(no subject)
Jan. 2nd, 2008 08:19 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
which_chickLet's talk about social class, baybee, let's talk about you and me, let's talk about all the good and bad things that may be.
We're gonna start with a meme.
Based on an exercise developed by Will Barratt, Meagan Cahill, Angie Carlen, Minnette Huck, Drew Lurker, and Stacy Ploskonka at Illinois State University. If you participate in this blog game, PLEASE acknowledge their copyright.
BOLD WHICH APPLY TO YOU:
* Father went to college
* Father finished college
* Mother went to college
* Mother finished college
* Have any relative who is an attorney, physician, or professor
* Were the same or higher socio-economic class than your high school teachers
* Had more than 50 books in your childhood home
* Had more than 500 books in your childhood home
* Were read children's books by a parent
* Had more than two kinds of lessons before you turned 18
* The people in the media who dress and talk like me are portrayed positively (There are no people in the media who dress and talk like me. The people in the media who dress like I do are portrayed as redneck buffoons. "You might be a redneck if..." The people in the media who talk like I do (vocabulary) don't dress like I do. The people in the media who talk like I do (accent) are the aforementioned redneck buffoons.)
* Had a credit card with your name on it before you turned 18 (Only not because I wasn't eighteen until I went to college. When I left for college, I had a credit card.)
* Your parents (or a trust) paid for the majority of your college costs
* Went to a private high school (They offered. I didn't want to.)
* Went to summer camp (I grew up on family-owned land, five hundred private acres with a 40-acre private lake in the middle of it. Arguably, I fucking lived at a summer camp, albeit one with indoor plumbing and no other campers.)
* Family vacations involved staying at hotels
* Your clothing was all bought new before you turned 18 (After hand-me-down and secondhand infant clothing of the fits-for-two-weeks sort. Children attending school got new clothes. Children who lived at home -- what the hell would be the POINT of new clothes? They'll just spill shit on them anyway, if they don't outgrow 'em first.)
* There was original art in your house when you were growing up
* You and your family lived in a single family house
* Your parent(s) owned their own house(s) or apartment before you left home
* You had your own room as a child
* You had a phone in your room before you turned 18 (No. We had one phone in the house, and it was downstairs in the living room. Note: I am thirty-seven. Things were pretty different then.)
* Participated in an SAT/ACT prep course (Fuck no. We were expected to do well on these using the mighty power of our own fucking brains.)
* Had your own TV in your room in High School (No. Parents did not believe in television much and we didn't have any until I was in grade school. There was one TV and that was in the living room.)
* Owned a mutual fund or IRA in High School or College (No. I did own stocks and bonds, though.)
* Flew anywhere on a commercial airline before you turned 16
* Went on a cruise with your family (No, but we drove cross-country to Mazatlan, went to Florida, went to Texas, went to South Carolina. We just weren't cruise people b/c it didn't appeal to my dad and my mom probably didn't think it was educational enough. Also, not enough education for the money. Most everything we did when I was a kid was educational.)
* Went on more than one cruise with your family
* Your parents took you to museums and art galleries as you grew up (All the time. I also saw a lot of civil war battlefields.)
* You were unaware of how much heating bills were for your family (We heated mostly with wood. I did get the "Heat costs money" speech but never the "Heat doesn't grow on trees" because, yo, it did grow on trees. Gathering firewood (with dump truck, hydraulic splitter, chainsaw) in our privately owned five hundred acres of woods is one of my more favorite family memories.)
-------------------------------------
The above survey thing is the visible light spectrum of class/money. It also treats class and money like they are the same thing. This is not particularly correct. Class is one thing, money is another. There is a positive correlation between the two for most people, but lots of money is NOT the same as high social class. Don't believe me? Exhibit A: The Spears Sisters. They're rich white trash, yo, got money, got no class. You don't hear about people who have class but no money because being in the papers is fucking tacky. People should only be in the papers on birth, death, and marriage.
On the site that quiz came from, there is another quiz thing, which is slightly more illuminating. I've bolded the ones I had to google for the correct answer.
1. What does Dooney and Burke make?
a. Hats
b. Gloves
c. Shoes
d. Handbags
2. What is Zabars?
e. A haberdasher
f. A delicatessen
g. A hotel
h. A resort
3. What does Saab make?
i. Airplanes
j. Power Tools
k. Swedish Furniture
l. Crackers
4. Where is Dean and Deluca?
m. Nob Hill, San Francisco
n. SoHo, NYC
o. High Street, London
p. Champs Elysee, Paris
5. What is the Ryder Cup?
q. A Polo championship
r. A horse race
s. A golf tournament
t. A sailboat race
6. What is a “Double Windsor”?
u. A sailboat
v. A mixed drink
w. Pleats in trousers
x. A tie knot
7. Where does the fish fork go?
y. Above your plate (this is the dessert fork/spoon if not brought in for dessert course)
z. With the forks on the outside
aa. With the forks in the middle
bb. With the forks on the inside
8. What is Choate?
cc. A prep school
dd. A pudding
ee. A soup
ff. A college
9. What is another name for escargot?
gg. Octopus
hh. Squid
ii. Slugs
jj. Snails
10. What are diamonds are weighed in?
kk. carit
ll. carat
mm. carot
nn. caret
11. Who wrote “The Four Seasons”?
oo. Vivaldi
pp. Versace
qq. Venturi
rr. Verde
12. What is the America’s cup?
ss. A sailboat race
tt. A powerboat race
uu. A horse race
vv. A motorcycle road race
13. Ketch, Yawl, Sloop are kinds of what?
ww. Catamarans
xx. Yachts
yy. Sail boats
zz. Racing boats
14. Where would you find ‘Wicked”?
aaa. Walking the street
bbb. On Broadway
ccc. In the mall
ddd. London
15. What is a Purdy Over and Under?
eee. A golf stroke
fff. A stove
ggg. A motor
hhh. A shotgun
16. What are Kona and Blue Mountain?
iii. Resorts
jjj. Hotels
kkk. Islands
lll. Coffee
17. What glass is used for Pinot Noir?
mmm. Goblet
nnn. Tumbler
ooo. White wine
ppp. Red wine
18. What are damsels, nymphs and streamers?
qqq. Womens’ clubs
rrr. Drugs
sss. Exotic dancers
ttt. Fishing flies
My score: 16
(Those, in case you couldn't tell, were the "rich people" questions. Here following are the "poor people" questions.)
1. What does Carhartt make?
a. Shoes
b. Automobile accessories
c. Boats
d. Work clothing
2. What is the Nextel Cup?
e. A NASCAR championship (I am amazed that anyone is asking this like it's hard.)
f. A horse race
g. A golf tournament
h. A sailboat race
3. What does a shop steward do?
i. Cleans and serves
j. Collects union dues
k. Represents workers
l. Represents management
4. What is an F150?
m. A jet
n. A chain saw
o. A drink
p. A truck (I used to own one.)
5. What is Walmart’s store brand?
q. Great Value
r. Value Plus
s. Great Plus
t. Montgomery
6. Who is Bill Engval?
u. A NASCAR driver
v. A writer
w. A politician
x. A comedian
7. What is Mankind’s legal name?
y. Terry Hogan
z. Michael Foley (He's a pro wrestler.)
aa. Jack Manson
bb. Cactus Jack
8. Who is number 8? (Again, amazed that this is a question.)
cc. Jeff Gordon
dd. Dale Earnhart
ee. Dale Earnhart, Jr.
ff. A. J. Foyt
9. Who sang “Achy breaky heart”?
gg. Johnny Cash
hh. Billy Bob Johnson
ii. Robert Johnson
jj. Billy Ray Cyrus
10. What does DeWalt make?
kk. Boats
ll. Power tools
mm. Fishing rods
nn. Wheel rims
11. What is a funnel cake?
oo. A type of bundt cake
pp. Fair food
qq. A urinal disinfectant
rr. A construction technique
12. What is a Boiler Maker?
ss. A WWE character
tt. A monster truck
uu. A mixed drink
vv. A roller coaster
13. What is a ‘full pull’?
ww. A sexual term
xx. A drug term
yy. A drag race term
zz. A tractor term (also used in horse pulling contests)
14. What is used in Snipe hunting?
aaa. No. 8 shot
bbb. .22 rifles
ccc. Trot line
ddd. Bag and a stick
15. What is 10W40?
eee. An Unemployment form
fff. A kind of oil
ggg. A criminal background check
hhh. A truck
16. What is a Christmas tree?
iii. A decorated hairdo
jjj. A decorated car
kkk. Drag Race lights
lll. Fishing boat lights
17. What is a brand of bass boat?
mmm. Ranger
nnn. Bass master
ooo. Scarab
ppp. Troller
18. What are “The Beast” and “The Cobra”?
qqq. WWE characters
rrr. Monster trucks
sss. Mixed drinks
ttt. Roller Coasters
My score: 15.
---------------------------------------------
Where do people like me fit on these fun little quizzes? I'm not disputing that I've had a lot of advantages, starting with good genes and very education-motivated parents and running along through good nutrition and a learning-rich home environment to enrichment activities (some people call them "vacations") and lively parental encouragement of my interests. What I'm saying is that, while I can kind of pass for the upper-ish middle class, I'm not it. I'm also not really, truly, a redneck like the people I live among and interact with on an ongoing basis. Is my entire life spent passing for something I'm not, or (knocking the straw man down, down, down to the ground) is the issue a wee bit more complex than a quiz of eighteen paired questions? (And how many of ya'll did that well on both sections?)
Anyway, I'd like to see a broader spectrum addressed on the question front.
Low end:
Does WIC pay for organic produce? How about for Kraft Singles?
Does getting SSI guarantee that your child will qualify for free/reduced school lunches? How about if you get TANF?
Is the electric company allowed to turn off the power when you don't pay if (a) it's wintertime and (b) you have electric heat?
Do most of the adults you know have all of their teeth or at least realistic-looking fake teeth?
If your child has existing but incomplete health insurance, can he/she still qualify for CHIP?
How long do you have to be temporarily out of work before you can apply for unemployment compensation?
I can't come up with high-end questions because I do not lead that lifestyle. At all. I am sure there are defining questions for those folks like there are for the other end, but I don't even know what the questions would be.
We're gonna start with a meme.
Based on an exercise developed by Will Barratt, Meagan Cahill, Angie Carlen, Minnette Huck, Drew Lurker, and Stacy Ploskonka at Illinois State University. If you participate in this blog game, PLEASE acknowledge their copyright.
BOLD WHICH APPLY TO YOU:
* Father went to college
* Father finished college
* Mother went to college
* Mother finished college
* Have any relative who is an attorney, physician, or professor
* Were the same or higher socio-economic class than your high school teachers
* Had more than 50 books in your childhood home
* Had more than 500 books in your childhood home
* Were read children's books by a parent
* Had more than two kinds of lessons before you turned 18
* The people in the media who dress and talk like me are portrayed positively (There are no people in the media who dress and talk like me. The people in the media who dress like I do are portrayed as redneck buffoons. "You might be a redneck if..." The people in the media who talk like I do (vocabulary) don't dress like I do. The people in the media who talk like I do (accent) are the aforementioned redneck buffoons.)
* Had a credit card with your name on it before you turned 18 (Only not because I wasn't eighteen until I went to college. When I left for college, I had a credit card.)
* Your parents (or a trust) paid for the majority of your college costs
* Went to a private high school (They offered. I didn't want to.)
* Went to summer camp (I grew up on family-owned land, five hundred private acres with a 40-acre private lake in the middle of it. Arguably, I fucking lived at a summer camp, albeit one with indoor plumbing and no other campers.)
* Family vacations involved staying at hotels
* Your clothing was all bought new before you turned 18 (After hand-me-down and secondhand infant clothing of the fits-for-two-weeks sort. Children attending school got new clothes. Children who lived at home -- what the hell would be the POINT of new clothes? They'll just spill shit on them anyway, if they don't outgrow 'em first.)
* There was original art in your house when you were growing up
* You and your family lived in a single family house
* Your parent(s) owned their own house(s) or apartment before you left home
* You had your own room as a child
* You had a phone in your room before you turned 18 (No. We had one phone in the house, and it was downstairs in the living room. Note: I am thirty-seven. Things were pretty different then.)
* Participated in an SAT/ACT prep course (Fuck no. We were expected to do well on these using the mighty power of our own fucking brains.)
* Had your own TV in your room in High School (No. Parents did not believe in television much and we didn't have any until I was in grade school. There was one TV and that was in the living room.)
* Owned a mutual fund or IRA in High School or College (No. I did own stocks and bonds, though.)
* Flew anywhere on a commercial airline before you turned 16
* Went on a cruise with your family (No, but we drove cross-country to Mazatlan, went to Florida, went to Texas, went to South Carolina. We just weren't cruise people b/c it didn't appeal to my dad and my mom probably didn't think it was educational enough. Also, not enough education for the money. Most everything we did when I was a kid was educational.)
* Went on more than one cruise with your family
* Your parents took you to museums and art galleries as you grew up (All the time. I also saw a lot of civil war battlefields.)
* You were unaware of how much heating bills were for your family (We heated mostly with wood. I did get the "Heat costs money" speech but never the "Heat doesn't grow on trees" because, yo, it did grow on trees. Gathering firewood (with dump truck, hydraulic splitter, chainsaw) in our privately owned five hundred acres of woods is one of my more favorite family memories.)
-------------------------------------
The above survey thing is the visible light spectrum of class/money. It also treats class and money like they are the same thing. This is not particularly correct. Class is one thing, money is another. There is a positive correlation between the two for most people, but lots of money is NOT the same as high social class. Don't believe me? Exhibit A: The Spears Sisters. They're rich white trash, yo, got money, got no class. You don't hear about people who have class but no money because being in the papers is fucking tacky. People should only be in the papers on birth, death, and marriage.
On the site that quiz came from, there is another quiz thing, which is slightly more illuminating. I've bolded the ones I had to google for the correct answer.
1. What does Dooney and Burke make?
a. Hats
b. Gloves
c. Shoes
d. Handbags
2. What is Zabars?
e. A haberdasher
f. A delicatessen
g. A hotel
h. A resort
3. What does Saab make?
i. Airplanes
j. Power Tools
k. Swedish Furniture
l. Crackers
4. Where is Dean and Deluca?
m. Nob Hill, San Francisco
n. SoHo, NYC
o. High Street, London
p. Champs Elysee, Paris
5. What is the Ryder Cup?
q. A Polo championship
r. A horse race
s. A golf tournament
t. A sailboat race
6. What is a “Double Windsor”?
u. A sailboat
v. A mixed drink
w. Pleats in trousers
x. A tie knot
7. Where does the fish fork go?
y. Above your plate (this is the dessert fork/spoon if not brought in for dessert course)
z. With the forks on the outside
aa. With the forks in the middle
bb. With the forks on the inside
8. What is Choate?
cc. A prep school
dd. A pudding
ee. A soup
ff. A college
9. What is another name for escargot?
gg. Octopus
hh. Squid
ii. Slugs
jj. Snails
10. What are diamonds are weighed in?
kk. carit
ll. carat
mm. carot
nn. caret
11. Who wrote “The Four Seasons”?
oo. Vivaldi
pp. Versace
qq. Venturi
rr. Verde
12. What is the America’s cup?
ss. A sailboat race
tt. A powerboat race
uu. A horse race
vv. A motorcycle road race
13. Ketch, Yawl, Sloop are kinds of what?
ww. Catamarans
xx. Yachts
yy. Sail boats
zz. Racing boats
14. Where would you find ‘Wicked”?
aaa. Walking the street
bbb. On Broadway
ccc. In the mall
ddd. London
15. What is a Purdy Over and Under?
eee. A golf stroke
fff. A stove
ggg. A motor
hhh. A shotgun
16. What are Kona and Blue Mountain?
iii. Resorts
jjj. Hotels
kkk. Islands
lll. Coffee
17. What glass is used for Pinot Noir?
mmm. Goblet
nnn. Tumbler
ooo. White wine
ppp. Red wine
18. What are damsels, nymphs and streamers?
qqq. Womens’ clubs
rrr. Drugs
sss. Exotic dancers
ttt. Fishing flies
My score: 16
(Those, in case you couldn't tell, were the "rich people" questions. Here following are the "poor people" questions.)
1. What does Carhartt make?
a. Shoes
b. Automobile accessories
c. Boats
d. Work clothing
2. What is the Nextel Cup?
e. A NASCAR championship (I am amazed that anyone is asking this like it's hard.)
f. A horse race
g. A golf tournament
h. A sailboat race
3. What does a shop steward do?
i. Cleans and serves
j. Collects union dues
k. Represents workers
l. Represents management
4. What is an F150?
m. A jet
n. A chain saw
o. A drink
p. A truck (I used to own one.)
5. What is Walmart’s store brand?
q. Great Value
r. Value Plus
s. Great Plus
t. Montgomery
6. Who is Bill Engval?
u. A NASCAR driver
v. A writer
w. A politician
x. A comedian
7. What is Mankind’s legal name?
y. Terry Hogan
z. Michael Foley (He's a pro wrestler.)
aa. Jack Manson
bb. Cactus Jack
8. Who is number 8? (Again, amazed that this is a question.)
cc. Jeff Gordon
dd. Dale Earnhart
ee. Dale Earnhart, Jr.
ff. A. J. Foyt
9. Who sang “Achy breaky heart”?
gg. Johnny Cash
hh. Billy Bob Johnson
ii. Robert Johnson
jj. Billy Ray Cyrus
10. What does DeWalt make?
kk. Boats
ll. Power tools
mm. Fishing rods
nn. Wheel rims
11. What is a funnel cake?
oo. A type of bundt cake
pp. Fair food
qq. A urinal disinfectant
rr. A construction technique
12. What is a Boiler Maker?
ss. A WWE character
tt. A monster truck
uu. A mixed drink
vv. A roller coaster
13. What is a ‘full pull’?
ww. A sexual term
xx. A drug term
yy. A drag race term
zz. A tractor term (also used in horse pulling contests)
14. What is used in Snipe hunting?
aaa. No. 8 shot
bbb. .22 rifles
ccc. Trot line
ddd. Bag and a stick
15. What is 10W40?
eee. An Unemployment form
fff. A kind of oil
ggg. A criminal background check
hhh. A truck
16. What is a Christmas tree?
iii. A decorated hairdo
jjj. A decorated car
kkk. Drag Race lights
lll. Fishing boat lights
17. What is a brand of bass boat?
mmm. Ranger
nnn. Bass master
ooo. Scarab
ppp. Troller
18. What are “The Beast” and “The Cobra”?
qqq. WWE characters
rrr. Monster trucks
sss. Mixed drinks
ttt. Roller Coasters
My score: 15.
---------------------------------------------
Where do people like me fit on these fun little quizzes? I'm not disputing that I've had a lot of advantages, starting with good genes and very education-motivated parents and running along through good nutrition and a learning-rich home environment to enrichment activities (some people call them "vacations") and lively parental encouragement of my interests. What I'm saying is that, while I can kind of pass for the upper-ish middle class, I'm not it. I'm also not really, truly, a redneck like the people I live among and interact with on an ongoing basis. Is my entire life spent passing for something I'm not, or (knocking the straw man down, down, down to the ground) is the issue a wee bit more complex than a quiz of eighteen paired questions? (And how many of ya'll did that well on both sections?)
Anyway, I'd like to see a broader spectrum addressed on the question front.
Low end:
Does WIC pay for organic produce? How about for Kraft Singles?
Does getting SSI guarantee that your child will qualify for free/reduced school lunches? How about if you get TANF?
Is the electric company allowed to turn off the power when you don't pay if (a) it's wintertime and (b) you have electric heat?
Do most of the adults you know have all of their teeth or at least realistic-looking fake teeth?
If your child has existing but incomplete health insurance, can he/she still qualify for CHIP?
How long do you have to be temporarily out of work before you can apply for unemployment compensation?
I can't come up with high-end questions because I do not lead that lifestyle. At all. I am sure there are defining questions for those folks like there are for the other end, but I don't even know what the questions would be.
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no subject
Date: 2008-01-03 11:52 am (UTC)