One of the men was Hispanic, and assisted an older guy (maybe in his 50s) who was Caucasian and did most of the attaching, drilling, and actual installation under the counter. It occurred to me that they were probably not upper class citizens because they serviced appliances for others. I immediately was ashamed of myself for thinking like that. All my life I have been taught never to judge others, and that all other people are my equals before God, and therefore I should treat them as equals. By thinking that they were in some way below me socioeconomically, I felt like I had violated not only what my parents had taught me, but my religion as well.
The same kind of feeling came over me at prom, when I noticed that all of the servers were wearing basic serving attire, and were Hispanic and didn't say much, only served us. I felt like an upper class citizen. But I don't think I should. I shouldn't feel this way.
The strange thing to me is how recent this feeling has been. Only since we started talking about class differences in American Studies have I begun to sense a difference in the way I live against the way others live. I think that I never wanted to learn about any of these differences. I shouldn't feel guilty or anything either. I like the way I live. I don't believe there is anything wrong with that. So why bring it up? I know that we should understand that the North Shore isn't the norm, but trust me, I get it. Most people don't live a life of privileged. I understand. I even found THIS great article on class mobility (warning, its long) to learn about how it is harder to move up in social class. I think the point has been driven in. So why does the course have to amplify all of this?
I think that judging people is different than seeing differences between them. It's like noticing that a person is particularly tall, which is different than assuming the person is good at basketball. God knows that people are different; he made everyone unique. That doesn't make a person less important than another person, just different. Seeing these differences and becoming aware of them is the beginning of change, or at least understanding, of other people's backgrounds.
ReplyDeleteDavid, maybe you feel this insecurity because you feel you are being judged for your social class? I completely understand how you might feel guilty about "looking down" (literally and figuratively) at those dishwasher installers...but have you ever thought of what they think of you? Probably not great things! That is not meant to be an insult AT ALL! Social class is simply just a very touchy topic. I think it is great that we are learning and discussing the realties in the environment of our AIS class.
ReplyDeleteGreat post! I am curious what you meant in your second paragraph. Do you mean you feel your religion has been violated by you making class assumptions/judgments? If so, how?
Yes, I actually do, because the Bible says that we shouldn't judge others, and I feel that by pointing out such differences, I am, in a way, judging them and making assumptions about their background and family and stuff that I shouldn't.
ReplyDeleteLiesel- I agree with your comment, but isn't that exactly what we are doing in class? Like by saying that white is worn almost exclusively by upper class people? So if someone wears white, they are perceived to be upper class? We are, in affect, judging people based on what they wear, how they act, or what kind of car they drive. I guess it comes down to what kinds of class indicators we use. I suppose that if you see a really big house, it is probably safe to assume that the owners have a lot of money to spend on such a property. However, an assumption that people in a small house don't have a lot of money may not be true at all.
This was a fantastic story, Davrid. The mix of the personal and the academic made it particularly compelling to me, at least. And to at least two others.
ReplyDeleteI think you're being far too hard on yourself. This is something called "white (liberal) guilt" which many privileged and educated people experience from time to time. Having an awareness of one's privilege as opposed to blithely going through life ignorant of it is a good thing, in my opinion.
I made a joke about this myself just yesterday. I was riding a CTA bus with a couple of colleagues and it was filled with working class people. I said, "we shouldn't be doing this based on how much money we make and our countless other privileges"! But that's part of being human -- acknowledging contradictions in ourselves. And accepting the fact that we are imperfect: EVERYBODY judges. It's human nature.