I came across an article on CNN titled "9021-Ouch: Recession Trickling up to Beverly Hills." It instantly reminded me of our new unit, Cultures of Priviledge and Poverty. I would consider Beverly Hills to be one of the most privilged cities in the US. Shows like The Hills and 90210 portray frivolous lifestyles of the rich buying expensive clothes, dining at pricy restaraunts and spending excessive amounts of money on parties. When I think of the economic recession, I picture poor cities getting hit, not lavish Beverly hills. This article mentions how the recession has affected sales; since people do not have the money to buy expensive items, stores are going out of business. "Fewer sales mean fewer tax dollars even for this well-funded city."
This article made me realize that "priviledge" and "poverty" are subjective terms. Someone might think "Everyone living in Beverly hills has the lavish lifestyle of the girls on The Hills," but this is not necessarily true. Small stores and boutiques are going out of business, and the people who work there have to find new jobs, just like the rest of the people in America affected by our economic recession.
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2 comments:
This is a good point you make,
Sadly, many people I've met from other schools assume every student who goes to New Trier is rich. That simply is just not the case! Many students' families are not very wealthy at all; especially now, many people's parents are completely out of a job.
I have heard the same thing about New Trier students. By labeling certain towns as "priviledged," it closes our minds to some of the problems people living in those towns face. People assume "oh they are rich, nothing can affect them," when that is not always true.
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