Jolie

I've met someone like this. She stayed in a relationship with a guy who obviously wasn't respecting her, and she was well-aware of that. From the way she spoke about him, I could see she didn't think much of him. Nonetheless, the relationship lasted until he broke up with her. Then she got into another relationship- with a smart, kind, caring guy who respected her and that she admired. She broke it up about a month later, because "she couldn't feel anything for him." Afterwards, she did flirt a lot and also had a one-night-stand with her ex- the one who didn't respect her and that she still despised I was reading Atlas Shrugged at that time- and I came across that scene when Rearden and Francisco talk about the "chasing of women". Well, Francisco says at a certain point something like "A man's sexual choices show his personal convictions; he will be attracted to the woman who reflects his own vision of himself. A man who is aware of his value will want a woman he deeply admires, while a man who is convinced of his worthlessness will choose a woman he despises" (very approximate quotation.) I think it works the other way around, too. Doesn't it?

I do know what you're talking about In a normal society, people would get rich because they have ability, because they are productive, because they do have something to offer on the market... But then again, there are those who get rich trough dubious/unethical/illegal or borderline illegal practices or trough some form of sheer luck, and then they expect to be valued for the sheer fact that they have money. It's merely them who spend money on very posh clubs and gas-guzzling cumbersome cars that are far from practical in the city and all other kind of, so to say, "ostentatious consumption", because they feel the constant need to prove they can buy all the bling they want and thus they are powerful. Someone who works hard for their money should know their value beter than this.

Congratulations

In Atlas Shrugged- when Hank Rearden asks Francisco about his "chasing of women". I think what Francisco replied to him was the best life lesson I got from Ayn Rand. Also from Atlas Shrugged, right after Dagny speaks on the radio about the romance between her and Hank, and he tells her "The worst of it is over, for both of us"; I have a fascination for how they speak to each other in that scene- and then, when she tells him about Galt... well, all I can say is that I have a huge, huge admiration for how he takes it. It's something I can relate to on a very personal level. From The Fountainhead- When Dominique and Roark get back together, at Monadnock Valley.