Anonymous wrote:PP here - Absolutely, the Boston Irish have problems with racism. Witness busing in the 70s and many problems since. Many of my cousins support Trump and his anti-Hispanic policies and statements, forgetting that we faced similar discrimination 2-3 generations back before sending our kids to elite schools and joining various golf clubs, moving into WASP neighborhoods, etc. Trump's policies are anti just about everyone - I single out the comments he has made about Hispanics as one example.

My point is that if you grew up in the old New England culture, WASPs ran that day. And they did that off the backs of a lot of different people - and a lot of the money they made came from slavery. This - among many other reasons - is why glorifying them is gross to me. I've seen people embrace the clubs and habits as if they have arrived - so my question is what legacy are you claiming? what are you arriving to?

Many of these (mostly white) people from non-WASP backgrounds joining the clubs just perpetuate the same BS. Go up to Gibson Island and see.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Let's see....all of our presidents except two have been WASPs...check. Virtually all presidential candidates are WASPS. Yeah, I think it still exists.

It’s true that almost all US presidents have been White Protestants, but that doesn’t mean they were WASPs. Carter, Clinton, Johnson, Nixon—definitely not WASPs.

The only true WASPy presidents in this century were the two Bushes, the two Roosevelts, and Taft.

Anonymous wrote:I grew up in New England and this was a really big thing for my grandparents (and presumably their parents). They were not wasps. And boy did they feel it. One of the reasons I wanted to leave New England was to get away from this narrowness. Wasp culture is one variation of white privilege. Among many of us who arrived after the mayflower, other forms of this privilege exist. For example, while my grandfather felt discriminated against and remembered the "Irish need not apply" signs in Boston, it is crazy for me to feel any kind of ethnic discrimination at this point. I went to their schools and I work in a field they dominated for decades, if not centuries.

I'm glad this has changed. There are some things about "wasp culture" that are useful - like being frugal, not talking about money. Good manners. (But, remember -- They used a yardstick of who your family was and when they got here instead. So still pressure to measure up, show status.) Preppy style is cute and fun and adopted around the world from Japan to Italy. I have yet, though, to really see the utility of the mindset overall - it is fundamentally exclusive and limiting.

I do have one question - do they all still vote republican? Two summers ago, we were on nantucket and four young men wearing navy trump t-shirts paraded around. It was distressing to see how many old boys on the street (and in the restaurant where they ate) chatted them up and welcomed them with open arms.

All to say, I don't feel that my ancestors, who cleaned houses, cared for grounds, sorted the mail, and worked in mills had any less to do with building this country (and are any less distinguished) than the mythical WASP forebearers and "founding fathers" (another crazy term). There is great dignity in doing one's work, caring for one's family and making opportunity for others. And furthermore, the cotton that powered the mills in New England that the WASPs owned was picked by slaves in the South.

It is total insanity to glorify this culture.

Anonymous wrote:I grew up in New England and this was a really big thing for my grandparents (and presumably their parents). They were not wasps. And boy did they feel it. One of the reasons I wanted to leave New England was to get away from this narrowness. Wasp culture is one variation of white privilege. Among many of us who arrived after the mayflower, other forms of this privilege exist. For example, while my grandfather felt discriminated against and remembered the "Irish need not apply" signs in Boston, it is crazy for me to feel any kind of ethnic discrimination at this point. I went to their schools and I work in a field they dominated for decades, if not centuries.

I'm glad this has changed. There are some things about "wasp culture" that are useful - like being frugal, not talking about money. Good manners. (But, remember -- They used a yardstick of who your family was and when they got here instead. So still pressure to measure up, show status.) Preppy style is cute and fun and adopted around the world from Japan to Italy. I have yet, though, to really see the utility of the mindset overall - it is fundamentally exclusive and limiting.

I do have one question - do they all still vote republican? Two summers ago, we were on nantucket and four young men wearing navy trump t-shirts paraded around. It was distressing to see how many old boys on the street (and in the restaurant where they ate) chatted them up and welcomed them with open arms.

All to say, I don't feel that my ancestors, who cleaned houses, cared for grounds, sorted the mail, and worked in mills had any less to do with building this country (and are any less distinguished) than the mythical WASP forebearers and "founding fathers" (another crazy term). There is great dignity in doing one's work, caring for one's family and making opportunity for others. And furthermore, the cotton that powered the mills in New England that the WASPs owned was picked by slaves in the South.

It is total insanity to glorify this culture.

Anonymous wrote:You mean "rich, white people" culture? Why yes, it's alive and well. They wear Patagonia now, but the newest iteration of the Preppy Handbook says that artificial fibers are now acceptable in prep communities.

Anonymous wrote:I grew up in New England and this was a really big thing for my grandparents (and presumably their parents). They were not wasps. And boy did they feel it. One of the reasons I wanted to leave New England was to get away from this narrowness. Wasp culture is one variation of white privilege. Among many of us who arrived after the mayflower, other forms of this privilege exist. For example, while my grandfather felt discriminated against and remembered the "Irish need not apply" signs in Boston, it is crazy for me to feel any kind of ethnic discrimination at this point. I went to their schools and I work in a field they dominated for decades, if not centuries.

I'm glad this has changed. There are some things about "wasp culture" that are useful - like being frugal, not talking about money. Good manners. (But, remember -- They used a yardstick of who your family was and when they got here instead. So still pressure to measure up, show status.) Preppy style is cute and fun and adopted around the world from Japan to Italy. I have yet, though, to really see the utility of the mindset overall - it is fundamentally exclusive and limiting.

I do have one question - do they all still vote republican? Two summers ago, we were on nantucket and four young men wearing navy trump t-shirts paraded around. It was distressing to see how many old boys on the street (and in the restaurant where they ate) chatted them up and welcomed them with open arms.

All to say, I don't feel that my ancestors, who cleaned houses, cared for grounds, sorted the mail, and worked in mills had any less to do with building this country (and are any less distinguished) than the mythical WASP forebearers and "founding fathers" (another crazy term). There is great dignity in doing one's work, caring for one's family and making opportunity for others. And furthermore, the cotton that powered the mills in New England that the WASPs owned was picked by slaves in the South.

It is total insanity to glorify this culture.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: Wasp culture has become synonymous with UMC success.
Can join a country club?
Send kids to elite private?
Do you “summer”?
Live in the best enclave, with appropriate zoning? ( obviously this means no multi family dwellings ( exception: NYC)
That’s wasp culture.
Simply shorthand for making it.

No, it’s much more than that. No new money. Your family has to have been WASP’s for generations.

+1

The old WASP families still live on (heck, the Roosevelt descendants alone probably number in the hundreds at this point), but I'm not sure if they're still "into" the whole WASP thing. Many work everyday jobs, some struggle to make rent, and a more than a few have different last names than their ancestors' grand ones. Quite a few are living the hippy lifestyle, doing yoga retreats and all that, vs the country club -> cushy job -> G&T and martinis in the evening one. Some even send their kids to -- gasp -- public school, and some certainly don't live in the "best enclave."

I think what the first PP described above, the "UMC success," is based on old, outdated books and movies about WASPs/generally "rich" / "old money" folks that people use as "guides" for aspirational purposes.