Don't become what you hate

Balladeer Tom Robinson wrote a song called “Yuppy Scum” which starts with a trio of teenagers just out of school. Every night they sit on a bench and when the rich people come out of the nearby Station Inn they moon at them and chant

“Yuppy Scum, Smug and Dumb. The richer they are the dumber they get. As they grow older they all forget”

The song follows the trio though their career end ends with the singer saying

“And every night, Sergeant, when we come out of the Station Inn those little arseholes drop their pants and chant Yuppy Scum, Smug and Dumb. The richer they are the dumber they get. As they grow older they all forget”

I have been fascinated by the phenomenon of becoming what you hate or oppose.

History is full of examples of Freedom Fighters turned dictators. Most are left wing because right wingers are, on average more honest about wanting to be dictators. Lenin, Stalin, Mao, Pol Pot spring instantly to mind. Neither Hitler nor Pinochet pretended to be, or were, left wing freedom fighters. Nor did Margaret Thatcher. It may be that revolutions are led by Authoritarian leaders directing Authoritarian followers , or that once in power a fear of counter revolution takes over. Knowing how they came to power the new leader fears others are doing the same and takes measures to stop them. Or it may be that once you have your backside in the seat of power things are harder than expected and the leader takes the easy path of suppressing dissent, rather than using it as a form of advise that can complement their weaknesses.

George Orwell summarised this process in “Animal Farm” where the animals revolt and drive out the humans. The pigs, the most intelligent apart from the Donkey Benjamin, who wisely keeps his knowledge to himself, take over the farm. And slowly the farm becomes a dictatorship. In the final scene the animals watcht he pigs drinking with the humans driven out at the start and see the features of the pigs turn human.

The Who put it even more concisely in their song “Wont Get Fooled Again”

“Aint the new boss just like the old boss?”

It is well known that people tend to turn into the parent of the same sex. Man turn into their fathers and find themselves yelling the same things their father yelled at them at their kids, or if they have dughters the same thing their father yelled at his sisters. Women have the same problem. The responsibility of having children makes you risk averse. You think of the things you did as a kid that could have got you killed or jailed and worry that they will be equally stupid but less lucky.

The world is full of those who start on a spiritual path, perhaps as a reaction to poverty, and then make money and become the materialists they hated. Gurus that build a cult and then fleets of cars and boats seem common. Some are notorious for preying sexually on their followers, and others seek to dictate the lives of the followers down to the last detail. Indeed I have heard it said that the Pilgrim Fathers fled Europe to escape religious persecution and then persecute others. In Christian terms Satan prefers to seduce those who could be saints.

I have absolutely no objections to wealth though, merely caution about the effect achieving wealth has on the recipient. If any one feels they have too much wealth and it is damaging them spiritually please feel free to contact me and transfer this excess wealth to me. I will happily eat your sin.