Hey yall! I've been thinking all week about what I wanted to blog about this week and I have finally come up with something. In class we talk a lot about the boot strap myth. You know, basically if you work hard enough you to could become wealthy. Well as we discussed in class some people have fewer resources and just can't achieve that high of a standard. After researching the boot scrap myth I found this picture which in my mind is a great example. Everyone got to where they are or is able to stay where they are because of someone else. Sure that someone isn't the only factor but is in fact in the equation.
This cartoon is ironic and pretty telling of the way the pride and self-centeredness of human nature play in to how most individuals justify and make sense of the varying degrees of penalty and privilege around the world. While we initially discussed the “bootstrap” myth in relation to classism and its relevance within US society, the idea certainly plays a role globally as well. After reading Jamaica Kinkaid’s A Small Place, as well as viewing the documentary Life and Debt in class, it is clear that the legacy of colonialism consistently puts ex-colony nations such as Jamaica and Antigua at significant disadvantages within the global economy. Furthermore, the Westerners that profit from these nations’ disadvantages deny that they (their ancestors) were directly responsible for instituting the systems that bring such widespread instability, poverty and corruption to these societies. The documentary Life and Debt from class this week gave a very telling example when American farmers expressed an interest in selling to Jamaican consumers. The greater opportunity for American farmers to produce through subsidies and other advantages singlehandedly bankrupted Jamaican farmers, undermining any source of income for them. However, these farmers hardly saw the truly destructive nature of their actions. Surely, they attributed their success in these markets to their own resourcefulness and hard work versus the true cost of sending local farmers spiraling deeper and deeper in to poverty. While it is at least understandable how the myth of meritocracy can allow people to turn a blind eye to economic disadvantage within the United States, in underdeveloped nations where inequality is an accepted condition, there is no excuse for this kind of economic exploitation by the West.
ReplyDeleteThis cartoon really depicts the big man little man in our society. The boot scrap myth is heavily tied with the American Dream. If one works hard enough, they can achieve greatness. This statement goes back to the myths of class. The boot scrap myth implies a classless society and that everyone is on the same level and are exposed to the same opportunities, which is not the case. I can give two examples of how the boot scrap myth is a lie.
ReplyDeletePerson 1: This person is upper class and her father is the owner of fortune 500 company. While growing up, she has met many people who also work or own their own successful businesses. When she was in college she got an internship with her father's company and was able to network with many people. When she graduated, she was offered a job by one of the people she networked with at her internship.
Person 2: This person comes from a working-class family. Both parents worked and they still are paying off loans and the debt from his grandparents. He was able to attend the same college as Person one only because of the loans given to him by the government, and working part-time. He was trying to get an internship with the same fortune 500 company Person 1 got one with but he was declined. After college he looked for work.
Yes this example is extreme,made up, and have many other factors that differentiate these two people, but their class difference puts them on different starting points and opportunities come differently for the two. Person one's privilege of being upper-class gave her an unfair advantage to Person two. They both could have worked equally as hard but because Person one's class privilege allows her to network with these people, and her father is a owner of a company, she is able to be successful.
I agree with both Lili and Nia comments. I believe that this picture obviously shows the big man, little man or the bootstrap myth. However, it does not point out the underlining issue of a person with privilege or high class being oblivious to the non-privilege or low class people in our society. What I mean by being oblivious is to never comprehend that class difference makes a difference. Making statements like "everyone has the same equal opportunities" or "I'm here cuz of myself" is not true for any class situation. I find this picture very problematic because everyone does not have the same advantages or resources as a person of high class would normally have access to. Nia Person 1, Person 2 scenario was an excellent way of explaining how two people class differences can effect their lives, without it being their fault or hard work. In A Small Place and in the in-class video we watched last week discussed how many families in low class work really hard and still get paid very little. If this picture was accurate everyone who are hard workers and not privileged by having careers handed to them because of who they know would be the man at the top. I believe there are plenty of people in low class and middle class that are capable of handing high class jobs better than high class people due to their work ethic but that opportunity will never happen because people with high class hold the power to remain on top. Similar to the government relationship Jamaica Kinkaid explained in A Small Place.
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree with all of you and the very thoughts yall had towards this. They booth strap myth went hand in hand with the idea of having a classfree society. This picture goes every class and the highest up of course has the largest voice as to what goes. however with a classfree no person would be higher than to the other so this picture would not exist if we had that myth. Then those higher voices are saying that everyone has the same and equal opporuities however this picture makes it obvious that this is not the case because the picture clearly shows that the higher classes have a larger voice. Nia I couldn't have said it better myself with the examples because I actually do feel like these circumstances happen everyday. it is unavoidable to have a class free society. No matter how much everyone says that everyone has the same opportunities it is false because your race and gender my alter you from those opportunities making one have to cross different obstacles to achieve those goals. A Small Place by Jamaica Kincaid shows a great example of how this females life was greatly affected by her race and class.
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