Martin wrote:

> I can also bet with pretty good certainty that unless I work for myself
> or certain large companies (or certain small companies) I wouldn't have
> the job I have now if I went to a "lowly state school." - not that *I*
> disrespect such schools in any way. In fact, I did go to a state school
> for a year.

Ahh yes, the nepotism factor.  A tough nut to crack.

Any Harvard Business School idiot can run a company into the ground as 
fast as an MBA from Podunk University, but only the Harvard guy will 
ever get a shot at it.

It's why the elite crew hate Palin with a passion... she's not part of 
the high-society club.

Switch her with a minority who came up from the "ghetto" instead of the 
"trailer park" and instead of calling her "trailer trash" she'd be 
heralded as a "success" story.

Have her sent to college on someone else's dime, er... I mean an 
Affirmative Action grant, and the accolades would be flying.

I'm FAR from racist, I just point out the obvious here:

White people from poor backgrounds are now seen as "crooks" and "trailer 
trash" when they claw their way out of poverty, and minorities are 
heralded as "successes" when they climb out.

BOTH are the American Dream story, but society values one more than the 
other right now.  Interesting, isn't it?

Is it a sign that people inherently know you can't get out of poverty in 
a single generation without genius-level abilities or cheating, or is it 
something even stranger than that?

Is the poverty gap that big that we instinctively know something's wrong 
  when someone goes from poor to rich?  Or are we all just petty and 
jealous?  Tough questions that not too many are willing to ask.

(Try getting a grant to study the above.  Ha.)

Nate
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