zippy178 Posted July 20, 2008 Share Posted July 20, 2008 I would say the divisions between the Upper class and the rest is more defined nowadays than those between the Middle and the Working class. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chindie Posted July 20, 2008 VT Supporter Share Posted July 20, 2008 And the Welsh Scottish and English are all the same race Ian . Although I agree, in a way. I'm just unsure why it has any bearing on class. It may define your class (stereotype ahoy but black people are more likely to be working class IIRC) but by saying 'I'm working class' I doubt it matters whether you're white, black, or a discerning shade of grey, at the end of the day you're still working class. Perhaps it doesn't, but it (race) has certainly played a big part in my heritage so I am therefore keen to acknowledge it. Not sure I get that either but hey ho. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
acwilliams Posted July 20, 2008 Share Posted July 20, 2008 And the Welsh Scottish and English are all the same race Ian . Although I agree, in a way. I'm just unsure why it has any bearing on class. It may define your class (stereotype ahoy but black people are more likely to be working class IIRC) but by saying 'I'm working class' I doubt it matters whether you're white, black, or a discerning shade of grey, at the end of the day you're still working class. Perhaps it doesn't, but it (race) has certainly played a big part in my heritage so I am therefore keen to acknowledge it. Not sure I get that either but hey ho. From my standpoint, it doesn't matter if you don't understand because at the end of the day, I like to acknowledge every part of my heritage. I don't leave little bits out, it's easier to say it in one go. You happen to think that it is not needed, and that is fine as it's your opinion, but I like to be fully aware of every part of my family history possible, so lets just agree to disagree. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ianrobo1 Posted July 20, 2008 Share Posted July 20, 2008 sorry chindie I missed the white bit of AC's orgibal post he is right though there is a difference between Asian working class and white working class, another deate bt it is fair for me to add race and nationality to it I bet a black english working class person thinks differently to AC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheSufferingVilla Posted July 20, 2008 Share Posted July 20, 2008 Pah, you are all peasants. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
acwilliams Posted July 20, 2008 Share Posted July 20, 2008 You snob. :winkold: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_Rev Posted July 21, 2008 Share Posted July 21, 2008 A Pyro. (yes, this is an all to geeky videogame reference) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phumfeinz Posted July 21, 2008 Share Posted July 21, 2008 A Pyro. (yes, this is an all to geeky videogame reference) You beat me to it by 11 minutes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gringo Posted July 21, 2008 Share Posted July 21, 2008 I think in 20 years time the term will be obsolete.I bet they thought that in the 60s as well when the hippies were reshaping the world. It's also not a particularly useful term.Most useful - without them, how would we know who to burn come the revolution. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snowychap Posted July 21, 2008 Share Posted July 21, 2008 It's also not a particularly useful term.Most useful - without them, how would we know who to burn come the revolution. I have them all in my notebook, so no problem there. :winkold: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zak Posted July 21, 2008 Share Posted July 21, 2008 i thought there was no such thing as upper-class and there was only upper middle-class any way i am not ashamed to say i am upper-class if it exists and upper middle if it doesnt. i have never looked down on anyone because of the class they are in and dont expect anyone to look down on me because of the class i am in(although it does happen from time to time) obviously in school and other areas of my life, i have met many snobby upper-class people and i think its a horrible attributebut you get the equivalent from the working class Since moving to dublin for university(ucd not trinity) i have no higher percentage of friends in any category Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyh29 Posted July 21, 2008 Share Posted July 21, 2008 Thought class was something that they used in the days of the Empire to determine whether you were canon fodder or an officer Not really relevant in this day and age A Plumber is a C2 in the occupation groupings we use in our industry ..and yet a plumber can earn very good money thee days and have a nice house , nice car , nice holidays etc .. whether he would be accepted in the country club is another matter I was concerned with the private school I looked at for my children as I thought it would be a bit elitish and that my children wouldn't be accepted seeing as I don't talk with a plumb in my mouth and have a double barrelled surname... but it would seem that cash is king nowadays and they don't care where the money comes so class is dead in many regards Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blandy Posted July 21, 2008 Moderator Share Posted July 21, 2008 I think in 20 years time the term will be obsolete. It's also not a particularly useful term.will they ? I agree they are not useful but lets be honest...a professional say on £40k or more a year has different life views and aspirations to those on £20k a year. whether it is wokring class vs middle class there are clear and not so clear divisions there Not sure about that at all, Ian Mark Steel got it pretty spot on. Extract below. To have any meaning, class must be about whether we have any control over how matters are organised in society. If you're Rupert Murdoch or on the board of a major bank you probably have. But if you work in Ikea or a call centre, or for Legal & General or you're a salesman or an air hostess, it doesn't matter that you're not covered in soot, you're probably working class. You could try ringing the Prime Minister and seeing if he'll redraw half his policies according to your wishes, or fancies a holiday in one of your villas, and if he accepts then the 89 per cent are obviously wrong. In other words, the amount you earn, 20K or 40K is not a defining factor, really, anymore. I'm well paid, nowe, but haven't always been, and I can't say that my aspirations have really changed at all, other than the one that used to be " I wouldn't mind earning enough money so I'm not skint half the time" which has I supposed changed to " I would quite like to keep earning enough money so I'm comfortably off" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Condimentalist Posted July 21, 2008 Share Posted July 21, 2008 I was concerned with the private school I looked at for my children as I thought it would be a bit elitish and that my children wouldn't be accepted seeing as I don't talk with a plumb in my mouth and have a double barrelled surname... A fair concern Tony, and by extension I don't think that you would wish your children to adopt any sort of snobbery themselves, but as someone who went to a private school I think it's fair to say that those types are easily avoided at all but the poshest of boarding schools. The friends that I made are generally some of the most down to earth people I know, and are in the majority. In answer to the thread it would be middle class. My parents are from pretty humble backgrounds but both managed to do well enough for themselves to afford me the comfortable lifestyle that I enjoyed growing up. Class is not entirely dead though, and I would agree with Paddy that other than the absolute silver spoon dickheads, snobbery has almost become an issue of inverted significance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zak Posted July 21, 2008 Share Posted July 21, 2008 those types are easily avoided at all but the poshest of boarding schools. kids that go to the poshest of boarding schools dont all end up like that either Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjmooney Posted July 21, 2008 VT Supporter Share Posted July 21, 2008 Well it's not really about money, is it? That Harry Enfield "Considerably richer than YOW" Brummie is a caricature but has a grain of truth. I'm from a class that seemed to spring into being after WWII due to the state grammar schools and university grants - the educated working class. My parents were unarguably WC - no qualifications, unskilled, no bank account, no car, never been abroad, lived in on a high-rise council estate. That's the world I grew up in, but access to education (grammar school and university) made my life (and that of my kids) very different. My wife's background was very similar - in fact I seem to have unconsciously gravitated toward people with that background as friends as well. We're actually pretty broke, but we do have a nice house in a leafy suburb. We're - I suppose - "intellectual", Labour-voting, Guardianista types (in a sea of Tory and LibDem voters around here). I put myself down as middle class in this poll, but do I feel it? Not really. When you get down to the whole "golf club mentality" that prevails in this area, I feel like a working-class Brummie. So I dunno. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sit_Down_Potato_Head Posted July 21, 2008 Share Posted July 21, 2008 Most definately upper to ruling class. His Most Exalted & Excellent Majesty - Lord Spudnut, King of Allotments, Vegetable Patches and Greenhouses, Keeper of the Sacred Mellons, Conqueror of Greenfly and Dissolver of Slugs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrissmith921 Posted July 21, 2008 Share Posted July 21, 2008 those types are easily avoided at all but the poshest of boarding schools. kids that go to the poshest of boarding schools dont all end up like that either Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HongKongVillan Posted July 21, 2008 VT Supporter Share Posted July 21, 2008 I think I am a working class. Although having an above average salary at still a reasonably youngish age (27), so does my wife, 1 kid now and if we both continue to work we would be fine and hopefully wecould get our 1st property on a mortgage by year end or beginning of next year. (and thats after years of savings and getting my own deposits) But if one of us get the sack, things will get tight at home. and pocket money to both parties' parents (one retired and dad semi retired) will need to cut short. and whoever gets the sack will need to find a new job quick before things turn more difficult. I think for someone to be in the mid - upper class they will need to have a weathy backer, ie. mum and dad. The one who could ask dad to lend a few grand for getting a deposits on their first property, the one who may get fired tomorrow at work, but their parents will tell them to come and stay at their 3-4 bedrooms house for a while and take your time to find a right job, or even daddy asking friends if they may have job offers for their son/daughter. The one who could ask mum to buy her wedding dress etc. Just my classifications though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slowandlow Posted July 21, 2008 Share Posted July 21, 2008 thought upper class was about titles rather than money i.e. there are some wealthier people considered middle-class than some elements of the upper class. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts