No Class…

I was thinking one morning about what a classist society we really are. Don’t get me wrong; I know some might say it’s obviously so with the whole lower, middle and upper class distinctions, but a majority of Americans tend to identify ourselves as middle class across the board. And that’s also considered more a matter of economics than bloodline. That said, we claim we’re not classist and look down upon the “blatant” classicism of places like England with its blue-blooded lords and sirs and ladies, but we’re just as guilty. Take a very basic example, the airlines (although I know they’re the same for most countries). They have three clear categories: business class, first class and coach, the operative word in the first two being class. And it’s the same for the train. There’s a clear separation between those in business class and the regular folk. I found that out during a road trip I took from Newark Penn Station to a remote station in South Carolina.

I’d decided, while four months pregnant, to take a nostalgic trip alone by train to visit family in the South. It was during Spring Break and would give me the opportunity to take some “me” time for writing and reading during the 12-plus hour ride (and “plus” it was, especially coming back). Well, the treatment and facilities for the non-business-class riders were definitely sub-par. I couldn’t get my heavy third bag into the overhead compartment because I didn’t want to strain at a delicate point in my pregnancy, and there was no one on staff who was willing to help me. My husband would have, of course, but he was unable to board with me since there was such a short window of time between the train’s arrival and departure. In the end, I was advised to just push it over to an area where bags could just stand. I was not impressed. Okay, I digress.

I guess the point of the matter is that we do have double standards, maybe triple, in this country based upon status and standing. If you’re wealthy or a celebrity or both, you’ve got carte blanche. If you’re less fortunate or in need, you’re on your own, in most cases, not all. If you ask me, that’s not just low class, that’s no class. That’s just my opinion. What’s yours?