Nickle and Dimed #4
In this excerpt from Nickle and Dimed Barbara Ehrenreich writes about or societies unappreciation for the working lower class citizens. I always try to keep an open mind when reading someone’s opinion, but there are a few things Ehrenreich says (or does not say) that keep me from agreeing with her. She says how hard many poor people work for not very much money, and then compares them to an unappreciative upper middle and upper class. And she is right; many poor people do work very hard, but so do many upper class citizens. Take doctors for example. Most doctors dedicate the majority of their lives to medicine. That includes going to school from kindergarten until they are nearing or in their thirties. Then they work to pay off student loans from so much school. Other similar examples are lawyers, chemical engineers, college professors, business managers, and various types of salesmen. All of these people have worked hard since they were in school and should not feel, as Elrenreich puts it, shame. I understand that not everyone has equal opportunity and as a nation we need to strive to reach that goal someday, but how can a man or woman who has worked hard their entire life to earn a good job feel shame that someone else gets paid to clean a bathroom. I do share Elrenreich’s opinion in that it does not matter if someone is poor, wealthy, or somewhere in between they should be treated with common respect. But I feel in this excerpt she did not give the working middle to upper class the respect they deserve.
2 comments:
I agree with your implication that Ehrenriech does not give the upper- and middle-classes enough credit in "Nickel and Dimed", and I find that Staples does the same thing. When he recounts the time a woman ran away from him on a dark street, I feel like his assumption that it was because he’s black doesn’t give that woman enough credit. I recently went to dinner in New Orleans with two of my friends, and when we turned down a side street we noticed a man behind us grew slightly nervous, and began walking more quickly – even though he was Caucasian and well-dressed. The woman who ran from Staples was probably more worried about the fact that he’s a man following her – a lone woman – at night, and for him to imply otherwise is presumptuous and maybe even a tad irresponsible as a writer.
While I would agree that many upper class people work hard, the idea that the upper class is somehow demonized is quite overblown. No one bemoans doctors for having the work ethic to complete med school, rather we bemoan the tragedy that so many people did not have the same chances, not for a lack of work ethic or intelligence, but for the circumstances of their birth.
In Brent Staples' "Black Men and Public Space," Staples seems to have overcome much of the opportunal barriers in front of him to become a journalist. However, this is no the case for millions of Americans who know nothing more than the "fear and weapons" of urban America. Even Staples seems to struggle as a result of the circumstances of his birth. As a black man, he is targeted because he is imposing and because he makes people uncomfortable. Staples adapts rather well to his circumstances and seems to harbor little if any resentment for it. Nevertheless, his is a story few and far between. As he points out, most of his peers from "small, angry Chester, PA" did not meet the same fate.
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