Here are some scatterbrained thoughts on class:
- I fret when talking about class because one's class has perceived moral implications. For instance, the notion that being from an upper-class family makes someone a worse person or that they haven't experienced anything "hard" in life. Likewise, the notion that poor people "get it" and are morally superior to wealthy people on account of their experiences of socioeconomic oppression. Both are problematic visions of the "other" put on people without context.
- Experience has taught me to be wary about the signals I send about my class. I have several memories growing up where I was humiliated because of my father's work. As a result, I steer away from topics that might betray my class: places I've traveled, where my family goes out to eat, student loans, health insurance, etc.
- I get furious when I think I detect someone is hiding their class in order to seem like a victim. For instance, when someone from a wealthy town says "I went to public school" with a dramatic flourish. Or, when someone talks about the economic oppression they've experienced while sporting a Patagonia jacket and Hunter boots. Here too, I err by making judgements without context. But, I still feel what I feel.
- Likewise, I have a lot of angst about misrepresenting my class and being authentic. Am I being real with my speech and my dress? Is talking about some of the tumult of my adolescence a way to "play the victim"? When am I being fake? When am I being real?
- During my time at Carleton, I've been taken aback by the things students will share. For instance, I don't know what to say when someone tells me their parents have paid for 20 friends to go out for drinks and dinner. On the one hand, I'm thinking "DAMN THAT'S AWESOME!!!!" but on the other hand I'm thinking "wow, I would feel so weird telling my friends that my parents are paying for all of us to eat right now."
- Anonymous
- I fret when talking about class because one's class has perceived moral implications. For instance, the notion that being from an upper-class family makes someone a worse person or that they haven't experienced anything "hard" in life. Likewise, the notion that poor people "get it" and are morally superior to wealthy people on account of their experiences of socioeconomic oppression. Both are problematic visions of the "other" put on people without context.
- Experience has taught me to be wary about the signals I send about my class. I have several memories growing up where I was humiliated because of my father's work. As a result, I steer away from topics that might betray my class: places I've traveled, where my family goes out to eat, student loans, health insurance, etc.
- I get furious when I think I detect someone is hiding their class in order to seem like a victim. For instance, when someone from a wealthy town says "I went to public school" with a dramatic flourish. Or, when someone talks about the economic oppression they've experienced while sporting a Patagonia jacket and Hunter boots. Here too, I err by making judgements without context. But, I still feel what I feel.
- Likewise, I have a lot of angst about misrepresenting my class and being authentic. Am I being real with my speech and my dress? Is talking about some of the tumult of my adolescence a way to "play the victim"? When am I being fake? When am I being real?
- During my time at Carleton, I've been taken aback by the things students will share. For instance, I don't know what to say when someone tells me their parents have paid for 20 friends to go out for drinks and dinner. On the one hand, I'm thinking "DAMN THAT'S AWESOME!!!!" but on the other hand I'm thinking "wow, I would feel so weird telling my friends that my parents are paying for all of us to eat right now."
- Anonymous