Response Paragraph on Red Scarf Girl

The book I'm reading is called Red Scarf Girl by Ji-Li Jiang, and is the memoir of the story of Ji-Li during the cultural revolution. She and her family are considered black whelps because of the bourgeois lifestyle they led. Ji-Li thought this was unfair, and personally, so did I. Why were she and her family treated unkindly just because the generations before them in their family exploited many people? Ji-li was successful in all of her schoolwork, and hard-working as well. I didn't understand why her future, hopes, and dreams should be limited by the Cultural Revolution. I thought the Cultural Revolution was cruel, and almost utterly pointless. It was a power struggle in the upper-classes and did nothing to benefit the people.