Okay, since I am obviously a minority of one here anyway, it seems fitting to respond to myself. I have read everything I wrote in the last several days on this thread, since the argument about social classes and the plight of the planet started, and everything that was written to me. I still am offended by Alexa's original remarks about social class distinctions, and think that I am probably in too serious a mood at the moment to just hang out and have fun.
I actually find following my stocks more interesting than hanging out in the coffee shop area. That is probably because unlike most of the women here, I do work--I went back when my child about seven, and because of economic necessity--but the fact is that I do not have endless time to be playful on the net, and am looking for substance in most of the things I do, simply because my time is quite limited. I also do not have access to SI at work, so the time I spend here acomes from a few hours a day that has many demands placed upon it.
Penni, in answer to your wondering about it, I responded to Alexa over here at Feelings because I didn't want to intrude on the light tone at XXXXX. Even though it was her intent to send that post to you, it was sent to me, and I had such a visceral response that I still feel justified in communicating it.
Thomas, I don't think I disparaged the bar girls in the Philippines--I think my misunderstanding was that they were mostly prostitutes, and you were saying they were not. I had just written about a Thai movie about a prostitute in very sympathetic tones, and really feel sorry for sex workers in general. I think you may have misunderstood me. I was critical of men from Western nations who flock to Asian countries to find women who have been trained by their cultures to be submissive, because I think these women are often abused. I really try not to be condescending or elitist, because I think it creates negative energy, and I don't like feeling narrow like that.
Alex, I don't believe that government is the solution to all problems. On the other hand, governments must take responsibility for helping solve issues like global warming, because they set policy. At the same time that too much government is bad, government has a legitimate function. I personally think it is disengenuous to think that private charities will be able to solve all the huge social problems that our government seems to be abandoning.
Jeff, as I remember you were wondering why I felt so bitter. I thought about that a long time, and don't really feel bitterness inside. I just feel like several comments made in the argument about social classes seemed insensitive, and that several people were saying that they really didn't have enough in common with non-college graduates to socialize with them. I find that really offensive because I am trying to open my heart to people based on what they have to offer, and I am finding that if I stay receptive, people from all walks of life have different perspectives that I find interesting, and different things to teach me. Alexa's comment that non-college graduates who read, talk about ideas, etc. are in themselves an elite I found to be just more of the same--sort of like house slaves in the South, who were proud to be more refined and educated and acceptable than field slaves.
I don't think there is anything I can say here that would really fix this disagreement. My feelings are really strong, and very polarized from the views of most people who post on this thread. There are many reasons people are not college educated. There are huge injustices in the world. The most reliable factor in predicting attendance at, and success in, college, is that a child's mother is a college graduate. As America turns away from affirmative action, which I think a lot of us have mixed feelings about, I feel sympathetic with how hard it is to get through college if you have no role models, and reading and art and music and a huge amount of maternal attention are not things which were given to you.
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