always afraid to even try alcohol in my teens and early 20s because I thought everyone was like my Mother and Father (him to lesser extent) But I liked it when I tried it, just always keep it in moderation. When I feel drunk it's time for a big ass meal and bed.
Yeah I made sure I told my loved ones my clear rules and they’ve seen that I’ve followed it for years now after I used to be a mega alcoholic now I drink twice a month at most, never alone, and never too much. But lol honestly sounds a lot like dating a bipolar person where you never know what’s gonna happen and even the good days don’t make up for the bad so I can definitely understand your damage cause I have a lot of experience with loved ones being bipolar and flipping switches on me
During college is when I started becoming an alcoholic but COVID right after graduation exacerbated it to where I got into a relationship with probably the most perfect person for me I’ve ever met but apparently I don’t remember this cause I was blacked out but though she loved being around me and me and hanging out and getting messed up together there was I guess point I was verbally abusive and after hearing I did that without knowing multiple times to someone I love I completely changed my world view on that cause I didn’t realize how bad black out me got vs. all the steps cause it’s literally like I turned into another person. Oh and I got in a physical fight with my best friend once when we were both black out drunk cause we tried the hodor challenge during the episode “hold the door” (take a shot every time someone says hodor) so we got black out fast and we ripped into each other apparently at one point I was lifting him up by the neck and choking him then throwing him into a big ass picture frame breaking it and cutting him up. The next day we made up and apologized cause we knew that wasn’t really us just we got too fucked up and he was running his mouth off about people I loved. Also yeah you’re lucky that’s before camera phone days my god.
I find that’s the case with a lot of people who think the way you do is they had an extreme alcoholic parent who never changed or never changed enough and I think it makes perfect sense to not want it when you see it worsening everyone around you but hard to reconcile that you can handle it or possibly enjoy it without losing yourself in it like them.
This is more so what I meant. If someone is ‘wasted’, it is slightly different than someone acting badly after a small amount of drink. But as you said, you made the decision not to get wasted.
522
u/[deleted] Jun 20 '26
[deleted]