The British Class system.
By 41Combedale
@41CombedaleRoad (5966)
Greece
October 15, 2016 10:51am CST
In England unfortunately we still allow a class system to survive. One in which we know our place. We have working class, middle class, upper class and the aristocracy.
When I first heard the description ‘working class’ I asked my mother if we were working class. She replied very firmly, ‘No, we are middle class but the people next door are working class!’
That never really satisfied me and when I grew a little older I learned another strange phrase ‘blue collar and white collar workers’. So eventually I got the answer to my question, white collar workers are professional middle class people and blue collar workers are working class people who have manual jobs, either skilled or unskilled.
My father was a bus driver, blue collar then. So eventually my question was answered, we were as working class as the people next door!
Perhaps my mother thought there was some stigma to being working class, if she did I am thankful that I see things quite differently and am happy to be considered a working class person.
10 people like this
10 responses
@asfarasiknow (3340)
• Bournemouth, England
15 Oct 16
I think the distinctions are not as clear nowadays. Jobs have been rebranded with fancy titles, educated people affect accents that do not reflect their backgrounds and the availability of credit means that seemingly well-off people actually 'own' very little. The older I get, the more I try to judge people on their attitudes, empathy and behaviour rather than on wealth and supposed status.
5 people like this
@41CombedaleRoad (5966)
• Greece
16 Oct 16
It is true and there is some mobility now upwards which is good although the distinction by accent still holds I think.
1 person likes this
@asfarasiknow (3340)
• Bournemouth, England
16 Oct 16
@41CombedaleRoad The point I was really making about accents was that you seem to have some quite 'posh' people faking working class accents or patois for the sake of 'street cred'.
@PainsOnSlate (21845)
• Canada
16 Oct 16
I never heard it discussed as a child and didn't notice any "class" groups except on TV or in books. My mother was the country girl (father a farmer) and Dad was a city boy who's dad worked on the train. I liked visiting the farm the best (most fun). after we children went to school mom went back to teaching and Dad had his own business. I have no memory of feeling better or worse than anyone one else. I guess that is a good thing. My parents did a good job.
3 people like this
@celticeagle (189820)
• Boise, Idaho
15 Oct 16
Working class is nothing to be ashamed of.
2 people like this
@celticeagle (189820)
• Boise, Idaho
16 Oct 16
@41CombedaleRoad ......Yes, and I think some of the 'upper crust' think the working class are rather dirty. Some do.
@41CombedaleRoad (5966)
• Greece
16 Oct 16
I would add that it is something to be proud of because working class people have worked for what they have whereas the ones higher on the social ladder have had inheritances passed down through the family.
1 person likes this
@sueznewz2 (10409)
• Alicante, Spain
16 Oct 16
Yes there is still a class system in place..., but the gap between the two is much smaller... and the social and psychological aspect of the two groups are not the same now as they were in that generation....
2 people like this
@41CombedaleRoad (5966)
• Greece
16 Oct 16
Yes the gap is getting smaller but I can't see it disappearing in the foreseeable future somehow....
1 person likes this
@1creekgirl (44560)
• United States
15 Oct 16
Do you still see that very much there? We have some people in the US who THINK they're aristocrats!
2 people like this
@41CombedaleRoad (5966)
• Greece
16 Oct 16
I suppose they base that on the state of their bank accounts?
1 person likes this
@1creekgirl (44560)
• United States
16 Oct 16
@41CombedaleRoad Totally. They don't realize that having class doesn't have anything to do with how much money they have.
@JamesHxstatic (29410)
• Eugene, Oregon
15 Oct 16
We sort of have that same kind of system in the US too. We definitely have the blue and white collar thing and most people seem to strive to better their "class." My dad spent his live as a car mechanic, ran his own shop, sometimes with a partner. My mother, a farmer's daughter was never satisfied with her lot in life. My lack of interest in cars and fixing things led me to retail, college and then to a " white collar" office job, home ownership, etc. I guess that moved me to middle class status. There is much talk in the US about who is middle class and what it takes to make that claim.
2 people like this
@41CombedaleRoad (5966)
• Greece
16 Oct 16
Now you and SusanZ have surprised me. I thought America was free from that kind of snobbery.
1 person likes this
@crazyhorseladycx (39503)
• United States
15 Oct 16
thankfully i'd not such to contend with. to me, workin' 'tis workin' 'n whate'er the job may be, one ought not to be 'labeled' - but given a gold star these days jest fer keepin' a danged job. i can't e'en imagine how the folks today would'a survived back then!
@41CombedaleRoad (5966)
• Greece
16 Oct 16
They survived by keeping in their place and putting up with things. I don't think America has had such noticeable differences, in Europe we had the aristocracy to contend with. Still do to an extent.
1 person likes this
@crazyhorseladycx (39503)
• United States
17 Oct 16
@41CombedaleRoad oh, such 'xists, e'en today. i know i t'was looked down 'pon when i went off to college. ya know, that back'ards hick from the hills?
@boiboing (13147)
• Northampton, England
16 Oct 16
I fear you may have been out of the country for too long. This really isn't such an issue in the UK any more. People really don't get het up about class these days.
@41CombedaleRoad (5966)
• Greece
16 Oct 16
Not so Boingboing - perhaps it is different in the South East where I lived. The class system shows up in many ways. I have worked in offices where management had separate toilets to the rest. Social life is restricted by where you live and working class people do not meet up with professional people unless they need their services. They may describe this as moving in different circles, but it all amounts to the same thing.
1 person likes this
@boiboing (13147)
• Northampton, England
16 Oct 16
@41CombedaleRoad I think we'd have to agree to disagree on this one. 25 years ago when the 'executive washroom' and directors' dining room still existed, I might have agreed. I just don't see such things any more.
@JudyEv (381905)
• Rockingham, Australia
8 Nov 16
These old beliefs die hard don't they? Although many might deny it there are different 'classes' here too.
