I think one of the worst people to surround yourself with is people who get bitter when they see others getting things they could never get, or used to get in the past, but no longer can. Sometimes, you find people being jealous of those they have no business being jealous of. And it gets even worse when such issues go way beyond simple jealousies and get somewhat dangerous.
Because many times, you’ll see people willing to go to great lengths to destroy someone. They know they can’t get it, so they’ll be happy to destroy another person’s chances of having that. Even if the person has succeeded in getting it, you’ll see them doing everything they can to destroy it. Jealousy can be destructive, but it hits a different note when the person has no business being jealous of you.
One thing I’ll never really understand is why, many times, some older people find joy in being jealous of young people. And many times, they’re not scared of showing it. They try to chalk it all up as being old and trying to instill values, but one should be able to know a jealous fella when he sees one.
Imagine a mature man who is in his late fifties, with a wife and kids, who is stable enough to have houses that he has rented out. Yet, he’s lowkey jealous of his twenty-something-year-old tenant who pays rent to him. Yeah, my friend is the tenant. When he first told me that he suspected his landlord was jealous of him, I didn’t really believe him, but when even I started seeing certain acts, it began to make sense.
Like me, my friend works remotely. So, he’s always home except when he chooses to go out, which like me, is only at night or in the evenings. He’s doing well enough to be able to afford a car, and even a solar inverter in his home so his lights never go out. He never owes his rent and pays even a month before due just to avoid any form of trouble. Whatever bill or fine comes up, he clears it immediately. He’s the kind of person who loves his peace of mind and is willing to pay whatever amount to make that work.
This sounds like a perfect neighbor, right? But it seems that just because he’s always home and he looks to be doing so well, the landlord feels that he’s having it too easy. More than three times now, both police and EFCC have raided his home due to “anonymous tips". They’ll cart this boy to the station like a common thief, and after everything, they won’t find a single speck of evidence linking him to any crime. My friend is sure that the anonymous person is his landlord, although there’s no definite proof of that.
One time, during a light altercation with another tenant, the landlord chimed in and began to berate my friend. Calling him lazy, and how he was proud and arrogant because he ‘managed’ to get a car. He talked about how my friend was always showing off that he was richer than everyone, and he was sure that my friend only bought the car to carry women; if not, what else was a ‘small boy’ doing with such a fine car?
That seemed to seal the deal. My friend finally saw what he was dealing with. He didn’t know whether it was because he always paid his bills on time that made his landlord see him as a competition. He felt that maybe the landlord looked at him and saw everything that he hadn’t been at that age, and it pissed him off. My friend is young, well-off, and free from the responsibilities of marriage and raising a family. And I guess that pissed the landlord off.
Anyway, that was the last straw for my friend. He has made up his mind not to renew his rent there and go somewhere else. Preferably somewhere where being a good tenant won’t earn him a target on his back.
Sadly, many people are going through things like this. I’ve seen older women jealous of young girls and their looks, and such people will always be quick to talk down on whatever achievements such young women do. Imagine having an argument with someone about a car, but somehow your looks will come into the conversation. You could be arguing about politics or religion, and you’ll hear that everything is not about fine face or great body… as in, from where to where?
I’ve always said this, from time to time, it’s good to get into arguments with your friends. Because when anger loosens the tongue, so many things get said, and all the bottled-up thoughts are released. That is the only time you can know what people truly think about you. Some might handle it well, but in anger, all bets are off. And I hope when we see people for who they are, we’ll be smart enough to recognize jealousy for what it is, and not simply see only what we’re comfortable with.