This world is divided into unrepresentative and irrelevant categories. Rather than looking at what we have in common with others, we are told to focus on the differences. It was in Austria, whilst staying with friends of mine in Vienna, that this became apparent. The only divide I had with these people was that of […]
A World Without Classism
Neighborhood Class Divisions and Hope for the Future
On Halloween in my neighborhood, kids come around dressed as princesses, super heroes and ghosts – nothing that would be offensive based on class, race or religion. Why not? What is different about my neighborhood is that it is a mixture of everyone. Black, white, poor, wealthy, conservative, liberal and pretty much all the religions […]
Labor Day, 2013: Realities and Hopes
I like to listen to Bruce Springsteen’s “Wrecking Ball” album from time to time, at moments when my spirits need lifting up. In “Jack of All Trades,” the protagonist does outdoor work, carpentry, auto repair and farming (“I’ll harvest your crops”). Given the recent one day strikes in some 60 cities by fast food workers, […]
Reflections on the West Coast Class Action Training of Trainers
For two and a half days, a cross-class, multi-racial group of folks from all across the gender spectrum and the country met in Oakland to talk about class and learn tools for dismantling classism. The Class Action Training of Trainers gave us the chance to explore our own and each other’s class experiences. Through exercises […]
Gifts, power and money
The holidays can be hard times. With all the hopes and expectations of the season up, disappointments have more room to play. And when we most want our attention to be on loving and giving, it can easily slide toward getting, proving and comparing. The pervasive materialism of the season, and the expectation that we […]
Classism Exposed: Contradictions on the left
One of my pet peeves on The Left or other Progressive organizations is that when asking for donations, PLEASE tell me WHY it is okay to reward those that have more money by giving gifts according to how much is given? I understand totally that the money is needed, even deserved, but honestly it irks […]
Who Are Congress’s Protectors of Class Privilege?
Mitt Romney and I both grew up in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, a wealthy suburb of Detroit. For much of our childhoods, we were represented in Congress by a tireless defender of the rich and powerful, U.S. Representative William Broomfield. Indeed, we would be hard-pressed to find a politician more faithful to the interests of the […]
New classism book holds the keys to movement-building
Barb Jensen was a rebellious teenager. When she tells her own stories in her new book Reading Classes, readers can vicariously enjoy her mouthing off to teachers, flouting school rules and delighting at turning a classroom into a circus. And unlike most writers about kids disengaged from school, who focus on their deficits and fret […]
Verizon Strike: A Teachable Moment?
Why Health Care Strikes Should Demand “Health Care For All,” Not Just “Hands Off My ‘Middle Class’ Benefits” For two weeks in August, thousands of Verizon strikers provided an inspiring display of picket-line militancy and resistance to contract concessions. From Massachusetts to Virginia, members of the Communications Workers of America (CWA) and the International Brotherhood […]
Visioning Our Way to Justice
I grew up in poverty, the daughter of a tenant farmer. I thought people were privileged if they lived in a house, had running water or even an outhouse. My family of five lived in a ten-by-forty foot trailer. I knew that there were farm owners who lived in large houses, but they worked almost […]
Deep Interrelatedness and Transformation
Perhaps ending classism is not so much a political process but a spiritual one. Humanity is evolving! We are at a new and extraordinary threshold in human history. We appear to be on a cataclysmic collision course, and more and more people are using their spirituality to engage the world. They are transcending the negative […]
Restorative Circles: Justice without Classism
We know the justice system is biased by inequality. The best justice money can buy. And the locations where this justice system is carried out – courtrooms, classrooms, living rooms, workplaces – are filled with people labeled with roles of unequal status: the judge and the accused, the cop and the criminal, the parent and […]
