(no subject)

[dcseain]

This post is inspired by a reply to a comment i made in this thought-provoking post in fallenpegasus' LJ, in which he said:

But people are not socially "equal" and cannot be, because people are *different*.

He's absolutely right, and i do not in the least disagree with his statement. But does that mean that we should not acknowledge those who are too different from us; that we oughtn't treat those lower than ourselves socio-ecomically as they are people; that we should refuse to try to dilute the concentration of below-poverty-line people in the ghettos we as a society have, in most places, forced the poor to live, or that we should not at least try improve the conditions therein?

One day, in the early Summer of 1994, i was living with my then-partner, CRK in Dorchester, MA. He commented one day about the middle-class neighbourhood we lived in. I was shocked - utterly shocked. I told him that i thought they were poor. He was as shocked at my reply as i was at his initial statement.

I then went out on the front deck for a bit and looked out at the neighbourhood, then went out on the back deck for a bit looking out in that direction. I eventually came back into the apartment, found him and asked him if this were middle class, what did they have to live for; why did they keep trying - they had so little compared to the peolpe in the middle-class area that i grew up in.

CRK, who grew up on welfare in Michigan because his father, a spot-welder, was laid off by Ford in 1974, then after taking a great breath, explained to me why the Uphams Corner neighbourhood, of Dorchester, Boston, Mass, was middle class. I listend attentively for the whole half-hour or so that he spoke.

It was at that moment, in my 23rd year, that i realized that all those Forths of July and private tours in December, without ropes or walkways, but rather free to roam, at the White House that i had growing up were special, different, from others. I'd never really thought about it, that was just what we did.

My friends and i regularly had gone to parties at embassies, and many of us still do. I was at the groundbreaking for the current Embaassy of Canada/L'Ambassade du Canada, no big deal. Hardest part of that event, in 1982 or 3, i forget which, was convincing the other attendees that my sister and i were related. Anyway, i digress...

I realized at that moment that DC has next-to-no heavy industry, and isn't really about what actual socio-econimc class one is, at least much of the time. It's about whether your'e a "have" or a "have-not". If we presume both haves and have-nots to have good social skills, affable personalities, and a job, the diffence is that one group can afford a place to live, however humble, can afford enough food, and can afford the clothes and accessories necessary to allow them to mix with the crowd they want, or need, to mix with; the other group cannot.

My father was Secret Service, Uniformed Division, Foreign Missions Branch. This means he was one of the Secret Service offices you see in the Secret Service Police cars, or on a similar motorcycle, the uniformed officers you see at the White House, and around the embassies. He earned enough money for us to have what we needed, plus little luxuries like music lessons and sports, with our own instruments and equipment.

Not a life of luxury by any means, but his job allowed us access to a world well beyond what our technical socio-econimic class was. We were far from the only ones for whom this was true; i know plenty of others who grew up around here with similar perks.

In summary, will there ever be full social equality? Very probably not. Can there be less social inequality? Most probably, if not in the near-term. fallenpegasus is absolutely correct that people are *diferent*. We don't all want, desire, or even need, the same things. But hould we each have a truly equal opportunity to have the same? Yes, we should.

Comments

[ftemery.livejournal.com]

Same thing for my wife and me; both "middle class" and yet, completely different.

[dr-tectonic.livejournal.com]

One thing to keep in mind is that class is often as much about attitudes and assumptions as it is about actual socioeconomics and wealth. Middle-class Americans typically assume their kids will go to college and get white-collar jobs afterwards, whether or not that's financially realistic. Working-class Americans don't make that assumption, even if their kids have the grades for it to be pretty much a given that they can get enough scholarships and financial aid...

[melted-snowball.livejournal.com]

Yes. Class pops up in lots of other places, but this is one of the biggies.

It also has lots and lots of internal gradations; hence the distinction between the upper-middle class and the upper-upper-middle class, which is actually significant at times.

I don't think I've ever been to that part of Dorchester. But that's not surprising; there are huge swaths of Boston I never went to, and in part I expect that's for class reasons...

[dcseain.livejournal.com]

Uphams Corner is the part of Dorchester near the JFK-UMass (Columbia) T Station, up the hill toward Dudley Square, 02125 is the ZIP. There's really not much reason to go there, it's a multi-ethnic (unusual in Boston) neighbourhood, and the distinguishing features are First Parish Dorchester, a pastry shop and hardware store. Not much to see.

[melted-snowball.livejournal.com]

OK. I might have actually been there, because there was a house of SCA folks who lived somewhere near there when I was in school. But maybe not.

A good pastry shop is worth a separate trip, in my view!

During the year that we were in Boston when I was a post-doc, we did go to lots of parts of Boston no one would really have a good reason to go to, so I've been to Dudley Square, East Boston, Hyde Park, West Roxbury, Roslindale, and so on. (But the only time I was ever in Southie was for a protest.)

[dcseain.livejournal.com]

Southie is the scariest place i've ever been. we went there to see the US' oldest, longest bar, and it's one of very few that have British-style pump-taps. I felt less safe there than i did in the Anacostia, U St, H St, or Hechinger Mall neighbhourhoods in DC, which is saying a lot.

The pastry shop, which name i forget, is still there, on Dorchester Ave at the NE corner of Sudan St. We got all our breads, and all our snack pastries and breakfast pastries there when we lived there. I've even gone back to it on subsequent visits to Boston.

They box your purchases, then put your stack of bokes on a cast iron machine that spins then whirls, wrapping and knotting a length of string around the boxes, they then turn the stack 90 degrees, and do it again, and voilà, an easy-to-carry stack, or two, of confections.

[dcseain.livejournal.com]

I grew up in Northern Virginia, where it was presumed that we would all go off to college, and 95% of us do, and 98% of those complete a degree. My sister and i are both part of the 2% of that 95%. I do not, to my knowledge, know anyone in the 5% who do not go to college.

My sister works as a cashier for a regional grocery chain (http://www.shoppersfood.com), and has for the last 13 years. Because it's a union shop, she earns as much as i do working helpdesk for a small software company (http://www.managedobjects.com), without my bonuses.

I know there are people here that lack the presumption that their kids will continue on to university. But the kids, at least around here, learn from the schools that financial aid, often as grants and scholarships, is available. As such, even a lot of people whose parents never imagined sending anyone to college get to go.

I've also watched some of those children fight with, and sometimes become estranged from as a result, their families to take advantage of the continued opportunities; it can be hard to make the parent (s) understand that it won't cost the parents any money, nor will it make their child so alien as to not to want to associate with them, at least usually. From this, i can extrapolate that interpersonal skills and an understanding of people plays into the attitudes and presumptions as well.

[mobmama.livejournal.com]

actually, i must respectfully disagree. i have seen additional/secondary education distance people from their families of birth, as well as their native cultures.
think of Pygmalian: it's like when Eliza Doolitle learned how to speak "properly" and dress well -- no one in her old neighborhood recognized her. that really happens. and it can be heartbreaking for all concerned.
i'm not saying that people shouldn't pursue higher education, i'm saying that there are ramifications which are far-reaching.

[dcseain.livejournal.com]

Hi. Came across this comment searching for something eles in my LJ. Recently, having reconnected with some peeps i went to elementary/middle school with, then i opted into a different HS. That choice set me apart from many of them, and reduced the amount i have in common with many of them at this point. Not all, mind you, but many. So, here ere long, i agree with the point you made here. Thank you, as always for your insightful comments. :) I hope you're well.

[selki.livejournal.com]

FYI, I entered the discussion on that entry, for good or ill.