class warfare

I'm sick of rich people complaining.  And if that is a prejudicial statement (which it most definitely is...), then I'm not sorry.  Every newsanchor and pundit out there screaming about class warfare is doing so merely because they belong to the Haves, not the Have Nots, and want to remain in that category.

Of course these categories are not so easy to define.  In terms of having a roof over my head and transportation and food and clothing, I am a Have.  In terms of a career and investments and retirement, I am certainly a Have Not.  I've been feeling more and more like a Have Not lately in political and social terms.

Family is that network in which Have versus Have Not should not matter.  Or so I believed, naïvely.  Last summer, a portion of my family went on a beach vacation.  Those who did not go had various reasons for sticking around Ohio.  A newborn baby, farm work, and lack of funds.  Guess what my reason was.  While I did  not care very much about the first time, I am changing my mind now.  Namely because of something my sister said.  She announced that it was time to plan the next "family" beach vacation, on some island off the coast of North Carolina, in a house with too many amenities.  She estimated $1000 per couple.  First...we aren't all couples.  Second...who the hell can afford $1000 for a week at the beach?!  I told her that I can't really afford that.  What could I afford, she asked.  Well, honestly...nothing.  Everything I earn goes toward health insurance and loan payments.  And I'm not earning much these days as a substitute teacher.  Here's her response:

"Then you aren't coming."

Wow.  Talk about familial love.  Not.  I've been trying to figure out her inexplicable transition from lower middle class farm girl to uppity bitch for many years now.  I've got no explanation.

Here's what I want to know...why did the rest of the family not rebuke her?!  #1, we're still in a recession, no matter what economists say.  #2, we aren't a rich family, so why are they acting like they deserve to spend a week lying on cushions while slaves feed them grapes? #3, is it still a "family" vacation when one family member is so unceremoniously prohibited from attending?  One disclaimer:  my dad did say he could pay part of my way.  But that doesn't really help.  Why?  Because I want to be independent.  I don't think he realizes that.

I don't think any of them realize how badly I want to be independent.  I want my own home, my own car, my own salary.  I want all that investment and 401k crap.  But I cannot seem to get started in this "job market" or lack thereof.  I don't think any of them realize what I gave up when I moved back to the farm.  I had Manhattan.  I'm starting to think I'd be better off impoverished in the Big Apple than on my family's dole.  At least I'd be independent and free from that sister's selfishness.

So now I'm faced with a decision.  Do I go on vacation, or not?  Now I don't want to create the illusion that I don't pay for anything at all entertaining or self-indulgent.  I have plans to go to the rally in DC with my man, I've bought "interview" clothes (...I guess I was overly optimistic that day), and today I bought ice cream and Chipotle.  But do I want to be trapped on an island with people who don't really understand me?  Who apparently don't even care about me and my situation?  You'd think that they'd have some modicum of empathy at least on a very basic, biological level.  Nope.  As I right and drum up the rage that I felt Saturday night, I'm thinking I already made my decision.  If Rachel can boycott Chipotle and McDonald's for ideological reasons, than I can boycott the self-entitled "family" vacation that has brought class warfare into the confines of my familial relationships (that are, I believed, supposed to be safe and comforting, not critical and damning).  I cannot in good conscience spend hundreds of dollars to go to the beach with people who drive luxury vehicles and whine about their retirements while there are people starving...starving for work, food, and financial independence.

I may vote for a Republican or two on the local level.  That's just how it goes in Ohio.  And this is not to say that Democrats are not Haves...they most certainly are...but they seem to care, even with all the economic troubles, about the Have Nots more than Republicans ever could.  That's why I get a sick, twisting feeling in my stomach when I hear and read "class warfare," "regular folks," "entrepreneurs," and all the other conservative (and upper class white) spoutings these days.

I am a Have Not, and though I may not always be one, I'll never forget how it feels to search for understanding from the ones who are biologically inclined to provide it, and come up with nothing.