I want to start this post of by writing a few things that people have said to me during the course of the year:-
"You work part-time in retail? You must earn around £20,000 a year."
"No, it wasn't that expensive. It just cost a few thousand."
"It's common for single mothers to have cleaners."
For me, it is really baffling how I always think that it is me who is out of touch with things. I am indeed actually out of touch with a lot of things but for people to say these kind of things to me just goes to show that I am not alone in being out of touch. It's a nice thought in some ways. As with ignorance, they are so ignorant, they don't even know that they are being ignorant.
For people who are brought up into rich families and have been born with silver spoons in their mouths would find it very difficult to understand the working peoples' lifestyle. It is not easy to work and live on minimum wage. House sharing with parent(s), or just living with people you don't want to really live with-in a house you don't really want to live in. Not shopping in Waitrose but in Aldi instead. The food is exactly the same, but of course, you are so much more classier if you shop at the former.
Missing meals.
Constantly dipping into savings. Wondering if there will ever be a time when you can treat yourself. Sometimes it just seems like constant pressure.
The three statements above would never be said by someone who had a remote bit of knowledge on how difficult it is for some people to just get by. I sometimes feel ashamed that I am in this position of working part-time in retail. I feel like people look down on me-in fact, I KNOW that people look down on me. Whether it is a conscious decision for them to look down on me or not-I know that they do.
But when I think about it, should I feel ashamed? Is it right for me to feel ashamed? Is it right that it is me who is feeling ashamed, or should it be the people who have absolutely no idea how hard it is for others who automatically disrespect and put down others who they perceive to be below them? Aren't they the ones who should be ashamed simply for being so ignorant?
They can go to their private schools but are they really educated? They may think that they are but do they even have a clue what life is? No. And they never will. But on the flipside, I will never understand them either. Their own lifestyles. The only way I could would be if I won the lottery-but even then, I would know what it's like to sometimes struggle. I would know what it's like to be looked down on.
I'm not stereotyping everyone or anyone who is better off than me at all. I am just pointing out the things that I have to deal with due to the absolute ignorance of some arses. If you can afford to have a good life, then live it.
But respect is such a massive thing for me. Sometimes respect can go a long way. Unfortunately, there are some people who will never understand that.
