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Bridging the class divide

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Class prejudice

Living “Relatively Visible”

May 4, 2017 by Rathi R 2 Comments

I am born to a Tamil, working class, OBC (Other Backward Caste) couple who immigrated to North India to earn their livelihood in the mid-1980s. My father had begun working with an American cultural agency, a full-time job that he would continue to do for the next three decades. My mother, by default, stayed at […]

Filed Under: A World Without Classism, Class prejudice, Classism, Classism in Everyday Life, Institutional racism, Race and Class Tagged With: classism, immigrants, low-wage jobs, middle class, snobs, stereotypes, working class

The Poverty Catch-22

May 4, 2017 by Hazel Garcia Leave a Comment

The High Costs of Destitution Cause a Vicious Cycle Nothing is more infuriating than the ill-informed critique that “the haves” like to lob at “the have-nots.” Here’s a classic: “If you’re so poor and can’t afford to eat, then why are you overweight?” If you have ever been poor, you know the answer to that question […]

Filed Under: Class prejudice, Classism, Classism in Everyday Life, Classism in the Economy, Money, Poverty Tagged With: blaming the victim, money, poverty, working class

Social Class and a Writing Conference

March 2, 2017 by Lita Kurth Leave a Comment

Though not all writing conferences are expensive, many are. A number try, essentially, to take money from those who can afford it to subsidize those who can’t – a worthy policy.  But one still tends to meet more wealthy people than poor at a writing conference. Last summer, I attended one on the East Coast that […]

Filed Under: A World Without Classism, Class in Literature, Class prejudice, Classism, Pop Culture Classism Tagged With: poverty, privilege, snobs, working class

The Gig Economy and The Creative

February 13, 2017 by Christopher Page 2 Comments

A Perfect Match, Right? People with power tend to view gigs as hobbies, or sometimes lucrative endeavors in the “sharing economy.” Everybody knows Uber drivers, indies and consultants make a killing while controlling their own destinies, right? Yeah, as if. For 26 years I’ve depended on project work, “gigs,” for my employment and income source. I didn’t […]

Filed Under: Building Economic Alternatives, Class prejudice, Classism in Everyday Life, Classism in the Economy Tagged With: classism, debt, gig economy, low-wage jobs, money, snobs

Five Classist Pitfalls to #Resist in Your Activism

February 13, 2017 by Davey Shlasko 4 Comments

In a moment of potentially revolutionary activism and mobilization, don’t let classism undermine your efforts. The past few weeks have been both terrifying and inspiring. In the midst of ascending totalitarianism and the drastic, likely unconstitutional roll-backs of basic rights, we are also seeing a swift mobilization from both new and established activists. Organizations and […]

Filed Under: Class prejudice, Classism in Politics, Classism in Progressive Movement Groups, Cross-class alliances, Dealing with privilege, Internalized classism, LGBT & Class, Politics and Class Tagged With: activism, class cultures, classism, community organizing, middle class, owning class, privilege, social movements, working class

Resistance Is Critical

January 19, 2017 by Betsy Leondar-Wright Leave a Comment

The election outcome was a shock – but wasn’t something new. Throughout U.S. history we’ve had waves of right-wing populism, when people bought into explanations of their economic hardships that scapegoat other marginalized groups and reject traditional elites. This election was a right-wing populist upsurge that few of us saw coming. We underestimated the number […]

Filed Under: A World Without Classism, Class prejudice, Classism in Politics, Classism in Progressive Movement Groups Tagged With: activism, classism, snobs, social movements, working class

5 Class-Based Microaggressions

November 22, 2016 by S.E. Fleenor 9 Comments

Microaggressions* have been a highly debated topic, particularly on college campuses. Some have suggested that the discussion of microaggressions, essentially, is making people overly sensitive. Others value labeling this subtle, persistent, often latent form of bias, expanding the discussion from solely conversations of race to include other areas of microaggression such as gender or sexuality. […]

Filed Under: A World Without Classism, Class prejudice, Classism in Everyday Life Tagged With: classism, Rationalizing privilege, snobs

Beyond Trump: Creating Class-Race Alliances

October 20, 2016 by Rahula Janowski 3 Comments

Part of the White, Working Class, and Worried about Trump (#WhiteWorkingClassVsTrump) Campaign*: I grew up in economically depressed, though beautiful, northeastern Vermont. My family was on and off welfare throughout my childhood, and we were always poor. As a child, I was acutely aware of the ways poverty set me apart from other people. As I […]

Filed Under: A World Without Classism, Class prejudice, Classism, Classism in Diversity Work, Classism in Politics, Classism in Progressive Movement Groups, Classism in the Economy, Cross-class alliances, Dismantlng Classism, Electoral politics, Institutional racism, Owning class, Politics and Class, Poverty, Race and Class Tagged With: #WhiteWorkingClassVsTrump, activism, classism, community organizing, owning class, poverty, racism, working class

Beyond Trump: Building a Coalition for Change

October 19, 2016 by Justin Stein Leave a Comment

Part of the White, Working Class, and Worried about Trump (#WhiteWorkingClassVsTrump) Campaign*: I grew up in South St. Louis City in a multi-racial, working-class neighborhood. My dad was a union carpenter, and my mom worked part-time at various jobs while maintaining the home. I’m the oldest of seven children. I remember the constant anxiety in our […]

Filed Under: A World Without Classism, Class cultures, Class prejudice, Classism, Classism in Diversity Work, Classism in Politics, Classism in Progressive Movement Groups, Classism in the Economy, Cross-class alliances, Dealing with privilege, Dismantlng Classism, Electoral politics, Politics and Class, Race and Class Tagged With: #WhiteWorkingClassVsTrump, activism, blaming the victim, classism, community organizing, privilege, race and class, racism, social movements, working class

The Sound of Class

September 15, 2016 by Chris Haigh Leave a Comment

The final days of summer always remind me of the time I left home for college. In an instant I can recall what I felt 25 years ago sitting in the back seat of my parent’s car, my belongings stuffed in the trunk, as we drove silently away from my home and toward my future. Home […]

Filed Under: A World Without Classism, Class cultures, Class in Higher Education, Class prejudice, Classism among Kids Tagged With: academia, class cultures, classism, education, first generation college students, snobs, stereotypes, working class

Class Inequality in Children’s Movies

April 18, 2016 by Jessi Streib Leave a Comment

A new study, Benign Inequality: Frames of Poverty and Social Class Inequality in Children’s Movies, from Duke University sociologist Jesse Streib reveals that almost universally G-rated movies legitimate poverty and social class inequality in a new way – by presenting them as benign. Limited Learning about Other Classes What are some of the first ideas about social […]

Filed Under: A World Without Classism, Class in the Media, Class prejudice, Consumer culture, Pop Culture Classism Tagged With: classism, classism in media, kids, Rationalizing privilege

Work It, Girl

March 18, 2016 by Mensen 2 Comments

Sister, I see you. I see you, with your shitty paycheck I see you, with your kids, your bills, your debt, your dreams I see you young and bright cheeked, skipping rope Or playing hand clap games I see you silver and still bright remembering Girl, you know I see you. You have been here […]

Filed Under: Class prejudice, Classism, Classism in Everyday Life, Gender Class Intersections, Poverty Tagged With: classism, low-wage jobs, Minimum wage, poverty, snobs, working class

African Americans and Classism:

February 29, 2016 by Class Action 2 Comments

It’s Complicated When I started this post, I thought it would be a straight-forward musing on classism on and in African-American communities. A few minutes in, and I found that I didn’t know where to start. Should I write about the devastating effect that the intersectionality of classism and racism has on individuals and communities? Should I […]

Filed Under: A World Without Classism, Class cultures, Class prejudice, Classism, Dealing with privilege Tagged With: classism, education, intersectionality, middle class, privilege, race and class, racism, stereotypes

Walk a Mile

February 29, 2016 by Christopher Page Leave a Comment

They are phrases we’ve all heard a million times and show up in comments on social media: “If you’re on food stamps you don’t belong buyin’ a candy bar.” “I shouldn’t have to pay for your shrimp and steak dinner.” “The nanny state offers no incentive to work.” “Poor people are just lazy.” “It’s not […]

Filed Under: A World Without Classism, Class cultures, Class prejudice, Classism Tagged With: blaming the victim, classism, downward mobility, poverty, Rationalizing privilege, snobs

Respect the Laboring Class

January 28, 2016 by Street Preacher Leave a Comment

I’m British, I’m white and from a poor working-class background in a Northern English city. I am lucky enough to have a university education. I passionately believe in social justice and that everybody should have the same chances for health care, educational opportunities, career advancement, and the right to work hard and prosper. Now, like […]

Filed Under: A World Without Classism, Class prejudice, Classism, Classism in the Economy

It’s Not What You Say, but How?

December 17, 2015 by Class Action 2 Comments

Using Language as a Weapon of Classism A British friend of mine, who met and married his American wife in London, told me that he dreaded attending her job-related social functions in “The Square Mile.” As a bank executive, her coworkers were mostly upper middle-class, and they, along with banking and corporate elites, attended these […]

Filed Under: Class cultures, Class prejudice, Classism Tagged With: class cultures, classism, privilege, snobs, stereotypes

Language Matters, Too

December 15, 2015 by Laurie Sheridan 2 Comments

My brother, sister and I were all brought up to speak a very clear, accent-less English with good grammar and syntax. We were not “perfect,” but we were obliged to try. Our mother harassed us constantly about the way we talked. And she stressed that we would never be able to get a job or […]

Filed Under: A World Without Classism, Class cultures, Class prejudice, Classism, Classism in Everyday Life, Dealing with privilege, Dismantlng Classism Tagged With: class cultures, classism, downward mobility, privilege, snobs, speaking up, stereotypes, working class

Oh No He Didn’t!

November 24, 2015 by Class Action Leave a Comment

Check biased behavior before it keeps your holidays from being merry and bright. As I thought last week about Thanksgiving dinner and hosting my extended family, it dawned on me that I should also think about – and be prepared for – the many ways that the dinner conversation could take an unpleasant turn. The […]

Filed Under: A World Without Classism, Class prejudice, Teaching about class, Workplace classism Tagged With: class cultures, classism, owning class, Rationalizing privilege, speaking up

Who Are the Despicable Racists?

June 30, 2015 by Katey Lauer 4 Comments

We all know that a young white man murdered nine black worshipers at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in downtown Charleston, S.C., just two weeks ago in an act of terrorism. After a wave of murders at the hands of police across the country, it is the most recent acute attack on black lives and […]

Filed Under: A World Without Classism, Class prejudice, Race and Class Tagged With: class prejudice, classism, middle class, race and class, racism, snobs, stereotypes

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