[Mickey M.]

What are most people's opinions of working-class people and poor whites? I know that my neighborhood in particular has a stigma attached to it - everything from racist to violent. Is this the prevalent attitude when dealing with poor whites in big cities? And last but definitely not least - because this is what infuriates me - why does it seem we are considered lower than poor blacks, Hispanics, Asians, etc.? Newspapers, politicians, TV media and even regular people save their harshest criticisms for the poor and working-class white people in Charlestown and Southie. Is this consistent elsewhere?

User Detail :  

Name : Mickey M., Gender : M, Religion : Catholic, Age : 18, City : Brighton Beach, Brooklyn, State : NY Country : United States, Occupation : Longshoreman, Education level : Less than High School Diploma, Social class : Upper middle class, 

[Augustine23609]

I come from a family that was white and poor, on both sides (mother and father), but not 'trash' by anyone's definition. You cannot criticize poor blacks or Hispanics because it's 'politically incorrect', and even if it weren't, they have their defenders. (There is no stereotype of 'poor Asians', quite the opposite.) Neither will I defend poor whites who make no effort to better themselves, and I don't think anyone --- black, white, or Hispanic --- should defend members of their race who do not make this effort. Thriftiness, morality, education, having no more children than you can afford to raise decently, not abusing drink or drugs, having a positive outlook on life, planning for the future --- none of these things are race-specific, nor is any race excluded from them. I will neither respect nor defend anyone who doesn't pursue these things.

User Detail :  

Name : Augustine23609, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Catholic, Age : 39, City : Columbia, State : SC Country : United States, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[Dan27290]

On my dad's side, I come from a long line of hillbilly/mountain-man dirt farmers from Appalachia and the Ozarks. My dad's generation was the first to emerge out of welfare-level poverty and into solid blue collar status. So I do sympathize for the poor white man, because 3/8 of me comes from a long line of them. I think that the stigma attached to poor whites is due to political correctness. Before the 1960s, society despised minorities. They saw them as overwhelmingly and deservedly poor, worthless, and inferior. Poor and working class whites were seen as salt of the earth, the backbone of society. Also, back then most people were working class anyway. However, we minorities fought hard for our rights and won them. Now, anyone who talks bad about minorities is a social pariah, and rightly so. Yet poor whites are the replacement scapegoat. While racism is alive and well, I believe that 'classism' has surpassed it in this country. The Klan and Hoover's FBI are no longer the threats they were, but entities such as the World Trade Organization, soft money-addicted politicians, and corporations who put profits over people are seriously affecting the quality of life for many Americans.

User Detail :  

Name : Dan27290, Gender : M, Race : Hispanic/Latino (may be any race), Religion : Christian, Age : 21, City : L.A. area, State : CA Country : United States, Occupation : Student, Social class : Lower middle class, 

[Ava23413]

I'm interested to know why being considered lower than blacks, Hispanics, and Asians infuriates you so much...

User Detail :  

Name : Ava23413, Gender : F, Race : White/Caucasian, Age : 24, City : Alhambra, State : CA Country : United States, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[Kris]

I think that the differences people see between classes today (and not just in America) is a result of an historical tendency toward hierarchies. Think of feudal societies in which a person's place on the economic ladder defined everything from what they ate to where they worked. If you were poor in, say, Charlemagne's time, then you probably ate meat once a year, you worked in the fields of some wealthy landowner's fiefdom, and you died at a fairly young age as a result of disease. European nations gradually developed out of feudal societies, but aristocracies remained as well as a general division of society. The advent of capitalism further separated the classes with the introduction of the bourgeoisie and Marx's famous 'proletariat'. With the help of colonization, this hierarchical trend spread to the Americas and other places around the globe. Today, there still remains a strong sense of class-division in many parts of the world. I think racism has also added to the development of certain class and social heirarchies. The person who first posed the question eluded to this in America. I definately think that these ideas exist and should be dealt with. The first step is to identify the prejudices at hand, and then to combat them with education.

User Detail :  

Name : Kris, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Age : 22, City : Virginia Beach, State : VA Country : United States, Occupation : student, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[Dan31661]

Here in L.A., the working class/poor white kids usually intermingled with the Latino kids. Most white kids in that category sometimes lived in our neighborhoods, or more often alongside us in more mixed neighborhoods. Some I knew were even so tight with us that they were deemed 'honorary Latinos,' so to speak. Many of my friends growing up were working-class or poor white kids. Sometimes they would mingle with black kids as well. However, you also had your people who were white supremacists (skinheads, peckerwoods, Nazi low-riders, white power, etc.) or who were bigoted 'rednecks' (could either be your Jeff Foxworthy types or kind of like those guys who tried to chase down the teenage Forrest Gump with their rebel flag-adorned truck) who caused trouble with us. That's the perspective I've come to know, meaning there's good and bad within every demographic.

User Detail :  

Name : Dan31661, Gender : M, Race : Hispanic/Latino (may be any race), Religion : Pentecostal Christian, Age : 21, City : Los Angeles area, State : CA Country : United States, Occupation : Student, Social class : Lower middle class, 

[Laya]

It has a fair amount to do with class structure, as in that white people should be able to gain power in a society that has traditionally favored whites. Those who don't achieve considerable wealth are considered by some to be lazy, less intelligent, lacking morals, and low class. The reason why they are discussed in such a negative way is that the conventional wisdom says that any one who wants to get educated and work hard has no reason to be poor. Therefore, if you are poor, it is because you want to be. I have heard many comments regarding poor whites, some people were trying to be mean and small-minded, some were just wondering why any white person would be poor in a country that claims all one has to do is work hard, and they will never be in need. With the business climate favoring white males, at first glance, that sort of reasoning has a certain amount of believablity. At deeper thought, common sense can prevail, as one examines that many rich white men come from families with influence, so they already had a 'leg up to begin' with. Money unites people across color lines, at this stage of history, as much as it divides them. Many times, people are taught to feel superior to others because of race, but when they get out into the real world,they find out it is not that simple. Poor people tend to be dismissed by almost everyone. Americans publicly value many things, and wealth tends to be the most valued. A weathly person is assigned all the favorable qualities, just because of the size of their bank account.

User Detail :  

Name : Laya, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Black?Native American/Italian, Age : 26, City : Rocky River, State : OH Country : United States, Occupation : grad student, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Upper middle class, 

[Dave Jernigan]

I have come to the conclusion that it's because we or they are the only ones left that are OK to pick on. It's not politically correct to criticize any other group. So we are it. Not your fault.Every gets their turn in the barrel. The better question might be, 'why do we need a group to feel superior too?' The comics need one for their put-down jokes and we're the only ones left standing.

User Detail :  

Name : Dave Jernigan, Gender : M, Race : White/Caucasian, Age : 61, City : seattle, State : WA Country : United States, Occupation : retired, Education level : Technical School, Social class : Lower class, 

[Martin F.]

Having worked a day-labor shift today with a bunch of poor whites, I saw six fights in 10 hours. People trash poor whites because they really do tend to solve their problems physically. If you don't believe that, go look at the police records, or first, go hang out at a rich person's bar, and then see how things change at the local redneck bar.

User Detail :  

Name : Martin F., Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Episcopalian, Age : 20, City : Raleigh, State : NC Country : United States, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Upper class, 

[Mira S.]

I never knew it was okay to trash poor whites until I lived with such a girl who never edited who anti-semitic thoughts and feelings. When I finally was backed into a corner and lost my temper I unleashed every ounce of anger I had towards her and her stupid, unenlightened bigotted ways. And she was violent and a mysogynist. Suddenly people were using the term white trash everywhere. I didn't know it was ever okay to do so. I still don't think it is and it should be re-thought. Tonya Harding probably started it.

User Detail :  

Name : Mira S., Gender : F, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Jewish, Age : 31, City : Toronto, State : NA Country : Canada, Occupation : artist/yoga tecaher, Education level : 4 Years of College, 

[Cat32424]

I think it's different everywhere; people seem to put down different groups in different places. It's not that way here in Tampa, at least not from what I've seen. And I want to respond to the person who said that poor whites solve their problems with violence. I just want to say that they may often get in bar brawls where you come from, but I have never experienced that here. And here in Tampa there was a recent shooting in a club and it was not a 'redneck' bar. It was in a hip hop club. And when I was in high school, which was a complete mixture of race and class, there were constantly fights going on with the blacks and Hispanics, but not with the other people. There was also a murder here involving an upper class white family. I just don't think you can say any race or class is prone to violence. Some individuals are prone to violence, not some groups.

User Detail :  

Name : Cat32424, Gender : F, Race : White/Caucasian, Age : 20, City : Tampa, State : FL Country : United States, 

[Linda]

It is the same reason that black people on COPS are either the cop or the suspect -- rarely the victim. It is the same reason that being black is equated, on televion, as being poor, uneducated, and criminal. It is the same reason that some white people think that the only way minorities get ahead is through affirmative action. Any questions?

User Detail :  

Name : Linda, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Bisexual, Race : Black/African American, Religion : Jewish, Age : 40, City : Juneau, State : AK Country : United States, Occupation : Education, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[Charles32249]

While I'm not for a moment suggesting that civil rights are a bad thing, the great ongoing struggle for racial equality over the past 40 years has served to mask the fact that America has *always* been class-discriminatory. When you get right down to it, the real moving force behind the rights movement was that black people and other minorities were ready to move off the lowest rungs of the economic ladder. So at this point America has spent a lot of time and effort - deservedly so - trying to overcome racial prejudice. Some of this thinking is applied very poorly by the white silver-spoon set, though, who now look at poor people of their own race thinking, 'At least the minorities were oppressed - what's your excuse?' They forget that poverty can be caused by more factors than just racial prejudice or personal underachievement.

User Detail :  

Name : Charles32249, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Agnostic, Age : 24, City : Albuquerque, State : NM Country : United States, Occupation : Architect, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Lower middle class, 

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