Paul O'grady's Working Class

[bobbie22]

I thoroughly enjoyed this programme as I am working class and proud of it! I just wondered whether the next programme will take in South Wales, as my Father was a steel worker there, and boy, there were lots of steel works there too as well as lots of coal mines at one time.
The programme was very interesting, and its amazing how many of the items on there I remembered very well.

[woofgang]

My experience of the working class is that there is also a strong "crab bucket" element. My late beloved mother in law got no end of stick from her own family because she encouraged her sons to pass the 11+, attain good qualifications at school and go for non blue collar jobs. MY DH went to sea in the merchant navy as a navigating cadet, which was thought of as being a traitor to his class (seriously, he "should" have gone as an AB can you believe it?) Later in her life after she was widowed, her own siblings disowned her because she married a lovely man who was thought to be "above her class" We were out of the country at the time on a ship so the only people who went to her wedding were my parents. You honestly couldn't make it up.

[FredPuli43]

woofgang, what you have just posted says a lot. That is the very antithesis of my grandmother [above]. Both she and your family were so conscious of not being class traitors. For her, the idea that her own son would not be in a profession, but would make his living buying and selling, was very disturbing. It was not what 'her people' did. For yours, the idea of entering into some occupation above the norm for 'their people' was equally so.

In the end, this conviction was very damaging, not just to them but to the country, in fuelling an 'us and them' mentality, with those who owned being the enemy of those who worked in the businesses, bosses against workers, and vice versa. If anyone strayed into enemy territory, they would be shot by their own side.

[bobbie22]

Interesting comments. My parents made sure I went to grammar school and then university. Just because i had a good job (now retired) I still feel proud of what my parents wanted for me. Still proud of my background and my steelworker father

[woofgang]

bobbie, my parents and my DH's parents were the same as yours. I feel great pride and gratitude in and to them, but that is because of who they were and what they did for me and for my sisters and for my husband and not because of their class. My background is my background. I didn't choose it or earn it and see no reason to be either proud or ashamed of it.