The Importance Of Being In The Middle-Upper Class

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When we first broke into our groups, I was a bit confused as to why we were doing this exercise. I thought that it was probably had to do with sharing ideas of being in a privileged socioeconomic status so we could merge groups afterward and share what we brainstormed, which turned out to be correct. I wasn’t surprised to be included in the middle-upper class group because for where I stood during the “privilege line” activity. One difference that was noted in our group was how it felt to be in the middle-upper class group. I said that I felt a bit of pride because the reason for why I was in this class was because of how my mother worked to overcome oppression. Other people said they felt guilty because they didn’t have to work for anything they had today, and almost everything they had was inherited. I now understand why they felt that way because of the reading for this week. According to On Being in the Privileged Position: Things My Parents Couldn't Teach Me, after seeking awareness (which I believe we have already begun by taking and participating in IDP,) it is natural to feel some guilt. Ted Tschudy calls this “the curse of insight.” “Once one …show more content…

I think that maybe another reason for wanting an extremely wealthy person in the class is so that we could justify why some of us thought that we were less privileged than we were. There are a few people in our group who grew up in very wealthy neighborhoods, so I think it is quite understandable why they thought this. I am guilty of taking things for granted, such as being able to play hockey which is very costly. My brother and I were very fortunate to have parents who could support us in playing any sport we wanted, something that many can’t afford because of not only money but also

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