What have you learned from those with less education, travel, and sophistication than you?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I was surprised to hear the kinds of responses elicited by this thread. When I read the title, I expected to hear stories about how sophisticated or intellectual people were despite their lack of advanced degrees, etc.

So here's my anecdote.

I was still living in the midwest, about to leave for Boston to start a doctoral program. One day I bought a tall bookcase and was trying to get it up the steps of my apartment building and into my apartment. It wasn't heavy but unwieldy. The building custodian saw me struggling, grabbed the other side of the bookcase, and helped me get it inside. On the way out, the guy noticed a picture I had my wall and asked, "Is that a Jacob Lawrence print?"

Shame on me for being surprised that a middle aged white guy with a beer belly and jeans riding low from the weight of his tool belt would recognize the work of an African American artist that most well educated people have never heard of.

I don't know what's funnier. That "educated" people buy PRINTS of famous artworks! TACKY. Or that you really don't think that white guys with beer bellies and tool belts don't know Jack Lawrence. Shit, my seven-year-old knows Jacob Lawrence's work.

Yeah, my fetus is already well acquainted with lawrence and his contemporaries! He also already has his art collection started - he just got back from art basel, actually, where he picked a few really nice pieces.

[Anonymous]

How to pick the winning slot machine.
How to convert my garage into a year round entertainment/party room. It takes on the ambience of an old school bar as the night wears on and people start smoking.
How to make a beer funnel. oh wait maybe that was in college.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I know it may come as a shock to some posters, but some of us "less educated, sophisticated, blah, blah, blah" folks are actually smarter than you. I chose my job because it gives me great joy and satisfaction.

Signed,

Top 2% IQ, earning less than $45K

What do you do? And how do you know you are in the top 2% IQ?

Why does it matter? Since this is DCUM, I'd venture a guess that you'd like to argue about whether those tests I took give an accurate IQ. I don't feel like going into all that. Let's just leave the answer at "multiple standardized testing results", mkay?

[Anonymous]

I know it may come as a shock to some posters, but some of us "less educated, sophisticated, blah, blah, blah" folks are actually smarter than you. I chose my job because it gives me great joy and satisfaction.

Um, the title of the post wasn't "what did you learn from those that earn less than you." It was clearly referring to those individuals who had had fewer opportunities in life, not to those who chose a lower paying job for personal satisfaction.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Manners! In almost every job I've had, my day has been made so much nicer by the friendly greeting of the concierge, doorman, secretary, or janitor. There's nothing like a sweet cashier at the grocery store either. I learned that being friendly and polite is so important to keeping everyone's day running well.

How do you know that any of the people are less traveled, less educated, or less sophisticated than you?

This whole thread is pretty patronizing. Oh, we can learn so much from the hoi polloi. We're so corrupted from our "fancy book larnin' ." They're so much happier and simpler than us.

Gimme a break.

I am the PP. The fact is that many, many people on DCUM do have an attitude that only middle & upper-class markers of achievement matter -- "HHI", neighborhoods, schools, jobs ... It's a good thing to be reminded that money & schooling are not all that matters in life. You're the one being patronizing to pretend that all the janitors in DC are actually secretly physics PhDs or something, when the fact is, they are (usually) not. It's not about having some naive view that "poverty gives good values," but rather realizing that there is inherent dignity and worth in all people. (And even if people are expressing a naive view here that the poor are somehow more noble, that's a worthwhile corrective to the crazy status-consciousness of DC anyway.)

Anyway, for what it's worth, I was totally serious about learning manners from the doorman. Knowing the right way to comport yourself in a crowded city & office environment is a really important piece of life knowledge to have. Taking a minute out of your day to stop thinking about yourself and to engage in the social ritual that keeps the wheels of society greased is crucial. It's something I never would have learned anywhere else. It's called "civility."

Sorry to burst your bubble, but if the doorman were rude, he'd be out of a job.

There's a difference between refraining from rudeness, and being genuinely polite. Now who is being patronizing, suggesting that a doorman can't both do his job and be a nice person?

Oh please. No such thing was suggested or implied. It's just pretty silly to hold up the doorman as the pantheon of civility, when being civil is part of his job description. "It's something I never would have learned anywhere else." I mean, really?? NO ONE was ever pleasant to you except the doorman?

I think you need some new friends. And perhaps a new job.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Manners! In almost every job I've had, my day has been made so much nicer by the friendly greeting of the concierge, doorman, secretary, or janitor. There's nothing like a sweet cashier at the grocery store either. I learned that being friendly and polite is so important to keeping everyone's day running well.

How do you know that any of the people are less traveled, less educated, or less sophisticated than you?

This whole thread is pretty patronizing. Oh, we can learn so much from the hoi polloi. We're so corrupted from our "fancy book larnin' ." They're so much happier and simpler than us.

Gimme a break.

Yeah, it's like the plot of a Hollywood movie, complete with inspirational soundtrack.

[Anonymous]

Nothing.

[Anonymous]

Anyway, the short answer to your question is 'true friendship'

I come from bumblef!ck USA and my oldest and my closest friend still lives there. Our paths couldn't be more different. I went to college then graduate school, started a career, travelled around the world, got married then had children. My friend stayed in our hometown, worked in retail, dated a mechanic, got pregnant then married and is now a SAHM.

She may never visit Europe and her favorite show may be Real Housewives, but who cares? Despite our differences, we talk on the phone almost every single day and have since I left for school. We talk about LIFE. Seriously, the same struggles we educated, latte-sipping yuppies have really isn't that much different from 'common folks'. They also have problems with their in-laws, and want their DH to help out more and struggle with loss of identity when they become parents. Those issues weigh more on my day to day life than what's in the latest issue of The New Yorker.

Actually, I find my old friends with less education spent a lot of time and emotional energy worrying about debt and making ends meet. My education and sophistication have allowed me to realize that life is better with no debt, not to mention giving me the financial wherewithal to put that into practice. I spend very little time worrying about the price of anything so I am different than a lot of the friends I had at 16.

[Anonymous]

"The upper middle class takes a very transactional approach to relationships whereas working and lower middle class people have a more "what goes around comes around" approach to relationships, not expecting every favor to be repaid by the recipient but assuming that someone will be on hand to give back when help is needed. "

But I'm not on hand to give back when help is needed. I'm at work or at my kids activities 75 hours a week and try to sleep 50 or 55 hours a week. That's why my view of relationships is "transactional."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I know it may come as a shock to some posters, but some of us "less educated, sophisticated, blah, blah, blah" folks are actually smarter than you. I chose my job because it gives me great joy and satisfaction.

Signed,

Top 2% IQ, earning less than $45K

How smart is it to chose a job that will not allow you to help your children financially or retire in comfort? I have a friend whose child is permanently unable to walk because she couldn't afford the physical therapy for him when he was born. No thanks.

[Anonymous]

"Anyway, for what it's worth, I was totally serious about learning manners from the doorman. Knowing the right way to comport yourself in a crowded city & office environment is a really important piece of life knowledge to have. Taking a minute out of your day to stop thinking about yourself and to engage in the social ritual that keeps the wheels of society greased is crucial. It's something I never would have learned anywhere else. It's called "civility." "

Wow you have horrible parents if they didn't teach you those basics.

[Anonymous]

How to bake pie crust from scratch.

[FBO]

Anonymous wrote:
Also in an emergency, I would much rather be around people who are actually useful and can do things themselves instead of outsourcing them to others.

This is the point I was going to make. Educated does not mean intelligent. I can not tell you the number of dumbasses I know with advanced degrees.

To me, it is about worth. Show me a man who can take care of his own family, and personal responsibilities on his own. Thats a man that has worth regardless of the degrees he may hold or not hold.

I watched a guy a few weeks ago pick up a loaded gun and look right down the barrel to see what the bullet looked like. This dude has 2 Masters and a PhD in Applied Physics and he almost darwin'd himself by being a retard.

Education is nothing but a piece of paper. What matters is what you DO with that education.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

I don't know what's funnier. That "educated" people buy PRINTS of famous artworks! TACKY. Or that you really don't think that white guys with beer bellies and tool belts don't know Jack Lawrence. Shit, my seven-year-old knows Jacob Lawrence's work.

Who, boo?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Manners! In almost every job I've had, my day has been made so much nicer by the friendly greeting of the concierge, doorman, secretary, or janitor. There's nothing like a sweet cashier at the grocery store either. I learned that being friendly and polite is so important to keeping everyone's day running well.

I'm gonna take a wild guess here and say you've never worked in a law firm in DC.

I'm going to take a wild guess that you are not one of those friendly people.