Meade took the "What is your social class?" test. I'm blogging this before taking the test. Will update to show my results.
UPDATE: MIDDLING.
Your habits and perspectives most resemble those of middle-class Americans. Members of this group tend to be gentle and engaging parents, and if they're native English speakers they probably use some regional idioms and inflections. Your people are mostly college-educated, and you're about equally likely to beg children not to shout "so loudly" as you are to ask them to "read slow" during story time. You're probably a decent judge of others' emotions, and either a non-evangelical Christian, an atheist, or an agnostic. A typical member of this group breastfeeds for three months or less, drinks diet soda, and visits the dentist regularly. If you're a member of this group, there's a good chance that you roll with the flow of technological progress and hate heavy metal music.
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65 comments:
Looks like "aging hipster" to me. (not Meade, but that description)
Weird thing is I've begun to find all music - except rap and gospel - annoying, I've cut way back on fruits vegetables - except for blueberries and chilies, and I'd like to get rid of all these damn books cluttering up the place.
I do chew cigarettes though. That's true.
I got the same results you did Althouse.....I don't know what that says about either of us.
I will admit though that I find empathy way overrated.
MIDDLING but, whatever, I like heavy metal and still breast feed occasionally.
I got "Your privilege level is SHITLORD with a score of 190" on this very similar test: http://www.checkmyprivilege.com/quiz
Middling, that's about what I expected, but I'm not sure how some of those questions or answers could indicate that. Other questions and answers were more telling.
"Your people."
"You have vast and eclectic tastes in music, which likely exclude country, gospel, rap, and heavy metal." S
So vast and eclectic does not include country, gospel - kind of a liberal bias to the study.
"You people"
"still breast feed occasionally"
Haw.
I scored 'kulak'.
Middling too.
Middling; but I checked Muslim/Evangelical Christian and the snotty test told me I am not an evangelical.
Middling?
I paid for the rosewood trim on the yacht against EVERYONE'S advice.
I flew my nanny to Guatemala for a week when her mother died, from MY OWN helipad.
Christ wasn't no scientist and I'll see you filthy animals at the next big ideas festival.
Okay, I took the test again and changed three answers. This time I: gave a little more to charity, took up smoking cigarettes, and breast fed a little less. Those three things allowed me to move down to the lower middling social class with rest of you.
Group hug?
I recognized the "Weeping Frenchman's" eyes.
Wait, let me just stub out my cigarette.
I'm middling also, maybe it has something to do with being born in 1952.
Middling. Which is where I would have placed myself without taking the silly test.
Middling but I'm 76 and retired.
Fart noises
I must say the question about stopping for pedestrians had me flummoxed at first. Because, well, it depends. If I'm driving the Honda, I always stop. I figure - what's another dent or scratch going to matter.
But if I'm driving the Audi, I always gun it so the pedestrian jumps back to the curb in terror.
That way I don't risk them smudging the perfect paint job.
I'm a middling, but I think I told a few lies. I'm a middling liar muddling through.
It is interesting how easy it is to spot the questions earning low class points. Best bit: low class to be able to read emotions. That, in my experience, is entirely true.
Middling
Thanks, I read your blog because of the interesting things you find on the net.
I have a horrible habit of asking myself on these tests, "so what's the angle on this question?" Then I convince myself that the angle is b.s. That's why I majored in chemistry, so I didn't have to constantly wonder what the professor's psycho-analysis is going to be on my answers.
After leaving chemistry, it turns out being in business and being Middling is a profitable way to make a good living.
Like most decent people, I'm middling. I've read Paul Fussell's book "Class", and I'm sure I could have cheated my way into a higher class, but why bother? We are a middle-class nation, thank God! I have known some extremely rich people, most of whom have middle-class values. Only their recreations (e.g., yachting, philanthropy, etc.) and their politics (trendy liberal) give them away.
Bourgeois vous! Zut alors! As usual with these quizzes the results are so tied to unimaginative markers that the results are meaningless. The Godfather makes a valid point. I seldom meet a white person who can't pass for middle-class. It's usually some combination of clothing, weight, and excessive tattooage that marks them as shitheels.
Dentition tends to be a dead giveaway too.
I've read Fussell's book and even for the time (early '80's, I believe) it seemed oddly dated, like it had been written by an expatriate who hadn't been home in 25 years.
On our way to Los Angeles, we got stuck in a traffic jam on I-5. The kids were tired of our favorite podcasts and the rental car had satellite radio, so we rocked out to some gospel while we crawled past something that reminds him of her.
A lot of this is testing for broadcasted markers. For example, in the pedestrian test they didn't know the classes of the drivers, only the fanciness of their cars. Lots of rich people don't drive fancy cars, and lots of not rich people drive fancy cars on credit.
But it was interesting all the same. The emotion reading data it alluded to sounded extremely interesting. I think I'll look it up.
I got middling, by the way.
Middling for me.
I didn't really understand the question about the pedestrian at the crosswalk. (I haven't driven more than a handful of times since I moved to NYC in 1981.)
Wouldn't the matter of whether to stop or not have to do with whether the traffic light indicates "stop" or "go?"
Freeman Hunt said...
On our way to Los Angeles, we got stuck in a traffic jam on I-5. The kids were tired of our favorite podcasts and the rental car had satellite radio, so we rocked out to some gospel while we crawled past something that reminds him of her.
The San Onofre Nuclear Plant is being dismantled. I took this photo just a couple miles south of that scene.
I got "Salt of the Earth". (nice way of saying poor, uncouth, redneck)
I blame my YES to country music.
But in my defense, they had a picture of Hank Williams Jr.
I like everything UP to Bocephus, but everything after him is crap.
I should not have that deducted.
"I didn't really understand the question about the pedestrian at the crosswalk. (I haven't driven more than a handful of times since I moved to NYC in 1981.)
Wouldn't the matter of whether to stop or not have to do with whether the traffic light indicates "stop" or "go?""
Damn, Robert, you really are a city slicker. Towns smaller than NYC may have crosswalks in high ped traffic spots where no traffic lights are present.
Or were you pulling our hayseed chains?
Nope, I'm not pulling any chains. Even in crosswalks without traffic lights, wouldn't there be stop signs? If not, I would think the driver of a car wouldn't even stop to see if there was a pedestrian waiting to cross but would just sail on through the intersection.
RC -.pedestrians are weird. The smaller the town or city, the more they stop. I lived for awhile in NW NV with US 395 running through town. Two lanes each way, with a suicide lane in the middle. You put your foot out in the road, and traffic stops both ways, including the semis. You tend to use cross walks not because it is the law, or that is the only place to safely cross, but to be polite. Now spending half the year in NW MT, in an even smaller town, and there aren't any cross walks or lights. So, everyone stops for every pedestrian (and most of the deer), and you get into frequent situations where you are motioning the car to go, and they are waiting for you. Mostly, you have to go first, if you are the pedestrian. So, it is always a bit disconcerting to move back to a big city, where you only cross at crosswalks with walk lights.
Definitely the middle. I think that the eyes were unfair. That tends to be more sex linked than class linked. And a bunch of the questions should have had a "none of the above". No longer competing with the Jones, if I ever did. More an age thing than anything, though I was raised not to flash wealth, even if you have it. It is unseemly (my mother complained about the size of the diamonds of the woman who sat next to her in church for decades, when their wealth was reported to be breaking 9 figures). I found some of the questions gimmes, like the number of books around the house, and the language questions.
Would be interested to see how my partner does. Definitely some class differences. My parents and grandparents were college educated, and hers were not. That shows in language, if nothing else. But also, in shopping and clothing. My mother would never have had a designer bag, while my partner only carries such. My mother thought full length furs vulgar, while my partner had four, and still has two, both by known designers. My mother also thought Mercedes and Jaguars vulgar, while my partner rarely drove anything except the former, from the one she bought before getting married the first time, to the custom red 500 SL she gave up a couple years ago due to her vision. Luckily, she too is mellowing with age.
I'm middling too. No surprise there.
But, gee the summary is sure helpful. It includes items about issues such as my religion, breast feeding experiences and dental hygiene that echos the exact answer I gave on the test. How insightful.
And many of the questions are heavily age dependent. For example how I speak to my children. They now range from 24 to 44 (yeah, I know). I included a lot more tell them how to keep out of mischief when they were 5 than I do today. (Now I just cringe and let it go.)
My result was BOURGEOIS VOUS, which I would agree with in some ways, not in others. I have eclectic musical tastes but I do like older country music and gospel. I don't like really loud live music of any kind but that's because of my unusually sensitive ears, not my social class. I mostly use correct grammar but only because I read Strunk and White in college. I hate telephones and I drive "well broken in" cars. I don't really care what other people drive, wear, eat; I mind my own business. I don't put much stock in tests like this, either. But there is some fun in it.
I'm like Meade and from what you have written over the years (Yeah!!) I think you are closer to Meade as well. You just out-foxed the answers to be middling.
The only quiz worth taking is "How 'Laslo' are you?"
I am Laslo, 100%.
"How 'Laslo' are you?"
1. When you see a lone female pedestrian at night do you stop for her to cross the street, or do you attempt to put her in your trunk?
2. Do you smoke cigarettes out of habit, or do you smoke cigarettes to stay alert and hyper-vigilant for those that could try to attack you at any time?
2. If the police are at your door do you open the door, or do you execute your get-away plan?
3. If you are drunk do you tell people how you REALLY feel, or do you do that anyway?
4. If you see a female stranger crying do you feel empathy, or do you recognize weakness that can be used to get her into the basement?
5. Do you use saws for cutting wood, or have you found 'other' uses for them?
6. Do you believe people are basically good, or do you understand that they would be more useful under your total and utter command?
7. If you left a twenty-dollar bill on the table would you feel disappointed in humanity if someone took it, or would you lie in wait and smash their hand with a hammer?
8. Do you love soft cuddly animals, or are you some kind of cold-hearted freak?
9. If you had the chance, just once, would you eat a human being, or does it depend on the person to be eaten?
10. Do you read Althouse, or do you read Althouse relentlessly?
I am Laslo.
Meade, I await your score.
I am Laslo.
Stopped before answering the first question because it didn't have the option I wanted. It's a silly test.
"How 'Laslo' are you?"
1. Depends on which car I'm driving.
2. Neither.
2. I never open the door for anyone. Especially the police.
3. Both.
4.Depends on which car I'm driving.
5. Yes.
6. Yes.
7. No.
8. Freak.
9. Yes.
10. I'm trying to quit.
I am not Laslo.
@ Meade:
You are more Laslo than you know.
I am Laslo.
How Meade Are You?
1. Do you like your bacon crispy?
2. Do you take online quizzes — especially ones you find in the Christian Science Monitor or NYT — and then manipulate others into taking them just for your own sick twisted narcissistic amusement?
That's it. Only 2 questions.
"Read slow"
...-ly. The missing "ly" is really annoying me.
"How many books live in your house?"
What was the purpose of using that term "live"?
mid·dling
ˈmidliNG/Submit
adjective
1. moderate or average in size, amount, or rank.
"the village contained no poor households but a lot of middling ones"
synonyms:average, standard, normal, middle-of-the-road; moderate, ordinary, commonplace, everyday, workaday, tolerable, passable; run-of-the-mill, fair, mediocre, undistinguished, unexceptional, unremarkable;
informal:OK, so-so, ‘comme ci, comme ça’, fair-to-middling, plain-vanilla
Noun
1.bulk goods of medium grade, especially flour of medium fineness.
adverb: informal dated
adverb: middling
1. fairly or moderately.
"middling rich"
I'm going to have to add this to my resume.
(And to think I answered that its better to raise your kids with "self esteem" than "self reliance".)
i'm good enough i'm smart enough and doggonit people like me
Mine came up, "Middling...with attitude".
How do you like that?
I'm middling too. And it says I probably hate heavy metal. It's not my go to music, certainly but I don't hate it. there's some good heavy metal. Maybe very little. Maybe very very little. But it's there.
AJ Lynch wrote:
"How many books live in your house?"
What was the purpose of using that term "live"?
Maybe they are living the way the contstitution is living according to some liberals. their meaning evolves over time. So those cookbooks were about making food, but have evolved to be about the social patriarchy.
Your habits and perspectives most resemble those of middle-class Americans.
Let's see about that...
Members of this group tend to be gentle and engaging parents,
I'm not sure what they mean by that.
and if they're native English speakers they probably use some regional idioms and inflections.
No. Well, maybe some not of my own region.
Your people are mostly college-educated,
Yes, I am, in fact, mostly college-educated.
and you're about equally likely to beg children not to shout "so loudly" as you are to ask them to "read slow" during story time.
No, I am not personally equally likely to do that.
You're probably a decent judge of others' emotions,
Heh.
and either a non-evangelical Christian, an atheist, or an agnostic.
Wrong.
A typical member of this group breastfeeds for three months or less, drinks diet soda, and visits the dentist regularly.
Wrong, wrong, right.
If you're a member of this group, there's a good chance that you roll with the flow of technological progress
As opposed to...
and hate heavy metal music.
I have no opinion on heavy metal music taken as a whole.
But does this mean that upper middle class would be a better fit?
Though members of this group are not the most accurate judges of others' emotions,
Heh.
they do have a high faith in people's basic decency,
True.
and a commitment to raising healthy, curious, and imaginative children.
True.
Your people eat plenty of fruits and vegetables,
Well, the children do anyway...
eschew cigarettes,
True.
and live in homes full of books.
True.
Uh oh. Trouble ahead.
You have vast and eclectic tastes in music,
Eclectic, yes. Vast, no.
which likely exclude country, gospel, rap, and heavy metal.
No. Why would those be excluded?
In fact, you identify so strongly with your own individual tastes, that you may resent it a bit when friends impinge upon your discoveries.
Not at all. Though as yet no one likes what I like, so who really knows what my reaction to this impinging might be. Perhaps I'd explode in bitter rage and cut off all contact with the impinger, vowing to uphold a blood feud between her and myself for the remainder of my life.
I don't think I've found a match.
"How many books live in your house?"
What was the purpose of using that term "live"?
That was annoying. The correct answer is, "Zero, and if any of them try living, those zombie books have got another thing coming!"
I don't think I've found a match.
How Meade Are You?
1. Do you like your bacon crispy?
2. Do you take online quizzes — especially ones you find in the Christian Science Monitor or NYT — and then manipulate others into taking them just for your own sick twisted narcissistic amusement?
Oh, nevermind. I'm Meade.
what a nice congratulatory "quiz" to make you feel good about yourself, as well as superior to anyone below you.
I noticed that humility wasn't one of the character traits listed.
That wasn't a critique of Meade or Althouse. It was a critique on whoever wrote the "quiz"
"I prefer life not to change very much"? from what baseline? I'm fine with change. It's change solely for the sake of change, or without thinking about consequences that I can't stand. Some change you have no control over and the best you can do is roll up your sleeves and make the most of it.
reading through each individual section, I think the whole thing starts with whether you like gospel music and go to the dentist. While I consider myself firmly middle class, the blurb explaining "[my] people" is way off the mark, and actually insulting.
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