It is interesting how definitions differ. I consider that I grew up middle-class. My parents both worked, and we lived in a neighborhood that became expensive over time but wasn't so when we moved there. Vacations usually consisted of visits to family. I went to summer camp for one month as a pre-teen and despised it. Most of my teen summers/weekends were spent working, the savings from which allowed me to buy a used car when I started college. I worked 20 hours/week while in college to pay my share of the tuition.
Now? I don't know what we are. If S. were able to find a decent job we'd probably be middle class. As it is we have a house but are sliding steadily deeper into debt. It terrifies me. If G-d forbid we hit a real crisis we have no savings to speak of. I'm just focusing on trying to manage month to month and hoping that things will improve somehow.
I know intellectually that there are people who are homeless and would view what we have as unimaginable luxury. But I also recognize that there's no way I can truly understand their situation without experiencing it, which I selfishly hope and pray will never happen.
I do think that some people have a blind spot in not recognizing that starting out with more means they are more likely to accumulate more from that starting point. I've met some of them. It's hard to explain that "I worked hard for what I have" doesn't equalize someone whose father was able to stake them to start the business they dreamed up in college vs. someone who couldn't afford college b/c they were too busy working 2 jobs to cover their rent. That's what really worries me - people who think that poor = lazy b/c they can't see that they started off higher on the staircase to begin with.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
timeasmymeasure
no subject
Date: 2013-04-04 11:46 pm (UTC)Now? I don't know what we are. If S. were able to find a decent job we'd probably be middle class. As it is we have a house but are sliding steadily deeper into debt. It terrifies me. If G-d forbid we hit a real crisis we have no savings to speak of. I'm just focusing on trying to manage month to month and hoping that things will improve somehow.
I know intellectually that there are people who are homeless and would view what we have as unimaginable luxury. But I also recognize that there's no way I can truly understand their situation without experiencing it, which I selfishly hope and pray will never happen.
I do think that some people have a blind spot in not recognizing that starting out with more means they are more likely to accumulate more from that starting point. I've met some of them. It's hard to explain that "I worked hard for what I have" doesn't equalize someone whose father was able to stake them to start the business they dreamed up in college vs. someone who couldn't afford college b/c they were too busy working 2 jobs to cover their rent. That's what really worries me - people who think that poor = lazy b/c they can't see that they started off higher on the staircase to begin with.