this post was submitted on 28 Sep 2024
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Doesn't mean you don't call yourself middle class, because at least you're not homeless. At the very least, "lower-middle class"
20-something years ago PBS had an excellent documentary called "People Like Us: Social Class in America" to show, well, social class in America. If you can find it, or at least clips of it, I'd recommend it. There was one cutscene with a bunch of people being asked which class they see themselves as, and pretty much everyone felt they were "middle class" - but you could tell by the way they presented themselves (clothes, jewelry, etc) that they were all over the place.
People see themselves through a bias filter. Doesn't make it true. People don't like to call themselves lower class even when they are. Especially when they were probably raised middle class, because that paints a picture of failure.
If you struggle with rent or groceries you are lower class. If you're making minimum wage you're lower class.
I don't think we really disagree here. You're focusing on what people are. I'm focusing on how they see themselves. They're not necessarily the same things.