R264 What a little bitch! A true gentleman would have found a less flaunting, more piously shame-inducing way to insult him!

There's good and bad in most things, including traditions that are tied to upbringing. Old School Richies get a bad rap but like all people, most try to be decent. Some of the weird quirks just come with essentially living in a family museum and the pressure that entails: You don't want to be THE incompetent schmuck who blew the product of centuries worth of your family's work, planning and sacrifice.

That kind of pressure doesn't suit all personalities and an heir is an heir, no matter what your personality and natural talents are. There will always be some other family member born a technical genius or a talented empath who produced so much for the family name in one lifetime than you ever will and when you screw up, you know they'll be thinking about Great Great Grandpa So and So and how you can't possibly catch up. Not the worst of human problems to have but still stressful to live with.

To the credit of some of the oldies, they're actually not as prejudiced about things other than character and societal performance than people realize. And marrying for money is still considered tacky. The ones who really don't rely on their children's spouses bailing the family out, care about how good a person marrying into the family is and if they have a natural tendency towards discretion, if they have noble qualities that will reflect well on the family (if they are sincere philanthropist material). If you have a healthy, good relationship with your children you do worry about how loved they're going to be, if their future spouse was able to see through the privilege and really know your child and love them, "for richer or poorer". Yes, new additions from the outside, regardless of how poor they are, are usually notably beautiful but that just comes with the territory and human nature.

Who knows about the Kardashians? Maybe I'll be proven wrong. Maybe they'll change course and become ants rather than grasshoppers. Maybe they'll grow to admire the tortoise over the hare? Maybe Kendall has a talent for managing wealth? Maybe Kanye will set the family on path to dynastic longevity? Some of the classically labeled "new money", reckless-seeming families you see today might mature into great patrons of humanity. I hope so.

The liquor thing is real, though. Lots of in-denial alcoholics in this circle because your "work" and public interactions are usually at social events where liquor is traditionally part of the meal, mingling or meeting. We all know my Sister-in-Law's Grandfather has a problem with this, he's in his 90's and always needs his special bourbon but she doesn't see it. She just says "oh, he's always had his drink before bed" or she talks about his having drinks with his banker, her grandmother always throwing cocktail parties, mimosas for brunch, wine with every meal, some vermouth for her after dinner, a splash of Chartreuse "for health" (that one has to be a running joke). Then all the hot drinks (and by hot, I mean seasonal drinks with a little of the hot stuff in them) throughout the Fall and Winter holiday season, after and during every event. This is very typical. It sneaks up on you because your "work" is engaging in social events and social events are usually doused with liquor.

However, I think there's a similar danger for anyone who works in these kinds of environments, as well.