self entitled middle class??

[sweetsoulsister]

As an 'out of towner' can people explain why the middle class in this fine city of London feel they are so god damned righteous?

I'm standing in a queue with my children at the local swimming pool, and judging by the car park, it's busy. We go in and join a long queue. A couple of the families in front of me take their turn at the counter, turn around in disgust, and pace back and forth, argue with each other and work themselves up into a frenzy. Assuming they are going swimming I ask what has happened with the pool. One of the ladies says, 'The pool is at capacity and if we want to go in we will have to wait until someone leaves,' her voice rises another octave and she continues, 'This is completely unacceptable!!'

Really? Unacceptable? If you were the first family in the pool and it got too crowded because they let everyone in would you just suck it up because it's unacceptable to let everyone in?

This is not the first time I've encountered this outrage and it always seems to be what I've deemed the 'self entitled middle class...'

Explanations please???

[sweetsoulsister]

cross post galletti

[galletti]

Cross-posted. Thank you. But think you have it very wrong, and as for your last statement. Very silly and a huge generalisation. Off to bed now.

[Nerfmother]

Op, I am middle class . For the record, I do not believe the middle classes en masses have a sense if entitlement (to what?). Especially not to not queuing at a swimming pool.
I also do not generally believe that all those who are working class are salt of the earth types, that all those on benefits are work shy and own numerous televisions, and the upper classes do not all reuse teasbags and turn the heating down to nothing.
Hth.

[Bogeyface]

Well I have to agree with the OP!

In my town there is a definite divide between the monied middle clarrrrsses and the great unwashed (myself being MC by nature and upbringing, part of TGU by finances and necessity!).

The phrase "its totally unacceptable" is one that my mother learned to hate. She worked in the local library until she retired last year, and she said that the Middle Class Mummys were the worst. If Tarquin wanted a certain book that had been selfishly checked out by someone else then they would go mad! There was one woman in particular who was a major PITA, would kick off every time, deny all knowledge of late fees, blah blah. She had been known to suggest that her child deserved a book far more than other children as he was clearly gifted. He was a little shit according to the library staff!

Stop having a go at the OP because lets be honest, there is a vast number of entitled middle classes in this country who make a massive fuss over stupid things just because they believe they deserve better than everyone else. I wonder if the ones who are having a go are secretly worried that actually, the OP is talking about them!

[ComposHat]

And really op amongst the middle class a battered and aged Saab or Volvo carries far more cachet than a new SUV or BMW. They are for the arriviste.

[Onesleeptillwembley]

Lazyhound do you watch Mrs Brown? If so, I agree, that's nice.

[Joysmum]

We don't have a middle class in my town. We do have a lot of dicks who don't think they should have to queue for anything though because they are fuckwits.

[lazyhound444]

Lol Wembley. Glad you got the reference!

[Nerfmother]

Middle class does not equal new money. You clearly have no idea about the class system and therefor I forgive you your weird generalisation.
I am also not prepared to explain it to you at this time of night; you either get it or you don't.

[sweetsoulsister]

CompostHat you have proved my point - thanks, even if you didn't mean to do so.

[NearTheWindmill]

If you look at the facts in the OP though:

The car park was very busy
Joined a very long queue

At my local swimming pool, at busy times, they hand out coloured wrist bands and everyone with a white one gets called out after about 50 minutes, then everyone with a red one, etc.. Perhaps that was the usual system and perhaps today was just a shambles and the parents affected couldn't stand it any more. There is usually a bit of communication too where we live.

[Bogeyface]

Off the top of my head....

People bagging tables before they have ordered food. Ok when you do it, not ok when someone else does it.

Street parking. Ok for you to park outside someone elses house, they dont own the road. Not ok for them to park outside yours because you need it more due to your pregnancy/small children/heavy shopping/rain.

Children in restaurants. Your child is being fun and interacting with the staff in an intelligent (and dare I say, gifted?) way. Other children are noisy little shits who are tripping up the staff and risk a nasty accident, their parents should be told!

These are what I can remember from MN off the top of my head. With a bit of searching I am sure I could find more!

[sweetsoulsister]

Thanks Bogeyface, I appreciate people who see the reality of a situation rather than try to argue their way out of it. If someone gave me an actual argument rather than get so defensive I might 'see the light'!!

[GlitzAndGiggles]

Bogeyface them things proper do my nut in!!

[Floggingmolly]

Those women sound more thick than middle class, Bogey. Being middle class might have been incidental to their nonsense rather than the causative agent, so to speak.

[sweetsoulsister]

Flogginmolly - thank you for being the first to argue against me without being defensive!

[ComposHat]

The middle class are not the same thing as nouveau riche or arriviste soulsister.

It is quite possible to be solidly 'middle' middle class for generations.

[breatheslowly]

I'm definitely at least 3rd generation middle class.

[whereisshe]

Class is really not an explanation for most behaviour.

There are class indicators that are often class-driven (although not always, because humans don't follow strict rules, except perhaps Germans). Things like cars and behaviour in public pools aren't really class indicators.

There is also "typical" behaviour that is more common in some classes than in others, but generally someone being a dickhead in a public place is just being a dickhead.

In any case, the vast majority of people in the UK are middle class, do you really think they're all the same?

[Bogeyface]

Oh I agree that people are twats regardless Floggin but there is a massive difference in reactions.

TGU (of which, as I said, I am one!) tend to get either very pissed off, shouty and aggressive or look a little bit more defeated and just accept it.

It is the MC that tend to get loud (not shouty) and push their accent up a few notches when things dont go their way.

I live in a town that has some of the richest people in the country living here or near here, plus a very very high level of unemployment and Eastern European immigration. You can imagine that the divide between Us and Them (from either side) is huge so the behaviour certainly does become more noticeable.

[Devora]

It's almost entirely possible to be middle class and NOT drive a 4x4 (or, indeed, to have a car at all), to not be wealthy, to not have a child called Tarquin and to not be a dick.

[Owllady]

Did she p in the p o o l though?

[Devora]

But Bogeyface, the 'richest people in the country' are not, by definition, middle class.

[Bogeyface]

I should say that what I have posted above is based on my own experiences in my own town, which I have lived in for all of my 40 years.

Other crass generalisations are available.

[sweetsoulsister]

whereisshe, interestingly enough, as an outsider, I find a lot of similarities between the English and the Germans!