this post was submitted on 28 Sep 2024
1267 points (98.9% liked)
Memes
45726 readers
882 users here now
Rules:
- Be civil and nice.
- Try not to excessively repost, as a rule of thumb, wait at least 2 months to do it if you have to.
founded 5 years ago
MODERATORS
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
view the rest of the comments
If you struggle to pay rent or buy groceries you're lower class.
Doesn't mean you don't call yourself middle class, because at least you're not homeless. At the very least, "lower-middle class"
20-something years ago PBS had an excellent documentary called "People Like Us: Social Class in America" to show, well, social class in America. If you can find it, or at least clips of it, I'd recommend it. There was one cutscene with a bunch of people being asked which class they see themselves as, and pretty much everyone felt they were "middle class" - but you could tell by the way they presented themselves (clothes, jewelry, etc) that they were all over the place.
People see themselves through a bias filter. Doesn't make it true. People don't like to call themselves lower class even when they are. Especially when they were probably raised middle class, because that paints a picture of failure.
If you struggle with rent or groceries you are lower class. If you're making minimum wage you're lower class.
I don't think we really disagree here. You're focusing on what people are. I'm focusing on how they see themselves. They're not necessarily the same things.