When issues of class and privilege are brought home

 

In Summary

However, there are two problems with our new house help. The first is that she is below the age of twenty one. In my (very strong) opinion, I believe that if you are below the age of twenty one you are way too young to be cleaning up after people and should be out there getting an education or at least trying to pursue some type of career.

In our search for a house help, we recently just hired a full time stay in house help.

However, there are two problems with our new house help. The first is that she is below the age of twenty one. In my (very strong) opinion, I believe that if you are below the age of twenty one you are way too young to be cleaning up after people and should be out there getting an education or at least trying to pursue some type of career.

But then again this is something way too easy to vocalise when you are privileged.

Movies nowadays teach the kids to “follow” their dreams or “listen” to their hearts or to go on a soul searching journey.

But the truth of the matter is that these are things only privileged people can afford to do. The rest of us just find ourselves in the train trucks of life trying to figure out how to survive day after day. I digress.

The second issue is one which puzzles me even more and I find myself in a battle with my inner educated, somewhat enlightened self versus the self of me that has been raised by a society that is consumed by the idea of class and how each member of a particular class is meant to behave in the presence of someone from another class.

Ever since I can remember, we have always known that house helps are the last ones to dish out their food , at least after the parents have dished theirs. Also from family I learnt that a help’s place is every where else in the house but the living room and the parents’ room. Among other things.

Now our young help, in the two weeks she has resided with us has taken to dishing her food first before everyone else dishes. She has become so at home that if she finds one of the family members watching TV she will pick up the remote and change the channel.

Last week she walked into my room, without knocking, found me watching a movie and practically invited herself and sat with me for the rest of it.

What bothers me more than anything is my reaction to all of this. In my head I feel that all of these things are wrong because family and society have taught me that it is wrong.

They have taught me where a house help’s place is in this world and where they stand in the home hierarchy. Basically there is a social divide in terms of mannerisms and behaviours between someone that is considered to be the boss and someone who takes up any position of subservience.

There are laws and rules on boss and employee relationships and this poor child has no idea of any of them.

There is of course the slight problem that I have younger kids living with me now that are very easily impressionable and sadly, look up to me.

If I dare tell the house help what the rules are and what she can and cannot do in the house, am I not automatically passing onto the children the idea that they are somewhat better than other people in the world because they do not do a particular job? Am I not perpetuating the idea of class structure and the dehumanization of other beings on the basis that they are “different” from us?