Classism. Call it what it is — prejudice. Classism requires judgement. It requires thinking that allows you to believe you’re better than others based on what you have. It makes you believe that you have the ability to tell others how they should live. When you are classist, you believe you have the right to judge others who have less than you. 
You judge them for what they eat, what they wear, where they live, how many children they have, what kind of car they drive or don’t drive, who they married, who they divorced, if they can pay their bills, if their kids dress correctly, if their nails are done, if their nails are dirty, if their lawn is mowed, if their home is neat and tidy, even if their trash is taken out properly.
It’s just one big judge-fest.
Here’s one way to tell when someone is being classist. They either start their sentences with — or somewhere in their sentence use the words — “those people” or “you people” or “these people.”
They use these words because if they said what they really meant, no one would tolerate it. I will just use, as an example, a statement that we have heard several times a week over the last four years.
“Those people need to learn how to budget their money.”
People say that all the time to us. But here is what they are really saying.
People in poverty need to learn how to budget their money. The elderly need to learn how to budget their money. The disabled need to learn how to budget their money. The mentally challenged need to learn how to budget their money. The battered woman needs to learn how to budget her money. The homeless person needs to learn how to budget their money.
And on and on and on.
The single parent working two jobs needs to learn how to budget their money. The terminally ill need to learn how to budget their money. The grandparents raising grandchildren or great-grandchildren need to learn how to budget their money.
That is why classists lump everyone together under a big umbrella and use the words “those people” — because what they’re actually saying is awful.
When you use the words “those people,” you’re the person who’s less. Your lack of basic compassion and empathy towards other human beings based on their ability to pay a bill is more telling about what you lack than what they do.
Poverty is hard. Poverty is chaos. Poverty is stressful. Poverty changes who you are. It sometimes makes you unable to see an opportunity when one is there. It makes you forget that there is a next week, because all you think about is how to take care of your needs today. Poverty sucks.
At Humanity House, we have a lot of people come through our doors. Some we love, some we like, some we’re not too fond of. But we are never not fond them because they are poor.
The next time you hear yourself saying “those people,” imagine your life if you didn’t have food in your cabinets. Imagine your life if you didn’t have electricity. Imagine your life if you couldn’t work and had to live in poverty.
