The Politics of Envy

Cattle class with Continental Airlines again, going back to Houston from Honolulu. On the ground, I briefly chat to my seat mate who is a Sophomore student from Baylor University Waco, returning from Spring Break. As the conversation comes to it's natural cordial end, she informs me that her friends are up front in business class. Her parent are not 'rich enough to afford that' she says.

Wow. College is expensive enough as it is but include a spring break in Hawaii. Not only that but First Class.

On take off, I attempt some sleep. I dream of my travel during my college days.

First memory that come into my mind is the trip to Wales from North of London on my motorbike. Imagine countryside, fields of wheat, hedgerows, trees and sunny, blue sky warm weather. When you've stopped imaging that, fast forward a few months and the same fields are stubble, hedgerows and trees have no leaves. The weather is near, at or below freezing and it is windy with dark Grey skies. A near 200 mile trip now needs additional 1 hour 30 minutes because of the thaw outs every 60 mile at the service stations. I had to wear multiple pullovers and coats but it still chilled my bones. Brr. I pull my blanket over me.

I continue my dreams which drift to the trips to Paris and Amsterdam care of the 'Arts Society'. These 'Arts Society' trips were weekend bus trips subsidized by our Student Union. After these 2 trips, we had exhausted our funding and the society folded. Fun in Amsterdam when we discovered the coffee shops didn't really sell coffee.

Third dream was of the two week travel driving around Europe after graduation but before work. 3 of us driving around with no particular plan. Terry M. got the car. John C. had responsibility for getting the road maps. My job was the idea and the ferry tickets. Journey started off well with Terry and I leaving ~3:30 am when we get to John's house, we had to bang door down. John and house mates had just completed a house party. John wakes up sh'tfaced, grabs some stuff we drive to Dover and get on Ferry. We drive into Calais and at first major motorway junction I ask John for map. “Uhm, I've left it in London...”. We pretty much winged it from there based on memory map of Europe.

By now, I am fast asleep. I wake up not too much before the plane lands and as we get off, the 'orphan Annie' student who had to slum it in coach meets up her First class buddies. I was taken amazed by their “ordinary-ness”. I was expecting Paris Hilton's but instead, I was seeing Allentown Hotel 6 and Detroit Travel Lodge. They looked so cheap ! Wearing the same old branded stuff as every other teenager. I guess if they were that rich, they'd be in an Ivy League school instead of Baylor. Maybe they were flying on airmiles.

As I drive home from airport, I ask myself what is bugging me about students flying first class?

- Is it the fact that rich parents pamper their offspring by buying them this lifestyle?

- Is it that students should travel by their coach to accelerate their fiscal independence?

- Is it that students should be backpacking instead of going to Hawaii?

- Should all students travel coach to stop driving up price for business travelers?

Nope, it is not that.

- Is it even about the socioeconomic unfareness of living standards of US society compared with what I had seen in Manila and around the Philippines?

No, It is more basic than that.

I am jealous. They got to fly 1st and I didn't.

Lucky Bastards.

Phileas Fogg,
Houston, Texas
21st March 2008