In an effort to avoid annoying all of my followers on Twitter to no end with my incessant quoting of Salon.com’s interview with “Stuff White People Like” author Christian Lander, I thought I’d post a screen capture of the passage from the article that hit home the closest. It directly addresses white people, their obsession with advanced degrees, the panic that ensues before settling upon the decision to attend law school, and the desire to take that law degree and work for non-profits in order to “be very helpful” so we lawyers can “hold it over other people.”
The fact that any of this banter applies to me, even in a loose sense – I have never wanted to work for a non-profit just so I could lord it over anyone else, but you get the idea – really shocks me. Lander claims the website is particularly written about “left-wing, upper-middle-class white people.” If that’s his succinct description, then I find that interesting, intriguing, and infuriating, all at once. That’s because I never, ever would’ve classified myself in that category – not now, not previously, and likely not ever.
It’s hard to shun the imprints of an upbringing, let’s be honest. I mean, neither of my parents went to college (although they both took college courses, neither finished the degree). For the majority of my life, I grew up in a single-parent household, without the buoy of child support to cling to from the abandoning parent. Which inevitably leads to a vivid recollection of my first experience (which wouldn’t be my last) using food stamps at The Pharm to buy groceries. And that’s just the beginning. But even still, I pinch pennies no matter what salary I’m raking. My clothes are decidedly cheap and acquired cheaply. I suffer from bouts of a tumultuous tummy when spending more than $50, or spending money on things other than food or “useful,” non-aesthetic items, like electronics or furniture. I have always foregone most niceties that characterize a comfortable, middle-class existence because, for the most part, those aspects have never characterized my life.
But in reading the article and digging through the site, I realized that I am an integral part of Lander’s target audience. I mean, as clearly documented, I see no harm in an impromptu pickup league of kickball. I packed up (and sold off) a happy life in Houston so that I could live in and worship the storied San Francisco first-hand. I studied abroad and wouldn’t take it back for the world (no pun intended!). I’m obsessed with vintage wares, I’m a vegetarian, I am working up to running a full marathon, I listen almost exclusively to indie music, and I’d marry Stephen Colbert if I could! The list goes on and on and on! Like my snarktastic friend Leslie says, Lander has us pegged!
Lions and tigers and bears, I’m an upper-middle-class white!
(cue bloodcurdling scream)
Holy cow. When (and how) did this happen?
While I – of course – have justifications different from Lander’s generalized explanations for liking what I like and enjoying what I enjoy, almost anything he says on the matter could admittedly be applied to me in some way, shape, or form. I understand that, I suppose. I more or less accept it, because “denial” is a river in Egypt, you know. But what I can’t grasp is how this makes me feel. Do I feel proud of my apparent ascension, or do I feel embarrassed to be such a sell-out to who I really am? It seems that I’ve “risen in the ranks,” so to speak, in terms of that arbitrary social ladder by which we are still allowing ourselves to be archaically classified. Right?
Maybe. But however accurately the case may be made, I want to make sure that my roots always keep me squarely grounded in reality. I might have a law degree, I might have infinite professional and social opportunities, but I never want to forget from where I came. After all, you might be able to take the girl out of the poorhouse, but I wouldn’t want to truly take the poorhouse out of the girl.
Now please excuse me while I ready myself for a early afternoon round of yoga. Namaste.
i’ve always found that website a bit reactionary and spurious. don’t be so quick to fall into the trap of assuming a category someone’s laid out for you, just because they decided, in their mind, it’s true.
yes, broad stereotypes and generalities exist, sometimes quite amazingly. but you are also an individual, and just because you happen to fit into some parts of some boxed-in category someone else has arbitrarily created out of thin air, it doesn’t mean you are *entirely* defined by it. don’t get caught up in the labels; get caught up in who you are, intrinsically, instead. the good thing about realizing that you may fall in line with certain stereotypes is that you can take a look at it, and it makes you think, and gives you the opportunity to redefine yourself, become a bigger, better person.