by Danny McKay, ’14
In CSRE 26SI, a student-led course about allyship, students were asked to come up with 10 pieces of evidence to prove that certain prejudices exist. Here are Danny’s 10 signs that classism exists:
1. I recently heard someone I know call someone else a “pleb.”
2. Andrew Mitchell, former Chief of the UK Conservative Party, resigned after calling a policeman a pleb.
3. The average income of the richest 10% of the world’s population is about 9 times that of the poorest 10%.
4. The cost of the Invasion/Occupation of Iraq (i.e., money, lives) falls on the poor, while the rich (i.e., CEOs, politicians) benefit.
5. During Hurricane Katrina, the rich were evacuated, while the poor stayed and suffered.
6. Schools in poor neighborhoods are steeply underfunded.
7. Huge tax cuts for the wealthy.
8. Target/Walmart compensation is poor and their workers cannot unionize, while executives reap major profits.
9. During the Economic Recessions, there are bailouts to banks and corporations, while the poor go unattended to.
10. Criminalization of street youth (homelessness, addiction, etc.).
Danny is a new, undergraduate student from a community college in San Diego, California, called Grossmont College. He is a part of the first generation and low income community here at Stanford.
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