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As a listeninerer from across the pond, I find the discussions about class, both in Ambridge and more generally in the UK, very interesting. This was especially true in the comments about Kaz and the names of her children and how they indicated her working class status. But also about how certain characters are striving to improve their class status. The discussion makes it sound like in the UK, class is something you are born into and can never escape, and furthermore, if you try to, you will be subjected to the criticism of trying to be “better than you are.”
In general I suspect the majority of Americans consider themselves “middle class” whether they make $50,000 or $5 million a year, whether they can trace their ancestry back to the pilgrims or are first generation Americans. I cannot imagine anyone considering themselves as “upper class” no matter how long they’ve been here, how much wealth they have inherited or how big their estate. How they behave is of course a whole other issue!
The issue of names is an interesting one, in the African American community, but also among other ethnic groups who until fairly recently may have given their children Anglicized names as part of an effort to assimilate and now increasingly favor names that reflect their culture or heritage. I look forward to discussing this with Roifield over a beer, hopefully sometime soon!
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