Is it true that our choices in life reveal our class? Are those choices only about things? Who decides what’s in good taste – or not? What is meant by the term “status symbol?” If you can afford to purchase an expensive item – say, a pricey car or a boat – are you automatically elevated in class? Which of your possessions have you acquired, consciously or unconsciously, to enhance your status – designer label clothes or shoes? A car? A piece of jewelry? What items or physical characteristics do you think label the wearer or owner as “low-class?” Why do you think so?
Describe the issues involved in the choice of a community grocery store in Burlington, Vermont. What is at the heart of this conflict? Which groups does the program indicate are in favor of the co-op, and which the supermarket? What are their reasons for their choice? How would you vote on this issue? Explain your choice. Describe a conflict in your community over an issue that reflects class differences -- for example, a proposed housing development, a gentrifying neighborhood, construction of a new factory, a school voucher program, a new shopping mall.
What are the relationships between race or ethnicity and class in America? What is the conflict within the black community regarding class identity and racial identity? Is it related to color?
What does it mean to feel "invisible" in the United States? In what ways is Tammy Crabtree invisible, and to whom?
Does making a lot of money guarantee acceptance by the elite? Why or why not?