At some point in our life we all think about class. Whether it’s our own or someone else’s. We can’t help but to separate people by external things. These things include money, prestige, status and so on. What we have, and the powers we hold are what put us into a class.
Watching “People Like Us,” was very enlightening to me. I always knew their where social classes, but seeing first hand how people of all different classes view themselves and others is quite disturbing. In the beginning, when people were categorizing people in a social class just by watching them walk down the street seems so degrading. To realize even the loaf of bread we buy says something about what class we are, in is something I don’t think about. I do think of it as being over priced when I pay $4.00 for whole grain, but I think good health is not something that should be compromised, nor should we have to go broke to be healthy. This video was interesting when gadgets for cooking were considered to be something only a person of a higher class would know about. Wine and other leisure’s show our socioeconomic status. People who don’t even know how to read the foreign labels but purchase the products just because they can. The poor mom busting her butt at Burger King and not even respected by her own children, well that was just sad…
Their was an article in the Daily News about the debate between lower class families not having access to produce which contributes obesity. They are saying there is no excuse for the people in West Harlem to be overweight when they have a Fairway market with low priced produce and a free shuttle bus to transport consumers. So I guess now these people will be classed as being obese and lazy because they have access to the low priced produce. In reality, what is low priced produce? I find the price of produce outrageous. I have a job and find eating healthy very expensive.
I guess this is where a class systems comes into play. Ranked according to their economic position. Either you can afford the bread or not.
I completely agree with you. It also made me kind of sad to know that these people will almost always struggle and will almost never get out of their social class. Society deems us what it wants to deem us. If we are poor were most likely going to stay poor. Tammy doesnt even have her own children respect her which must be devastating to her.
ReplyDeleteI think the problem is in the hierarchical way we are used to looking at the social classes.
ReplyDeleteIt seems degrading to call out people's classes while simply walking down the street as you said; but the truth behind it is that, the reason why we feel it's degrading is because we are giving more value to some classes than the others, and by doing that, we are giving a message that being in a class different than the one we are in (or striving to be in) is degrading, without acknowledging that all classes are of equal importance and of equal value for society to function.
I agree with you. It is really sad how so many people are struggling in the world today even though many people may get help from the government they will never regain the ability or power to be something more. The fact that Tammy wants to go college so she can become a teacher was inspiring to be but the fact is she has little chance because society deemed her as low class and to make matters worse her own children didn't respect her at all which broke my heart.
ReplyDeleteI wish there were a better way for people like Tammy. Our social system is failing lower class people and sadly, I don't see a light at the end of the tunnel. Our politicans promising funding for education but who funds the esteem that a person loses when treated so poorly by society? I give Tammy a lot of credit for the work she does. The fact that she does it without the help of social services is something that should be admired and respected. Hopefully, one day her ungrateful children will see that.
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