Ode to social resentment

I still remember the first time I was called a social resentment. I was at a college friend's house and we were talking about school. It all started because one of the guys who was there made a "joke", insinuating that everyone in Puente Alto was a delinquent (without knowing that I was from there). As fighting was not an option nor did it interest me, I laughed in his face and told him that it was easy to talk about others when you are born with innumerable privileges. 

Social resentment is a term used by rich people for those of us who were born in poor parts of the country, and we feel anger for frequently not having the same opportunities as those who were born in golden cradles, with parents with power and influence. Honestly, how can you not feel anger against those who have always had everything? How can you be indifferent, when they treat you and your people like criminals just for being born in a certain place? 

I am tired of always hearing that I am where I am "despite" being from Puente Alto. Being categorized as one of "the good guys" from the place where I was born, as Adam Kirk points out, as if, unlike me, the rest are some kind of pest to be fought. 

It's draining seeing people from my locality having to try three times harder than those who were more fortunate at my university just because their parents aren't lawyers, or because they don't come from elite bilingual schools. 

Moreover, I am tired of lying about where I come from, because I feel ashamed, or worse, I am afraid to say that I come from Puente Alto. Unfortunately, I know that if I say it in an interview they will not hire me because of the stigma it carries. 

I also feel anger against the system, which is designed so that those of us who come from poor places are made to believe that we cannot succeed. In school, we are constantly reminded not to think about university, that it is not for us, that we should study a technical career. If you are a woman, please don't get pregnant before leaving school. Please, let's at least finish high school. Then, we can work as cleaning assistants (since without a college degree they won't hire you anywhere). 

My schoolmates and I, that day we dressed ironically as others think we are because we are from Puente Alto (this is the stereotype of how young and low-income people dress). 

Lastly, I feel a little bit of anger towards myself, for denying so many times who I was, to try to fit in with people who don't care. I apologize to the Michelle of the past, the little girl who was proud of her origins and her friends. And I apologize to my friends, and my family, for all the times I pretended to be someone I'm not and denied them for fear of stigma. 

What do the children of the rich know about effort, what do they know about struggling to achieve a decent place in society? And yes, today, thanks to my parents, I don't feel the disparity, but I will always be grateful for where I come from. Grateful for my neighbors, who became my friends and taught me that if you have a loaf of bread and your friend doesn't have any, give him half. That if you are in trouble, we are all in trouble. That, if you are having a hard time, you help them, even if it means sacrifice. They taught me what it means to be loyal and care about each other. "Criminals" as the rich like to label them, have been braver and more loyal trying to protect me, than many of the wealthy "friends" I have had. 

I am convinced that there are no people more supportive than those who have nothing, and still help each other to get ahead. I don't want to romanticize life in poverty, people help each other by sharing what they don't have because they don't have anyone else. The State does not exist except to repress the poor and the rich and their charities are conspicuous by their absence. 

And yes, many of my friends and neighbors in Puente Alto today do not do the "right" things. They are not lawyers or doctors or engineers, but what is the right thing to do when you have to bring food to your table and nobody is willing to help you? How do you judge morally from your position of privilege a person who never had your help or education? 

This photo was taken by me at a protest against the former president of Chile, Sebastián Piñera. We are outside a subway station located in Puente Alto, burning a figure with his face on it.

Today at least I see with hope how Puente Alto is waking up, and people are starting to protest against the government, a result of the poverty and lack of opportunities one faces almost as a birthright. At last, little by little, more and more, we are utilising social resentment. Allowing ourselves to stand up for what we consider unjust. Tired of running a lifetime to try to achieve what many are born with. Despite all of this, they dare to call us delinquents. 

Sorry, but I don't buy into the meritocracy story.