Tuesday, January 30, 2018

Working-Class Men, Too; But That's Not Really New

Feminists have a new target: working-class women

Many of the clergy whom I have known, most of whom would self-identify as feminist, who are educated and mostly white, have had difficulty with working class men and women.  In fact, they tend to mock them behind their backs; Their lack of an Episcopal Church-approved education, their cars [well, and pick-up trucks], their clothing, their jobs, etc.  Episcopal clergy can be afraid of the people who repair things in their churches and related buildings.

One of my fondest moments was when I was moving into a new office.  I had not yet met any member of the parish besides the vestry, including the office staff.  I was dressed in moving clothes, jeans and a flannel work shirt, and powering a hand truck [aka a dolly] topped off with too many boxes of books that I was off-loading from my pick-up truck.  I looked like a mover.  A common, plodding, un-educated member of the working class who probably voted for Trump.

A fellow clergy-person was on the walkway in front of me.  I nodded a greeting and she stared at me for a moment and then rushed to get in front of me.  I thought at first that she intended to hold open the doors for me.  No, that wasn't it.  She was rushing to get into the building ahead of the scary working class man and left me to manage the 200 pounds of books, precariously balanced on the hand truck, along with the two sets of doors.

I've long suspected that the verse from our Baptismal Covenant where we promise to "respect the dignity of every human being" has meant for too many "as long as we perceive them to be members of our social class."