Can a person escape their class?

[UpGrD]

In the U.S. IF you have the drive and get an education, you will succeed in life. I don't care how poor you are or were. If you educate your self and expect it to be handed to you, then who knows...
The drive to succeed (and willing to work for it) is what it takes. If you fail in the U.S. to make it, you only have yourself to blame. Class has nothing to do with falure. It is harder for some, sure, but not an excuse for failure.

 

[Garet Jax]

Originally posted by: Fullmetal Chocobo
If a person is born into middle class, are they destined to stay there? And does the same go for lower class, and upper classmen as well?

India - yes
America - No

 

[Kung Lau]

Originally posted by: Amused

Originally posted by: dullard

Originally posted by: Amused
There is no such thing as destiny, either.

Here: are you happy? It doesn't make your "no luck" argument correct, but I'll change one word that is meaningless to my argument and repost it.


By stating that it is all ability and advantages, you imply that we have complete control over our life's course. I'm disagreeing with your implications - not your words.

Coincidenses, for all intents and purposes, can and should be defined as luck. They are both factors beyond your control. In your life, you have things you can control and things that you cannot. You will likely do quite well if you do the things you can control very well. You may do quite well if the things out of your control just happen to benefit you. That out-of-your-control good fortune can and should be called luck.

Luck suggests a predestination or predefined course set by a supernatural force.

Coincidence suggests no such thing.

What if you believe in supernatural forces or even religion? Does luck still not exist then? How can you prove/disprove that?

 

[Descartes]

There are really two things we're talking about here.

1) Class as defined by your income. These demarcation points seem rather arbitrary.
2) Class as defined by your actions. This is defined more by who you are rather than what your income is.

It's easy to change the 1st one. Some of the more successful people in the world started with nothing and built empires. It at least seems more romantic that way; no one likes to hear about a rich kid that stays rich.

In my opinion, you cannot change the 2nd one if you're already an adult. Money will not buy class, and this is pretty clear if you spend 5 minutes watching MTV or any of those other ridiculous channels that are obsessed with celebrity. It's also painfully obvious when you see someone without class acting as though they have it. They simply don't appear natural, they're socially awkward, etc.

My father never made a lot of money, but he had class. Always dressed up nice, clean cut, had a wonderful appreciation for finer things, etc. He is by most definitions a classy man.

I also don't think the 2nd form of class is meant to imply that being without it somehow means you're lesser than those that do. There are a lot of great people that I wouldn't describe as necessarily classy that are nevertheless wonderful, affable people. My brother is a wonderful guy, but he's also probably not what you'd define as classy.

On second thought, maybe we just need to define what it means to have class.

 

[Ronstang]

Escaping your class monetarily is much easier than doing so socially. You can take the boy out of the ghetto but you cannot always take the ghetto out of the boy.

 

[SViper]

Yes they can. My father, and African-American, is an excellent example of that. My grandfather had 8 children, living in a 2 br, 2 bath house in the "black" part of town, barely making ends meet. When my father got out of the Navy, him and my mom got a house in the "black" part of town. Just before I was conceived, my parents moved to the suburbs. Now, if you talked to my parents, they are well-educated. Since I was never exposed to an inner-city African-American community growing up, I have essentially left that class of people through my father's hard work and dedication.

So to answer your question, if you have the motivation to do so, you can do it.

Edit: I forgot to mention that after he moved, he finally aquired enough wealth to own his own small business.

 

[JDrake]

Just tell the teacher you are going to the bathroom and then never come back