Benjamin: “What’s your opinion of
them?”
Me: “Every group has all kinds of
people, and from what I’ve seen, variety is even greater among the lower and
upper class, as opposed to lower-middle, middle and upper-middle...”
Benjamin: “There are three middle
classes?”
Me: “I have no idea, the
boundaries are hardly obvious. To be perfectly honest, I felt a little
pressurised to group people, but since I couldn’t figure out what makes who
belong in what class, I made a system for myself.”
Benjamin: “Cool.”
Me: “I based it on my opinion of
their thinking method. So, for example: Everyone asked me where I was from and
there were at least three very different replies. One: ‘Where? Where’s that?’ –
I labelled this ‘lower class’ because it was simple, open and honest; however
it was also a bit ignorant since we were in the news all the time and they
obviously didn’t bother remembering the name or looking up where the country is
located. Having said this, people of all kinds of incomes and wealth replied in
this manner; which to me showed that not all rich are so arrogant to claim ‘I
know, I know’ especially when they don’t. Two: ‘What’s the war like?’ ...”
Benjamin: “How did you reply to
that?”
Me: “At fist, I was nice enough
to try and brush off the question and some took the hint while others didn’t;
but later I got kind of bored so I’d just say ‘peachy’.”
Harris: “You mean to say there
are times when you just don’t care?”
Me: “We all get times like that.”
Benjamin: “Harris, get off her
case, the girl was a refugee in a country where your family is very important.
What was your class, by the way?”
Me: “I don’t know.”
Benjamin: “I bet, by your system,
you were upper class?”
Me: “I had my days.”
Harris laughed (I think this was
the first time I heard him laugh): “So back to ‘what was the war like’...”
Me: “That’s what I called middle
class response because it showed some knowledge, but very little thought behind
what they do with that knowledge. Again, people of all incomes...”
Benjamin: “Okay, okay, got that.
What was the third response; the upper class?”
Me: “This is my most favourite
example: ‘You are the first person I met from there. Tell me about your
culture, climate, landscape, anything; but make it cool’.”
Benjamin: “Make it cool?”
Me: “That was my reply too;
however the guy who asked me this, in this particular way said ‘Oh come on,
every culture has weird stuff. For example, tell me about your wedding
ceremonies and I’ll bet you I’ll find weird stuff right there’…”
Benjamin: “That is so true. Every
culture has weird stuff.”
Me: “It can be funny; I told him
about ours, and we laughed; he told me about theirs and we laughed; and yet I
have no doubt we’ll both follow our culture.”
Harris: “What did he find funny
about our weddings?”
Me: “I think the best part was
when I told him that kids in bride’s neighbourhood will block the roads so that
the bride can’t leave and the way to get them away is to throw sweets and coins
away from the road.”
Harris: “I have to admit, I
always thought that was stupid.”
Me: “But you are going to do it?”
Harris: “I’ll have no choice;
I’ll have to pay the kids to free my bride.”
Benjamin: “What was funny about
their weddings?”
Me: “The groom carries his bride
across the threshold.”
Benjamin: “What if he can’t lift
her up?”
Harris: “Women in UK probably
lose weight before their wedding?”
Benjamin: “And don’t eat much at
the wedding?!”
Harris: “Do men practice before
the wedding?: My fiancé weighs 75 kilos,
so far I can lift 30 kilos and I’ve got two weeks to go; COME ON!!!”
Benjamin: “There might even be a
club: ‘Soon to be married to a fatty’.”
Me: “That is horrible!”
Benjamin: “What is?”
Me: “The ‘fatty’ part?”
Benjamin: “What’s wrong with
fatty?”
Me: “Women don’t like to be
called fatty.”
Benjamin: “Seriously?”
Me: “You haven’t heard that
before?”
Benjamin: “No, I really didn’t.”
Harris: “Let’s not turn every
conversation to be about women; I’d like to know more about that culture. What
else can you tell me about their weddings?”
Me: “Every bride must have
‘something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue’.”
Harris: “Why?”
Me: “For good luck. It doesn’t
have to be one of each; you can roll together blue, new and borrowed for
example.”
Harris: “Good luck charms are another
strange thing; very different from one culture to the next.”
Benjamin: “I think those are a
product of a culture.”
Harris: “Why do we follow those?”
Benjamin: “I know; it doesn’t
make any sense at all. We follow even ideas that we consider dumb.”
Me: “I think it’s cool that even
dumb ideas live on; it just shows how desperate we, humans, are to belong, be
part of something.”
Benjamin: “One of the things
that’s been with men since time began, I guess.”
Harris: “But we do also like to
be individual; unique, special, think for ourselves, be free.”
Me: “Sounds like ‘socialism
versus capitalism’; doesn’t it?”
Benjamin: “What do you mean?”
Me: “Err…” I don’t think I
intended to say this, but it was out “Well socialism has the idea that we are
all one, our belonging is vital and so if you make the society as a unit happy,
then each element (i.e. human) comprising that society will be happy. On the
other hand, capitalism assumes we are all individuals and each individual
strives alone for the maximum happiness they can achieve.”
Harris: “So, socialism sees us
just as part of something, and capitalism sees us just as individuals?”
Me: “It’s not quiet that simple;
there’s like a whole encyclopaedia of assumptions, but, yeah, I guess you could
say that.”
