The Oppression Olympics

[InquiringMind]

Literally the only thing that creates classes and the space between classes, in the US, is money. That's it. That is to say, for example, that a rich black person is more privileged than a poor white person.

Exactly, and that's what I don't understand here.  Money and good looks are both universally considered to be acceptable reasons for granting privilege to someone, and it's still completely socially acceptable to oppress the poor and the ugly.

[The Grand Nudger]

@Dew
Rich black people get pulled over for driving a car that's clearly too nice. 

No, they don't

If you say so.........

[paulpablo]

Everyone is oppressed in one way or another.  Here are a few more:

Poor Person: I'm oppressed because of my poverty.
Billionaire: I'm oppressed because everyone is trying to get my money.  
Autistic: I'm oppressed because society has negative stereotypes of autistic people.
Republican: The Democrats are oppressing me.
Democrat: The Republicans are oppressing me.  
Left-Handed Person: I'm oppressed because everything in society is made for right-handed people.
Tall Person: I'm oppressed because I have to duck through doorways.  
Short Person:  I'm oppressed because I have to stand on my toes to see the countertop.
Skinny Person: I'm oppressed by a society that drove me to anorexia.
Fat Person: I'm oppressed by the sugar industry and by my slow metabolism.  

Everyone is oppressed.  So how do we decide who is the most oppressed?  And what about intersectionalities: is a straight black Jewish male more oppressed that a trangendered white Christian female?

You can't decide who's the most oppressed based on any of the characteristics that you mentioned.

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Literally the only thing that creates classes and the space between classes, in the US, is money. That's it. That is to say, for example, that a rich black person is more privileged than a poor white person.

Exactly, and that's what I don't understand here.  Money and good looks are both universally considered to be acceptable reasons for granting privilege to someone, and it's still completely socially acceptable to oppress the poor and the ugly.

It depends what kind of social situation you're in. 

It's not exactly high society dinner table talk to say to the person next to you "Shine my shoes you big chinned cunt."

I don't think it's that acceptable.

[The Grand Nudger]

So, uh, how long until we all put on sheets and burn a cross?  

[dyresand]

Literally the only thing that creates classes and the space between classes, in the US, is money. That's it. That is to say, for example, that a rich black person is more privileged than a poor white person.

Because literally in this system wealth = worth and if you are poor you are worthless and that is the depressing state of of the system.

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@Dew
Rich black people get pulled over for driving a car that's clearly too nice. 

No, they don't

Yes.. they do and i have seen first hand people who lived  in the bad side of town would get pulled  over because their car would look too nice even black youtubers 
talk about this  it happens not all but its a thing.

[CanOfMountainDew]

Literally the only thing that creates classes and the space between classes, in the US, is money. That's it. That is to say, for example, that a rich black person is more privileged than a poor white person.

Because literally in this system wealth = worth and if you are poor you are worthless and that is the depressing state of of the system.

I guess so. I'd still rather this system than another failed attempt at communism that creates an authoritarian hell.

[The Grand Nudger]

I doubt that a choice between the current system and a communist/authoritarian hell fully exhausts all possible choices.

[CanOfMountainDew]

I doubt that the current system, or a communist/authoritarion hell fully exhausts all possible choices.

They definitely don't.

[InquiringMind]

Because literally in this system wealth = worth and if you are poor you are worthless and that is the depressing state of of the system.

That's part of the point that I'm making.  Why is it OK to oppress based on wealth, but not race and gender?  That seems pretty arbitrary.  I guess part of the philosophy there is that people have control over their wealth but not their race or gender.  But class mobility in the United States is actually pretty limited, and it's quite difficult to climb the ladder to a higher income bracket.  So class and wealth are semi-fixed, and they aren't things that an individual has immediate control over.

[The Grand Nudger]

Maybe it's not okay to oppress....at all?