WWTBAM Bored

Would someone define the middle class for me?

Seriously. I think y'all could come up with some interesting criteria. Because I would like to know.

Beebs52 wrote:Would someone define the middle class for me?

Seriously. I think y'all could come up with some interesting criteria. Because I would like to know.

They're in between the people who carry briefcases and the people who carry lunch pails.

WheresFanny wrote:

Beebs52 wrote:Would someone define the middle class for me?

Seriously. I think y'all could come up with some interesting criteria. Because I would like to know.

They're in between the people who carry briefcases and the people who carry lunch pails.

I don't have a briefcase or a lunch pail. I just have a plastic glass and a water jug I fill up every night.

Which class does that put me in?

lb13

Jacques Brel (who unfortunately is no longer aliver nor living in Paris) gives the following description of the Middle Class in his song of the same name:

Your heart feels so right
Your eyes swim in the beer
Where the barroom lights are hung
And with your friend Jojo
And with your friend Pierre
You drink a toast to being young
Jojo thinks he's Voltaire
And Pierre, Casanova
And me who proudly did not care
Me, I was a lover

And at midnight we watched the
Lawyers pass
Coming out of hotels which had real class
We showed them our good manners
And we showed them our ass
And, oh, how we sang

The middle class are just like pigs
The older they get, the dumber they get
The middle class are just like pigs
The fatter they get, the less they regret

Your heart feels so right
Your eyes swim in the beer
Where the barroom lights are hung
And with your friend Jojo
And with your friend Pierre
Holding on to being young
Voltaire danced like a vicar
Casanova, he was too stout
And me who proudly did not care
Me, I drank till I passed out

And at midnight
We watched the salesmen pass
Coming out of hotels which had real class
We showed them our good manners
And we showed them our ass
And, oh, how we sang

The middle class are just like pigs
The older they get, the dumber they get
The middle class are just like pigs
The fatter they get, the less they regret

But your heart slows down
Your eyes do not flash
The hotel bartender sings our praise
Jojo's no clown
Pierre pays in cash
Among the bookkeepers we pass our days
Jojo now speaks of Voltaire
Casanova's just a book on the shelf
And, me, I proudly do not care
Me, I talk only of myself

And everybody knows
That we've got real class
There is not a night that we can pass
Those lousy kids
Who always show us their ass
And, oh, how they sing

The middle class are just like pigs
The older they get, the dumber they get
The middle class are just like pigs
The fatter they get, the less they regret

littlebeast13 wrote:

WheresFanny wrote:

Beebs52 wrote:Would someone define the middle class for me?

Seriously. I think y'all could come up with some interesting criteria. Because I would like to know.

They're in between the people who carry briefcases and the people who carry lunch pails.

I don't have a briefcase or a lunch pail. I just have a plastic glass and a water jug I fill up every night.

Which class does that put me in?

lb13

If you don't have a briefcase and you don't have a lunch pail, then you're in the middle.

frogman042 wrote:Jacques Brel (who unfortunately is no longer aliver nor living in Paris) gives the following description of the Middle Class in his song of the same name:

Your heart feels so right
Your eyes swim in the beer
Where the barroom lights are hung
And with your friend Jojo
And with your friend Pierre
You drink a toast to being young
Jojo thinks he's Voltaire
And Pierre, Casanova
And me who proudly did not care
Me, I was a lover

And at midnight we watched the
Lawyers pass
Coming out of hotels which had real class
We showed them our good manners
And we showed them our ass
And, oh, how we sang

The middle class are just like pigs
The older they get, the dumber they get
The middle class are just like pigs
The fatter they get, the less they regret

Your heart feels so right
Your eyes swim in the beer
Where the barroom lights are hung
And with your friend Jojo
And with your friend Pierre
Holding on to being young
Voltaire danced like a vicar
Casanova, he was too stout
And me who proudly did not care
Me, I drank till I passed out

And at midnight
We watched the salesmen pass
Coming out of hotels which had real class
We showed them our good manners
And we showed them our ass
And, oh, how we sang

The middle class are just like pigs
The older they get, the dumber they get
The middle class are just like pigs
The fatter they get, the less they regret

But your heart slows down
Your eyes do not flash
The hotel bartender sings our praise
Jojo's no clown
Pierre pays in cash
Among the bookkeepers we pass our days
Jojo now speaks of Voltaire
Casanova's just a book on the shelf
And, me, I proudly do not care
Me, I talk only of myself

And everybody knows
That we've got real class
There is not a night that we can pass
Those lousy kids
Who always show us their ass
And, oh, how they sing

The middle class are just like pigs
The older they get, the dumber they get
The middle class are just like pigs
The fatter they get, the less they regret

Ah. Les Francais. Ceux qui sont tous fou beaucoup de temps. Mais, le paysage, les arts, la couture et l'architecture sont assis de raison de keep them around. Not so much their political bent, though. Bless their hearts. La bourgeouisie, ceux qui faisent the wheels going, as it were.

WheresFanny wrote:

littlebeast13 wrote:

WheresFanny wrote: They're in between the people who carry briefcases and the people who carry lunch pails.

I don't have a briefcase or a lunch pail. I just have a plastic glass and a water jug I fill up every night.

Which class does that put me in?

lb13

If you don't have a briefcase and you don't have a lunch pail, then you're in the middle.

As long as you don't have a manpurse, you're solid.

Beebs52 wrote:

WheresFanny wrote:

littlebeast13 wrote:
I don't have a briefcase or a lunch pail. I just have a plastic glass and a water jug I fill up every night.

Which class does that put me in?

lb13

If you don't have a briefcase and you don't have a lunch pail, then you're in the middle.

As long as you don't have a manpurse, you're solid.

If I can't keep it in my pants pockets, I don't need it along with me....

And everyone keep your minds out of the gutter!

lb13

littlebeast13 wrote:

Beebs52 wrote:

WheresFanny wrote: If you don't have a briefcase and you don't have a lunch pail, then you're in the middle.

As long as you don't have a manpurse, you're solid.

If I can't keep it in my pants pockets, I don't need it along with me....

And everyone keep your minds out of the gutter!

lb13

You could always hang it across your shoulder. You know, those extras.

A lot of material one will turn up will more refer to a more stratified society than that which putatively is built both in US and in Canada. Like the beautiful Brel lyric

It would be easy to write 2000 words, hard to write 200, so just leave it at the upper border:

I think anywhere, if you have to ask yourself whether you are upper class, you are not. It requires invitation in some fashion, not just wealth.

OTOH, if you believe Franklin D. Roosevelt was a scumbag who was a traitor to his origins, at someplace in the past you or your family are upper class.

If your family has to work, you're middle class.

Bob Juch wrote:If your family has to work, you're middle class.

See, this is why I asked the question. I understand the "rich" thingie. But where does it meld into "poor"? Because the poor "have" to work as well. At what line does one draw the destinction?

The distinctions among rich, upper class and not having to work exist. Britney Spears no doubt has enough money not to work, and she is no way upper class.

There are distinctions between poor, po' folks, working class, and not having a lot of money.

You can slog through "social class" on wikipedia. I am not sure that the models are particularly incisive, however.

etaoin22 wrote:The distinctions among rich, upper class and not having to work exist. Britney Spears no doubt has enough money not to work, and she is no way upper class.

There are distinctions between poor, po' folks, working class, and not having a lot of money.

You can slog through "social class" on wikipedia. I am not sure that the models are particularly incisive, however.

I just want to know what exactly we are after we are relegated to refrigerator boxes and shopping carts, like that. I suppose it depends on the quality of the shopping cart.

Beebs52 wrote:Would someone define the middle class for me?

Seriously. I think y'all could come up with some interesting criteria. Because I would like to know.

Some folks can't afford to do keep their houses maintained, bodies healthy, kids clothed and happy, and all those other things a productive member of society is supposed to do. Other folks can not only do it but can pay people to manage and do it all for them.

The middle class are the people in between.

Go down to some third world type place and try to find someone who fits into any idea of 'middle class'. There aren't many. You're either dirt poor, or too rich for your own (or anyone else's) good. A strong middle class is a good marker of a strong country.

marrymeflyfree wrote:

Beebs52 wrote:Would someone define the middle class for me?

Seriously. I think y'all could come up with some interesting criteria. Because I would like to know.

Some folks can't afford to do keep their houses maintained, bodies healthy, kids clothed and happy, and all those other things a productive member of society is supposed to do. Other folks can not only do it but can pay people to manage and do it all for them.

The middle class are the people in between.

Go down to some third world type place and try to find someone who fits into any idea of 'middle class'. There aren't many. You're either dirt poor, or too rich for your own (or anyone else's) good. A strong middle class is a good marker of a strong country.

If you go to a Third World country, our poor are their rich.

Probably 98% of America is rich if viewed on world terms. Look at the percentages of Americans who own a car, television, or a phone, let alone have clean water and any food to eat.

Appa23 wrote:

marrymeflyfree wrote: Go down to some third world type place and try to find someone who fits into any idea of 'middle class'. There aren't many. You're either dirt poor, or too rich for your own (or anyone else's) good. A strong middle class is a good marker of a strong country.

If you go to a Third World country, our poor are their rich.

Probably 98% of America is rich if viewed on world terms. Look at the percentages of Americans who own a car, television, or a phone, let alone have clean water and any food to eat.

I guess I meant it in terms of scale....in many parts of the world, there is no middle ground. Only desperately poor and obscenely (by whatever standard) rich. A healthy middle class, whether that means owning a dishwasher and a garage or owning your own cows or whatever, is a marker of a healthy society.

marrymeflyfree wrote:

Appa23 wrote:

marrymeflyfree wrote: Go down to some third world type place and try to find someone who fits into any idea of 'middle class'. There aren't many. You're either dirt poor, or too rich for your own (or anyone else's) good. A strong middle class is a good marker of a strong country.

If you go to a Third World country, our poor are their rich.

Probably 98% of America is rich if viewed on world terms. Look at the percentages of Americans who own a car, television, or a phone, let alone have clean water and any food to eat.

I guess I meant it in terms of scale....in many parts of the world, there is no middle ground. Only desperately poor and obscenely (by whatever standard) rich. A healthy middle class, whether that means owning a dishwasher and a garage or owning your own cows or whatever, is a marker of a healthy society.

I was told I wouldn't find a middle class in Mazatlan, but that turned out to be so much baloney. The young lady who was our tour guide on the bus to our hotel, and the bus driver, and the hotel clerks, restaurant staff and owners -- all solidly middle class.