Second Journal Entry!
Most likely the first thing that comes to our minds when we think of what it means to be in a upper or lower class societies is the financial status’ of the two groups. Yes, upper class societies are generally wealthier, and lower class societies tend to be less wealthy. This I knew before taking this course, which many people probably do as well. However, last class we spoke briefly about the values and characteristics of what some scholars believe go hand in hand with particular social classes. I was extremely intrigued by this. I thought the examiners who came up with the certain characteristics and values hit the nail on the head to be honest. Though some others in our class did not feel that all of the characteristics were dead on, I truly did, and I thought it was a very interesting way to examine the different social classes in that respect rather than just with money as it always is.
With that said, I brought the hand outs with the compared values to my family to take a look at, to see if they agreed with me. They did agree as well, and I actually made a copy for my Nana because she said the handouts actually answered a lot of questions she had for her daughter who she feels “married above her class”. (I am not sure if you remember but in class I briefly spoke about this family member who was told by their father that they could not associate with their cousins when they came to RI for college). I would love to actually show those family members the two comparisons to see what they thought of the different values listed to see if they agreed, but my Nana asked me not to since it may seem like I am starting “trouble” with the family so I have to listen (a value listed for the working class of the patriarchal system).
It is clear that each class appears to feel more comfortable surrounded by individuals in the same situation, and this may not be wrong for each class to do this. Yet, many of these comparison fuels thoughts of what the distinctions between the classes means to us and how do these differences influence our behavior? I think that by seeing these differences, in my Nana’s case it may answer questions she had as to why her daughter acts differently from her other children who married spouses with similar class background may be a good thing but it may also be a detriment as well. Like many other occurrences in life, once something is labeled and given a direct characteristic for example opinions are then able to be formed good or bad, and it is inevitable for this to happen. IT is no longer something that people cannot put their finger on to be specific enough about the differences, nut it makes the differences more real and in our faces. There are actually papers, documentaries, studies etc. that have been performed on this subject and now it is something that feeds each class into forming opinions about the other, only fueling more separation amongst the classes..I don’t know if these distinctions are good to know or a harm at the same time.
I love that you brought this to your family. And no surprise that your Nana did not want you to share and to possibly risk debate and conflict - not a wc value. But I can't see that there would be anything harmful about seeing that there are some differences in values and behavior across classes. In fact, I think helping us understand these real differences moves us away from classism, which is really measuring all classes by the same measurements. Sara.
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