I agree that class is more important than race. And I use class to indicate something more than simple economics, it is about persistent economics and the attitudes that it engenders. Some kids are poor because their parents lost a job. That situation sucks and the fact that they are poor are absolutely important. Other kids are poor because their parent(s) have a minimum wage job, if they are lucky, and they come from a family that has been like that for a couple generations. The sense of "class" there, the expectations, differ even if the current economic reality of the families annual income might be the same. When you have family and friends that are successful, you have the belief that you can be successful. I was dirt poor during many times in my childhood, on welfare, receiving foodstamps, family in jail, etc. But I also had extended family that had college degrees, that worked professionally, that started/owned businesses. I had the expectation that I would go to college and I would not be poor the way I grew up. That really puts me in a different class than people who may have been just as poor but who also dealt with the fact that that is all they know. Their parents didn't go to college, their grandparents didn't, their aunts and uncles didn't. That is a persistent economic reality that spans generations and makes it a lot harder to imagine doing something different. That, to me, is class versus simple economics. And that does, indeed, often have a racial component.
Judah On Tue, Jul 20, 2010 at 12:22 PM, Jerry Barnes <critic...@gmail.com> wrote: > > "If you are talking about affirmative action in college admissions, I think > your example doesn't really apply." > > College is just an example. > > And it does apply, at least in my opion. > > "Really intelligent poor white kids tend to get into good colleges as well. > I got into a top private college in spite of being poor and white." > > Sure. And a lot don't. A lot end up going to jail since they can't stand > the tedium of blue collar work and crime seems an easy way out. I know > quite a few. > > And, what about the intelligent poor white kid versus the really intelligent > white kid? Or the average white kid? Or the dumb white kid? > > Economics give a clear cut boundary. It removes bias. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~| Order the Adobe Coldfusion Anthology now! http://www.amazon.com/Adobe-Coldfusion-Anthology-Michael-Dinowitz/dp/1430272155/?tag=houseoffusion Archive: http://www.houseoffusion.com/groups/cf-community/message.cfm/messageid:323259 Subscription: http://www.houseoffusion.com/groups/cf-community/subscribe.cfm Unsubscribe: http://www.houseoffusion.com/groups/cf-community/unsubscribe.cfm
