The Epstein Class

 I always thought rich people were weird. But were they weird to begin with or did the money make it happen? People who don't have money are fascinated by those who do. Wealth almost immediately brings both fear and respect. 

Way back in grade school, there was a Greek girl in my class that I'll call Gina because that was her name and, let's face it, if you were going to make up a name for a Greek girl, it would probably be "Gina". Gina lived in a mansion. You could not not know this because she would remind us almost daily, "I live in a mansion!" Like seemingly all Greeks, her dad and his brothers were in the restaurant business. They were popular, very nice places in the western suburbs, which really meant nothing to us kids because we were more interested in candy stores. And it was a mansion. Italianate, I'd guess, with a corner lot extending from one street to the next in a part of town where the lots were already the deepest. One day, a bunch of us were invited to play 'tackle pon pon' in the side lot. The scope of that was to toss the football to a girl, tackle her, and maybe cop a feel when you took her down- if you dared. I didn't dare. I made the cut on the invitation and as I recall, I made the second cut on who could stay after the pon pon. I don't recall what happened after that. Maybe an orgy? Long time ago. 

I wasn't thrilled to make the cut. I felt bad for the kids she pointed at and told to leave. Gina was trying to break into the cool kids. I was one of them, but I didn't know why. I don't recall if any of us were allowed into the house. Maybe there was a third cut that I didn't make? All I remember is, Gina never cracked the cool kid clique and me, George, Timmy and Joel would egg her mansion pretty much every Friday night, for some time to come. Sixth grade justice, I guess.

Later in life I would get into the restaurant business myself- as a bartender- and ran across a lot of rich people. I'm thinking of a rich guy right now who I absolutely cannot place by name or by face, who used to frequent the restaurant I worked at in town. He was obnoxious and cheap. Not a good tipper, if he tipped at all. But the waitresses would fawn all over him simply because he was rich. Never got that. Some people just have lust in their souls for the rich man's gold. They like the proximity to wealth, hoping that some of that good fortune will rub off on them. A clue to me was that the guy wasn't even a decent tipper. What was his value to anyone who made their living as server? Perhaps that is a different stratum of greed that I was in? You don't do anything for me, so fuck you? Well, no. The way I saw it, tips either happened or they didn't. I treated everyone like they treated me, whether that would be good, bad or indifferent. It all paid the same!

Some rich people flaunt their money and people like to see that. Everyone enjoys the trappings of money, the homes, cars and trophy wives to be shown off. They even like the murders and other crimes rich people commit. Human trafficking amongst the Epstein Class is far more interesting than pimping in the ghetto. Same crime, but when you fancy it up with art, jewelry and well-known names, it gets a lot more interesting even though the crime is the same nasty business. It's just better somehow? More palatable even though still horrific? 

The world knows what Epstein did, as well as the names of the men who did it with him. We know how despicably abhorrent Trump is, not only on the facts of the case, but on the way he openly behaves. Only the dumbest minions can deny and defend him. Money attracts the best of the worst of lawyers though, and the Epstein class has that well-covered. It's more that lawyers, guns and money, however. It is in the minds of some of us far below the Epstein Class, that says that maybe these people- so far above our pay grade- maybe that's just how the rich live? One of the perks? You have so much money, what is the soiling of a few 14-year-old doves? Boys will be boys, right? And rich men will be rich. The rich- they are not like us. 

There is no justice for the victims. No punishment for the predators. It's just the continuing saga of the lifestyles of the rich and famous. It always has been. No eggs on their faces or their homes.