Dear Prudence,
I am incredibly fortunate to come from a wealthy family—like 1-percent wealthy. (For what it’s worth, my first-generation parents and immigrant grandparents made all their money on their own.) I chose to work in a job that makes about 30 percent of what I otherwise could, because I feel a responsibility to give back and I really love what I do. My problem is some of my co-workers, who constantly disparage people with money and people who come from money. Even though they don’t know that I am one of those people, it’s hard for me to nod along and just let someone disparage me and my family—grouping all rich people together as evil, or mocking trust-fund recipients as lazy do-nothings, when I know it’s not true.
(I’m right here in the trenches doing the same work as them.) I don’t want to say, “Hey—I’m one of those people,” but how can I deal with it when it feels like my family and I are constantly being put down?
—Co-Workers Don’t Know They’re Talking About Me