People Like Us

The "People Like Us" website was very interesting. I was particularly fascinated by the stories. Roberta was an example of a middle class woman who found a man who was in a lower class than she was. She obviously didn't care but his relatives gave her husband a hard time for becoming part of another class. This is a relevant representation of how social influences can keep people trapped in a class, or afraid to move upward. Karen was very interesting in the fact that she had a very mixed life between classes. Since she moved a lot, depending on where she was, she was considered lower or higher. It's interesting how different places have different social and economic classes. Ginny is supporting children off of a minimum wage job and avoiding government help, but her children are starting to catch on to the way they are different from other people. She works hard but is an example of a woman being kept in the lower class, unable to move upward. Charles is a rare case of a downward spiral from upper class to lower class. His decision to start his own life made him start over financially and give him a new standing in a low middle class position in society. Val was able to move up from her downward spiral, but her parents are another example of social influences regarding economic standing. She tried to pay them back but they did not want it and they resented her, straining their relationship.

It is very interesting how social influences and hard work affect a person's class.

People of New York

Above is a link to the Facebook page People of New York, where the stories of all different people of different social and economic classes are shared.