So I’m not greedy, and that makes you mad?

I didn’t know that me not being greedy could piss off a stranger. Really. I can think back to a several situations when strangers have been openly disappointed with me that I didn’t exploit my fame to get rich. Here I am today, perplexed by these random people who’ve crossed my path over the past five years.

I’m not talking about young greedy people who think materials are fashionable etc. I’m talking about adults who appear smart and well-balanced.; One minute we’ll be talking about socially-conscious current events, and the next minute they are reprimanding me for not getting paid. You can disregard “greed” as being subjective moral territory, but you can’t argue that social behavior like that is rational. It’s simply impolite.

Here’s an example. I met one lady on a cross-country flight while sitting in first class, and she was openly disgusted that I—in her words—“didn’t get paid.” She shook her head in silence, looking at me with a mix of pity and disbelief. I felt so awkward that I quickly explained that it wasn’t worth writing a trashy tell-all book because I knew in the end, it would’ve required that I exploit my roommates. And quite frankly, you have no chance at being a real author of respectable books if you compile a piece of trash like that. It’s like she didn’t even hear me. She was still disgusted that I watched my boat of cash float to someone else standing on the beach of greed.

Just because you can make money doing something doesn’t mean that you should. The end doesn’t justify the means. Strippers think that they are actually winning by undressing in public. So what if you make a thousand dollars in a night? Is that worth losing the respect of every male in the room? Without respect, you are one hour away from being forgotten, raped, or beaten. Period.

I know greed is real. Greed moves a lot of wheels in this society. I just figured that along the way, most adults realize that greed is destructive and ultimately useless.; Plus, it’s socially cumbersome to be greedy. Nobody likes self-serving person.

I don’t know. I don’t have this figured out. I’m just here, sitting behind my computer, staring at my blinking cursor, trying to moralize this story—or at least bring some clarity. But I can’t. I just can’t understand such greed.