Quote:
Originally Posted by Mr.Doobie
The Occupy group on my campus is very large, very white, and generally very young. Fresh out of high school young. Since this demographic is generally paid for by their parents, I find it very easy to make this generalization. This is probably more a bad thing for myself then it is a defense of my generalizations.
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I've been making my own way through school since I was "fresh out of high school young". While I don't technically pay tuition (scholarship), my living expenses have been my responsibility since I was about 17 and still in high school. When I got my license, my parents decided it was all up to me to make my way, just like they had. They did this despite the rather significant amount of money they have (or because of it really... they earned it themselves, and wanted me to do the same). But the end result is this: I'm young and blonde and was raised to carry myself in a way that generally leads people to assume I'm well off and financially supported by my parents. It's pretty darn frustrating on this side, too.
That said, I have several friends whose parents
do help them out to some extent, or even totally support them. When one of them asks me to do something I can't afford or miss time from work, I don't generally get upset or assume they're terrible people. I just tell them I can't make it and continue on about my day. It's less time consuming than it would be to rant about how my dad doesn't even buy me birthday presents, much less pay my rent. There's no reason to expect them to know my financial status, nor to hold it against them when they don't.