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Class tensions
Get off your high horses.
In the months since the recession has killed the fat greedy Celtic cat, I have noticed a rather unsettling atmosphere of discontent amongst the younger generation. Quite honestly, I have been shocked by statements against the lower class by well educated, middle class people in their late twenties and thirties with, in many cases not one, but two degrees who have been fortunate enough to benefit from our education system. They have shocked me with their vitriol against the lower classes, accusing them of being ‘uneducated scum scrounging off the state’.
In one instance, a very good friend of mine posted a status on Facebook suggesting that all of these vagrants in society should be rounded up and set upon each other in a coliseum style face off, where they would (according to his apparently well educated, superior thinking), simply kill each other off, leaving the middle and upper classes to co-exist in their ‘flawless’ society.
What shocked me almost as much as this dangerous and ignorant thinking was not only the amount of proceeding posts in support of the idea, but the fact that the people responding were from countries all over Europe; not just Ireland.
It seems the middle class Celtic tiger generation has bred a part of society that has had life easy over the last few years. I’m not suggesting that these people haven’t had to overcome hardships, make sacrifices or work hard; I’m aware that many of them have. However, the fact of the matter is that many seem to have never come into contact with, or been made to understand or appreciate the struggles some people have operating within certain social systems. So, they have never considered that this conflict is often the cause of anti-social and undesirable behaviour.
Take the student who is a kinesthetic learner for example and place him/her in a formal classroom environment. He/she will disrupt lessons. Or, look at the case of someone who is unable to do homework or study at home due to an unstable or violent environment. How about people who left the education system at a young age and now wish to return to education, but find their experience or qualifications fall short? Finally, what about those young people who have no affordable or accessible recreational activities, and find that the only pastimes available to them are drinking, drug taking and hanging around?
It’s so very easy to criticise those who don’t seem to participate positively in society, and much easier to dismiss them as useless leeches, than it is to take the time to explore and address the underlying causes of continued unemployment, alcohol/drug addiction, seemingly mindless violence and destructive behaviour. It’s difficult to work with these people and to try to understand the problems they face. It’s even harder to come up with solutions, or, even better still, to address the shortcomings in our social systems that exclude or oppress some members of our society.
These people are already marginalised and killing each other off! I believe though, that given the right support and opportunities, they too could become productive members of society. Basically, some people just need to get off their high horses and stop looking at themselves as superior beings.
Maybe these superior beings need to realise that their ability to understand and function well within an accepted educational/work/social system is the very reason they are not hanging outside the local spar deciding how to make some money, or at home wondering how they’re going to spend yet another day out of work.
By: Rachel Lally
