Talking About It

"We avoid talking about caste in our society because we are ashamed of our racial history. We also avoid talking about race.

We even avoid talking about class. Conversations about class are resisted in part because there is a tendency to imagine that one's class reflects upon one's character.

What is key to America's understanding of class is the persistent belief - despite all evidence to the contrary - that anyone, with the proper discipline and drive, can move from a lower class to a higher class.We recognize that mobility may be difficult, but the key to our collective self-image is the assumption that mobility is always possible, so failure to move up reflects on one's character.

By extension, the failure of a race or ethnic group to move up reflects very poorly on the group as a whole" (Alexander, 2012, p. 13).