- Mar 15, 2003
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So I know this is going to come off as anywhere from ironic to racist, but I sincerely don't mean any of this as negative - I view *MYSELF* as the ignorant one.
Being quarantined I've been thinking a lot about stupid things and one thing is my inability to keep up at white mid-to-upper class gatherings. I work real estate (clients range from students, bankers, to that one dutch billionaire), dabble in diy film, and my wife is impressive with her multiple masters and her future phd. - networking is kinda important and we often socialize with aspirational /educated nyc/brooklyn .. The problem is that my Jamaica Queens (hood) born self gets lost in conversation so often that I feel really self conscious because I don't get the references, I haven't read that particular book, nor have I heard that one album EVERYONE seems to know the lyrics to verbatim. .. I feel like a big dumb gorilla, and just close up and keep to myself. When it's a slightly educated crowd (my wifes a teacher and her friends are arty but not snobs, good people) and the jack kerouac quotes are thrown in with bob dylan quotes and.. my inner city schooled brain just implodes. I'm ignorant, I'm not viewing anyone as being wrong in this equation but me - I used to think they were pretentious but you know, I want my kids and family to benefit from knowing those people's kids and not be dismissive, upward mobility and all.
So school me.. Is there like a list of authors, musicians.. cliff notes (Anthology books?), magazines to read.. just shit to read up on in my covid free time to be a little less ignorant and deers in headlights when some cultural reference from 20 years before i was born comes up, that EVERYONE else seems to know about. It's often so weird to me that a 22 year old will finish a joni mitchell lyric from 1967, it's almost like it's keyed in their dna. Note my wife is white, her annoyed response is always "we just grew up around it!" I want a list! hahaha
Being quarantined I've been thinking a lot about stupid things and one thing is my inability to keep up at white mid-to-upper class gatherings. I work real estate (clients range from students, bankers, to that one dutch billionaire), dabble in diy film, and my wife is impressive with her multiple masters and her future phd. - networking is kinda important and we often socialize with aspirational /educated nyc/brooklyn .. The problem is that my Jamaica Queens (hood) born self gets lost in conversation so often that I feel really self conscious because I don't get the references, I haven't read that particular book, nor have I heard that one album EVERYONE seems to know the lyrics to verbatim. .. I feel like a big dumb gorilla, and just close up and keep to myself. When it's a slightly educated crowd (my wifes a teacher and her friends are arty but not snobs, good people) and the jack kerouac quotes are thrown in with bob dylan quotes and.. my inner city schooled brain just implodes. I'm ignorant, I'm not viewing anyone as being wrong in this equation but me - I used to think they were pretentious but you know, I want my kids and family to benefit from knowing those people's kids and not be dismissive, upward mobility and all.
So school me.. Is there like a list of authors, musicians.. cliff notes (Anthology books?), magazines to read.. just shit to read up on in my covid free time to be a little less ignorant and deers in headlights when some cultural reference from 20 years before i was born comes up, that EVERYONE else seems to know about. It's often so weird to me that a 22 year old will finish a joni mitchell lyric from 1967, it's almost like it's keyed in their dna. Note my wife is white, her annoyed response is always "we just grew up around it!" I want a list! hahaha
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