Building up stereotypes or tearing them down?

Building up stereotypes or tearing them down?Building up stereotypes or tearing them down?


Ok, so this week in class I was running on empty. I had worked a very long night shift on Monday and by 6:00 PM I was pretty run down. Despite my sleep deprivation, class proved most interested. We watched another video from the late ‘50s. It was more realistic than the previous one we viewed and it focused on mobility and immobility in the social strata.

We talked about the American social system and structure again, and I’m not going to be as hardcore on it in this blog… for my feelings on it feel free to consult my last one. Nonetheless, we described how the classes view and interact with each other. We also discussed how the government labels and manages poverty.

Before going into each social class and its respective stereotypes, it’s important to note that people are people. No two members of a group are alike. There are members that embody and display many of the traits that our stereotypes reflect, but there are also many that don’t.

We discussed how so many of the lower class seem content to remain in their social setting. It’s a closely knit group and they know that they can rely on each other in times of need. Maggy gave an excellent example. Someone in the community doesn’t have enough for dinner tonight; someone else may have a large pot of spaghetti and will share with those who are less fortunate. This group doesn’t tend to look to the future regarding money simply because its members can’t. Many don’t know if they will have enough money for food today, let alone next week. This leads some members of the upper and middle classes to perceive that the lower class is irresponsible.

The middle class was described as being thrifty, generous when able, and planners of the future. I grew up in a lower-middle class family and we had many struggles. Despite them all, my mother always tried to look to the future and wanted me to have a better life than she did. She made many countless sacrifices for me that often left her with nothing. I know of many middle class families that are like mine was growing up. We all want to achieve something better, not just for ourselves, but for our children as well.

The upper class was described in many ways such as: snooty, rude, arrogant, ostentatious, greedy, et. al. However, we brought up the fact that many members of the upper class are in fact friendly, benevolent, and again, planners for the future. While many rich Americans exemplify what we see on MTV, Bravo, and other networks, many more (such as Bill and Miranda Gates) have pursued philanthropy and have truly dedicated themselves to bettering humanity. Many upper class members don’t associate with members of the other classes, and they feel it is with good reason. There are so many scammers and swindlers out there that surely this new person must be after my money, right?! It is possible, but not always. Climbing is something many in the middle class pursue but admission to this group is difficult.

I feel like I should have more to say about this topic but I think I pretty much covered everything previously in my discussion about what I perceive as immobility in the social strata. In closing, perhaps these three social groups need a better understanding of their own members before they try to understand others.