A conversaton about class
Nov. 2nd, 2011 12:03 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
anansi133where do you stand in the class struggle?
I had read that "top one percent" really is only a symbolic marker. the people who *really* run the show, the ones who wield the most control- they are more closely the top 1/2 of 1%. Though it's hard to imagine any serious disagreements erupting between the 99.5%ers and the 99.9%tile.
What I found surprising is my own meteoric rise up the social class ladder. Just 5 years ago, my income was in the lower 14% of American households. A brief windfall put me in the 30% for a couple of years, and I was able to play for a bit, and eventually move in with someone in the 35% slot.
But I notice that my spending habits and my attitudes are still quite a bit different from my housemates. And I have to wonder how much of it stems from family history, especially, how much money we grew up with.
This year at worldcon I spoke to someone who admitted quite freely that she votes in her own best financial interest. If a measure comes up that impacts her income, she'll vote in the way that maximizes it. And I was stunned at how simple she made it sound. It still sticks in my mind, the implications of that statement.
Now, being a fiscal conservative doesn't mean that one is a social conservative as well. Just because she votes her pocketbook doesn't mean that she'll necessarily vote against the gay right to marry, for example. And it's hard to imagine any sort of measure coming up in her ballot box that would let her directly steal from the people below her on the income scale.
Indirectly, though, I think it sends a message. When an Oakland cop is throwing grenades at people, he's responding to social pressure that's built up over many years- this is how hard we are supposed to protect the social order- no matter how morally indefensible that social order may be.
I'm also thinking about this guy- who, before #occupy came to town, probably never had a reason to consider his role in the food chain.
These are the conversations we need to be having with each other. Otherwise I can't blame the 1% for ignoring the rest of us.
I had read that "top one percent" really is only a symbolic marker. the people who *really* run the show, the ones who wield the most control- they are more closely the top 1/2 of 1%. Though it's hard to imagine any serious disagreements erupting between the 99.5%ers and the 99.9%tile.
What I found surprising is my own meteoric rise up the social class ladder. Just 5 years ago, my income was in the lower 14% of American households. A brief windfall put me in the 30% for a couple of years, and I was able to play for a bit, and eventually move in with someone in the 35% slot.
But I notice that my spending habits and my attitudes are still quite a bit different from my housemates. And I have to wonder how much of it stems from family history, especially, how much money we grew up with.
This year at worldcon I spoke to someone who admitted quite freely that she votes in her own best financial interest. If a measure comes up that impacts her income, she'll vote in the way that maximizes it. And I was stunned at how simple she made it sound. It still sticks in my mind, the implications of that statement.
Now, being a fiscal conservative doesn't mean that one is a social conservative as well. Just because she votes her pocketbook doesn't mean that she'll necessarily vote against the gay right to marry, for example. And it's hard to imagine any sort of measure coming up in her ballot box that would let her directly steal from the people below her on the income scale.
Indirectly, though, I think it sends a message. When an Oakland cop is throwing grenades at people, he's responding to social pressure that's built up over many years- this is how hard we are supposed to protect the social order- no matter how morally indefensible that social order may be.
I'm also thinking about this guy- who, before #occupy came to town, probably never had a reason to consider his role in the food chain.
These are the conversations we need to be having with each other. Otherwise I can't blame the 1% for ignoring the rest of us.
