Lower working class???

[primitivemom]

Following on from the class threads? Can anyone tell me what constitutes lower working class? Is this benefit street class lol? staffies and job centers ?

[buscuit]

Watch Jeremy Kyle, that will partly answer your question.

It isn't necessarily anything to do with being on benefits, though. It's a mindset.

Of all the things I've learned about England since I've been on MN, the obsession with class is by far the most difficult to understand.

I don't know, people who are almost completely cut off from society, like prisoners and non-functioning addicts perhaps?

steff13

I notice that too! It's a national obsession with them! In Ireland no-one gives a shite!

"Lol"?

I live in a predominantly poor area and class/wealth/money are only important here to people who dont consider themselves to have much. Perhaps we're all too busy using our cutlery wrongly to mind too much ...

No it's not English obsession @steff13. Not like this. This^ is just twattishness.

Staffies and jobcentres

That's really not true in my experience Scsrletforya, it's just different to the UK. In Ireland people rank you based on how much money you make, what year car you drive, how big your house is and how much stuff you have.

I suppose because most people had nothing for a long time 'class'in Ireland is linked to material possessions. That is my experience anyway.

There are so many threads about it. From an outsider's perspective it seems to be very important.

God how long have we got to cover this?

How long is a piece of string?

Well I don't know what the "lower working class" is.

Or why OP cares.

Or why she's LOLing and stereotyping and sneering all in the same OP.

All sounds a bit dickish to me.

Only to the self conscious subset of the middle classes and the odd dowager @steff13

There's a hell of a lot of it on here though. TBH if everyone wants to endlessly dissect the habits of the MCs it's less offensive than this^ by some distance.

What's the sneering down at people all about?

I remember my ideas on class being influenced by Jilly Cooper's book on the subject (and being a bit bewildered about where to put myself).

I later spent a couple of years working for an opinion poll company, where we had to assess our respondents by Socio-Economic Group (aka class but you weren't allowed to call it that.) I'm a C1 which is somewhere around lower-middle to upper-working class.

How did they determine what you were, reanimated?

Accent? Dog type? Parent's job? To tattoo or not?

Forgive my comment, I must be on glue. I meant to say that class/wealth etc doesn't matter to the predominantly poor people where I live. It isn't something that's discussed or worried about, we all just live? for want of a better description.

Although in my opinion we still need to be more robust about finding out if they really are disabled in some cases

You sound lovely.

Most societies have a class system, think of the caste system in India it's a complete myth to think only the British have it. My MIL is from S.E.Asia originally and while it's not called a class system you are still defined by whether you went to uni or not, have a professional job, how much money your parents have, whether they belong to the right golf club or not etc etc

sxround you do realise that benefit fraud is minuscule in the grand scheme of things don't you? So most of the people claiming benefits have a right to do so, and therefore aren't scrounging. I don't see your indignation aimed at tax dodgers, but then, poor people are a far easier target aren't they?

And before you start on me, no I'm not on benefits, I just cannot stand people who attack anyone who is because it makes them feel superior in some ridiculous way.

Dh happily describes himself as coming from the underclass .

He says this because of his upbringing and jokes about my mc upbringing as well.

Sxround let's hope you never fall upon hard times eh.

Of all the things I've learned about England since I've been on MN, the obsession with class is by far the most difficult to understand.

We don't obsess about class, we don't have to, class just is. We all know where we are in the pecking order and we can tell that just by looking at someone. It's ingrained. And it has nothing to do with earning power or education or the make of clothing. It just is.

People will proclaim , I'm working class me, but I went to uni and now I earn 6 figures, I clawed my way out. Well no, you live a middle class lifestyle but the way you hold your knife, pronounce your vowels, tie your tie and even the shoes you wear shows your class origin.

Although in my opinion we still need to be more robust about finding out if they really are disabled in some cases

Hideous.