Welcome to Fluther :)

To many people, the rich seem to be an elite group of people. They often get special treatment. Many times, it seems the laws of the land are more lax for the wealthy. Rich people usually have more power. People often idolize those with more power. Wealth can mean a better “gene pool” for some people. People with more money tend to have “better” education because they can afford to. Whereas poor people can be seen as less than, lazy, inintelligent and worthless to those who have more money. Being poor isn’t exactly what most people aspire to.

I’m not sure I’d use the term “respect” to describe it. Maybe idolize or giving preferential treatment are closer terms.

These days, I think that most of the people who look up to rich people ..are other rich people (and young adults).

My answer is brief as I need to leave shortly.

In our culture there’s an assumption that if you’re poor, it’s because you’re not doing something right. We like to believe that anybody with enough resourcefulness, work ethic and moral rectitude can get what passes for “success” in these parts. So if you’re noticeably lacking in the external markers of “success”, then you must be not just broke, but broken.

That’s BS of course, but that’s the message constantly being broadcast by the money machine.

Welcome to Fluther! I think what you are saying is a generalization. I don’t think it is true that everyone respects the rich more than the poor, nor should they.

Secularly, people figure that if you’re rich, you know what you’re doing in life more than people who don’t. Which is the same idea that you don’t want someone with a tons of bad relationships and 5 divorces giving you relationship advice, you want the person who had a few long-term relationships before finally meeting that one perfect person before 30 and then settled down to give you relationship advice. You follow who you want to be, not who you don’t want to be.
Historically, most rulers had some kind of “divine right” thing going on – the idea that God (or whatever deity we’re talking about) wanted the person who was king to be king and rich and powerful, and the nobles to be noble and wealthy and powerful, and didn’t particularly care for the poor people. Various religions have different justifications for why being rich makes one superior; for example, in Calvinism (a Christian denomination), people believe that because God is all-powerful and all-knowing, he’s known if you were going to hell since the beginning of time and there’s nothing you can do to save yourself – but that those who are going to heaven are also blessed on Earth (via wealth, primarily), so if someone’s rich, it means they’re in good with God. Plus, the people who have the money are also the ones creating the message (especially the written message, which is more powerful and has greater longevity than the spoken message), so they tend to spin it in their favor with very little real opposition.

I don’t see that in my neck of the world at all. Perhaps more so the opposite as I see the “have not’s” pick away at the “have’s” and all their advantages they perceive the “have’s” to have.

Just last night at our Scout meeting I listened to one dad bitch and moan about the widening gap between the rich and poor and it was anything but glowing commentary.

I disagree if this assumption that people respect the rich more than they do the poor.
I think it totally depends on the company you are in. When I am with my grassroot activist friends, I wouldn’t mention the fact that my aunt has three cars.

I once worked for a man who lost more betting on one round of golf than his best paid empolyee made in a year! I considered that rather disgusting.

Because respecting someone with possessions might bring them something.

Status. To the human animal, status is everything. We all want, whether we are aware of it or not, to have people like us and pay attention to us and give us things and want to be with us. Money is a stand-in for status, although it is not synonymous with status. People respect those of high status. Since the rich are generally of high status, they get more respect.

The poor, on the other hand, are of low status, and so get little respect. However, within their own communities, there are those who are more respected than others.

It’s an interesting question (gq) and I can only tell you how I feel. I might respect a rich person more because, unless they inherited their wealth, they must have been pretty smart or lucky or both to have achieved their position. I generally admire achievers, probably because I personally am goal oriented. I would not disrespect a poor person just because they are poor, again if they are skilled or have achieved knowledge, but are not interested in material rewards, then that is their choice. The people I don’t particularly respect (and I’m sure they could care less how I feel) are those rich or poor, who have no goals, who don’t strive to be better, who languish in the status quo. I am not saying they are not good people, I can’t judge that, I am simply saying they are not the sort of folks I would want to befriend.

I wonder if people really “respect” the rich, or just cater to their wishes and brownnose. Not all of them, but many of them come across (or seem to come across) as entitled, and for me, my first reaction is to just let them have their space and way because the conflict if I don’t, is just not worth the battle. I want to save my energy for battles that mean something or can have productive ends.
As for making a rich person really, really mad… they have more connections and access to ‘powers’ that make your life difficult for you. So maybe it’s more ‘fear’ than ‘respect?’

I can only speak for my own experience and I do not respect people purely based on their financial situation. As @CaptainHarley suggested, I also worked with people who would bet $20,000 plus on a horse without batting an eyelid and yet wouldn’t approve a pay rise for an underpaid person. In contrast, I have known people who have nothing financially but spend hours working with their community to improve the lives of others. I personally try to judge people based on who they show themselves to be through their actions rather than their position in life or financial status.

@Bellatrix

The rich often forget the source of their wealth, and forget to be humble. Seems like money is its own reward, and people who have it tend to put their faith in it.

People respect the accomplishment. Jesus and Gandhi earned a lot of respect and they were poor. Gates and Buffett earned a lot of respect and they are rich.