
The Problem with Delhi's Rich Kids - gdilla
http://blogs.wsj.com/indiarealtime/2013/08/18/the-problem-with-delhis-rich-kids/
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nadeemk
I grew up in Delhi in a middle class family but I went to a school full of
kids from Upper middle class to filthy rich families. The kids who came from
old money families were actually fairly down-to-earth and some of them have
worked hard to build their own businesses and startup (of course, having a
cushion to fall back makes it easy to take risks but still, it still admirable
to have the desire to do something on your own.) But then there were kids from
the 'new money' families born out of the new economic boom. These were the
ones who drove daddy's expensive cars, flirted with prostitution, drove
through traffic stop lights (like it was an inconvenience for them) at full
speed.

The thing is that this breed exists in every city in the world - what
exacerbates the situation in Delhi is that they don't have any regard for law
and order. Couple that with the relatively weak and easily bribed police force
- you have these kids running over pedestrians and getting away with it,
shooting waitresses in the head when they deny them drinks after closing time
(as an extreme example)

I don't care about their depression problems, a good ass whooping can fix
that, I care about the unsafe environment they create in the city.

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vdaniuk
> I don't care about their depression problems, a good ass whooping can fix
> that

While I agree that the behaviour you wrote about is reprehensible, please do
not trivialize depression. Perhaps if their mental health issues were easier
to treat, their impact on the society would be more positive, dont you think
so?

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rossjudson
I think his point is that these people aren't depressed; they're enabled
sociopaths.

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xradionut
They are still children, that never had to grow up.

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mixmastamyk
Not surprised. Humans have evolved during times of scarcity and are most
productive and happy in that situation. When one has zero needs, wants, goals,
life loses its purpose.

It takes focus and delayed gratification to create such purpose, however.
These values are not immediately apparent to young people. The article is
correct that they must be taught by parents or perhaps even society. That is,
if we want well-off young people to make themselves useful earlier.

~~~
Florin_Andrei
It's as if we require an optimal amount of adversity (which is not zero), on
every level, in order to be at our best. Too much and we snap like twigs. Too
little, and we get these depressed rich kids - the yearning to achieve, to
overcome, is frustrated for not finding anything to get traction against, and
the motivational mechanisms withdraw their participation.

If true, this has enormous implications for education in general. I'm thinking
of all the trophies my kids got in school just for showing up.

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xfax
Not sure how this is uniquely applicable to Delhi. Sounds like this would be
an issue pretty much anywhere in the world.

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rayiner
The rich are more disconnected from everyone else in India than pretty much
anywhere else in the world, especially a place like the U.S. that worships the
middle class. Many rich people in India don't even think of poor people as
human, and that's shockingly culturally accepted.

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lotsofcows
First world problems...

One of the biggest culture shocks I experienced in Delhi was going to the
cinema (Die Hard 3, I think). Almost every member of the audience talked on
the 'phone the whole way through. The conversations always started, "I'm in
the cinema..." and then "deteriorated" into social gossip.

~~~
xradionut
I nearly got into a fight with an Indian, that did not understand, despite
multiple official and individual warnings, that talking on a phone in the
theater in the US,(except in the hood), is not acceptable behavior... But a
pitcher of beer in your lap may be an acceptable reward!

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startupstella
My college (im sure like many others) had a bunch of rich international
students from India. I found them to be hard working, ambitious, and generally
down to earth. Perhaps it was because they were well traveled and had a will
to surpass their family's wealth with their own stamp on the world. Many had
also done a lot more community service than American peers in much more
squalid conditions...they also seemed to be more attune to their (screwed up)
political system.

In short, just like the other comments, I don't think this rich kid ennui is
just in India...or Delhi

~~~
xradionut
International students or business folks usually are fascinated to talk with.
But I think the article isn't about these people, but the children that have
been brought up in a "bubble" where they had no real responsibilities.

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codemac
> “Modern society is rational and rigid, whereas postmodern society is
> irrational and flexible by definition. Delhi transformed into a postmodern
> society about two decades ago. Naturally the behavior of kids born in the
> postmodern era reflects the postmodern culture,” he said.

This quote confused me. I don't want to get into the freshman in a university
discussion of the merits of different cultural values..

but when did Dehli become "post-modern"? Is this a phrase people use often?
What types of changes happened 20 years ago? It's like this quote is hinting
at a much larger social discussion, and then immediately they didn't discuss
it.

This article left me completely wanting, and read like some unfinished first
draft. Yes rich kids can much more easily get spoiled, and the term "spoiled"
does have some literal meaning. It was almost as if the point of the article
was to let me know rich people exist in India? Duh?

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kamakazizuru
same thing in Bombay, Bangalore, Calcutta. Essentially first world problems.
Though I have to say I always felt that Delhi had a higher proportion of new
rich than cities with older wealth like Bombay - and it was something very
obvious when you were in the city.

