Weekly update

[magnetic_pole]

Just had dinner with an old family friend of the better half who--lo and behold!--turned out to be gay, too. Have you discovered any family members or childhood friends who turned out unexpectedly (also) to be queer, flist? It's a pleasant surprise.

I haven't commented on this issue much in this journal, but I'm delighted to hear that the Associated Press has decided to drop the term "illegal immigrant" from its style book. Via Colorlines, Why the AP's Choice is a Crucial Victory.

In related news, Undocumented and Gay. These were two unspeakable topics not too long ago, and it's great to see the two movements learning from one another and articulating issues of visibility and legal status as fundamental human rights.

Horrified by the UK's new bedroom tax. Not sure what to say about this. Am unclear how it's anything but a punishment for being poor. (Speaking of which, the US seems to doing just fine in its own war on the poor: Tennesee Gets Closer to Passing Bill That Ties Welfare to School Grades.)

Via shaggydogstail, The Great British Class Calculator. It's a quick, three-question test that places you in one of seven social classes in what it terms "the new class system." Clearly the old system is no longer that descriptive, but this one leaves me puzzled. It's interesting in that it seems to use homeownership as a proxy for financial stability and the professional/job diversity of one's circle of friends as a proxy for education, as far as I can tell. Fascinating stuff.

By the way, we're about a third of the way into the new year (yikes!) and I've managed to post weekly updates eight times. Not too bad. Join me in posting a bit more in 2013, flist? Even if you just want to pass along an anecdote or a link? I always enjoy hearing from you.

Comments

[semielliptical]

I am honestly puzzled by what the bedroom tax is supposed to accomplish, other than making people's housing situations much more insecure. Do the lawmakers imagine that everyone can magically move to some supposed "ideal" sized dwelling each time their circumstances change slightly, with no emotional or economic cost?

I'm trying to pretend that the TN bill can't possibly pass. It just seems so ludicrous to assume that children who might be struggling in school need fewer resources, rather than more.

I resolve to post before the end of this week! Though I can't guarantee it will be very exciting.

[magnetic_pole]

Do the lawmakers imagine that everyone can magically move to some supposed "ideal" sized dwelling each time their circumstances change slightly, with no emotional or economic cost?

Exactly. I can see the general policy issue with social housing in an aging society--folks will stay in larger apartments even after their immediate needs for extra bedrooms has passed, if the need actually passes (i.e., if children don't move home or parents don't move in, etc.)--but nothing about the tax makes sense. Morally, policy-wise, politically.

Hurrah for posting! \o/! M.

[liseuse]

They are destroying my country, M. Just ... destroying it. I don't think my heart can take much more of it. And none of it makes any sense. *weeps*

[magnetic_pole]

I haven't been following the news too closely, but it just seems...revanchist, if that's the word? How did the right get so *nasty?* M.

[berry]

too weary to talk about the bedroom tax, mag. i don't know when i've ever felt so powerless in the face of the government. the class quiz thing wound me up because it came along on the same day as these grim benefit cuts kicked in, and certain sections of the media used it as an excuse to make some facile argument that there is no longer a class system in the uk. how i laughed. bitterly.

i am impressed with your journalling consistency! must make a post of my own.

[magnetic_pole]

certain sections of the media used it as an excuse to make some facile argument that there is no longer a class system in the uk.

The way the US and UK view class is obviously so different I hardly feel qualified to comment, but that's ridiculous. Though I have to say that calculator could have been accompanied by just a bit of comment about what social and cultural capital are and how it differs from previous attempts to label our social classes, which would have helped enormously.

In any case, I feel as if we're caught in some vortex of right-wing insanity that has reached the point of farce but which no one actually calls out.

Yes, yes, post! Would love to hear from you. M.

[out_there]

Clearly the old system is no longer that descriptive, but this one leaves me puzzled.

That's really fascinating. Because it's still the same basic class structure (upper/elite, middle, and lower) but it now has a variety of classes within the lower levels. I mean, middle is basically split into "traditional" and "technical" and the only real difference seems to be those who use more technology vs those with more cultural interests and living in urban areas or not. It's still basically an education + home ownership + income ratio. And then lower/working class is divied up between non-professionals who earn well, service workers, other trades, and truly low income.

But it still fits really clearly into the old upper/middle/lower class groups (well, it fits in as well as terms like upper-middle-class used to). It's interesting but depressing at the same time. (human beings don't seem to change that much.)

Have you discovered any family members or childhood friends who turned out unexpectedly (also) to be queer, flist?

Actually, no. The only family member who was queer when I was growing up was an aunt (who left her husband and lived with a woman) but she's had a boyfriend now for years and being queer never gets discussed.

Mind you, I'm not exactly out to the rest of the family (just mum, who I live with), so there could be a few of us who don't discuss it.

[magnetic_pole]

middle is basically split into "traditional" and "technical" and the only real difference seems to be those who use more technology vs those with more cultural interests and living in urban areas or not.

As I was saying to berry above, just a bit of explanation of *how* the researchers arrived at those groups would have been so helpful. Clearly, the notion of a "working class" is changing (at least here in the US) as more and more people move into the service sector, and we need some vocabulary to talk about that, but there's no good explanation of why certain things (technology, urban status) are such important indicators. (Though I see I can look up the research and will do that.)

There's so much not-talking about things going on in families, isn't there? M.