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 Social Class? 
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I've been thinking about this all week. Are there really such things as social classes? Or is it all in our minds? What is class really about? Money? Fame? Education? Jobs? There are plenty of people who have lots of money but don't shop at expensive department stores or have huge houses. What does that make them? What about the people who DO have nice houses and cars but can't really afford them and are way over their heads in debt? Is social class just what people see on the outside? Or is it what you really are? Sorry if this is confusing. I tried to spill it exactly like I see it in my head. :wink:

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Nicole Stack

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Sun Feb 05, 2006 10:44 pm
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This is a really confusing subject. I agree with you about the people out there who have really nice cars and houses, and probably buy whole grain bread, but are in so much debt they don't know whåt to do with theirself. This is a complicated issue because society tells us that to be successful in life, you must have a nice home, live in a nice neighborhood, etc. etc. However, there are many people in America that save a lot of their money for retirement instead of spending it on nice cars and houses when they are young. So does this put them in a lower social class because they don't have the materialistic stuff, or does this put them in a higher social class since they actually do have a lot of money????

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Jordan Will


Mon Feb 06, 2006 10:01 am
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i think the class issue is dependent on how much you make, not how much you spend. i also think that the people in higher class "rankings" can make a decision on how they want to be portrayed while the lower classes may not have that option. there is a man where i live that owns so much land, and has hoarded up his money and drives an old rusty truck and dresses is old worn out flannels and over-alls. this is probably not very common for someone so wealthy to act this way but sometimes you never know. i also like to think that even if you don't have money and your happy then you have it better than most. the question may be is their social class but i think maybe we should view it as what people value and what people possess, spiritually,physically(health), and mentally. there are some things that money just cannot and will not be able to buy.

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Teresa Holden


Mon Feb 06, 2006 3:56 pm
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Social class, to me, has always been something really hard to define. If you compare American society to another society that stratifies itself through law, such as India, it is tough to see American social class. In India, due to Hinduism, a man is born into whichever class his parents were in. In America we like to think that you can change classes whenever you want, but that just might not be true. You bring up a really good point by saying that people sometimes live outside of their means, but to me that is how class is defined, by the means in which people find themselves. That really expensive car could be worth 15 years of work to the "poor" person, but worth maybe a month to someone with more wealth. The class issue comes up in how buying those things is going to affect your day to day life.

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Tue Feb 07, 2006 8:35 pm
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I think that social classes are defined by what job or income you bring in...what you have or don't have....who you know and don't know.....where you've been and where your going....ect. It's confusing! But, would you call eminem (yes, the white rapper) upper class? Yes, he has money comming out the waazoo...but he grew up in a trailor park working as a fry cook....and now he sings about chopping his wife into little pieces! Or would you consider Billie Graham (the evangelist) who who does not have billions and billions (like the rappers) upper class? There are so many rules to who should be what in society...I suppose it is just impossible for a person to just be a person!

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Anna Kate Shook
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Wed Feb 08, 2006 9:22 am
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Defining social class is difficult. In a way, I think it does exist because that's what our lives focus around....who has what and how they got it. I wish there wasn't such a thing as social class because it's really just there to make the rich look good and the poor to look, well, poor. I think that if salaries were dispensed in a more "equal" way that our country wouldn't be so socially classed. I mean, what movie start really needs 35 million dollars per movie? I know this will probably never change, but it's nice to dream. :)

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Luci Osborne


Wed Feb 08, 2006 10:52 am
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I think that social class is definately hard to define but it does exist. I think that although it can and usually is negative, its a fact of life. I hate that it puts labels on people. It also creates stereotypes. Maybe if people would place less value on money and materialistic things, class would not be an issue.

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Samantha McCrary


Wed Feb 08, 2006 11:21 am
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All of you have made great points about social class. Its interesting that social class is something we have created to label ourselves, and it is what we base so much on. In my twenty years of life :wink: , I have come to realize, its not about class, its about heart. That might sound cheesey, but I am going to love, teach, and care for each of my students in the same way. In a perfect world, we would not worry about how big someone's house or car is, but we would look at their true character. As teachers, I think that is what we have to strive for & instill in our students.

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Kelly Allen


Wed Feb 08, 2006 12:23 pm
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