Today in class, we had a long discussion about how communities are built in certain ways to separate different types of people. Being from the North Shore (an affluent northern suburb of Chicago), I have a great deal of experience with this sort of thing. In Wilmette, one of the main dividers is which elementary school you went to. It may not seem like a big deal to people who don't live in Wilmette, since elementary school is not going to make or break your future, but to everyone from my town, it is a very familiar idea. In 5th grade, all of the elementary schools are mashed together into Highcrest Middle School, where the stereotypes begin. During my 4 years in middle school and junior high, I would hear "He's a Romona kid" or "She went to Central" probably 10 times a day. And these statements were not just being said in a matter-of-fact way, but had many stereotypes associated with them (some good and some not-so-nice).
When I was preparing for freshman year at New Trier, I assumed the 'categorizing by where you're from' would end, but, boy, was I wrong! In high school, the divisions are on an even larger scale. Instead of being labeled by your elementary school, you get labeled by what town you live in. During the first week of school, I learned a new phrase- the "Wilmetto". When I first heard it, i thought that person was just one idiot being obnoxious, but then I heard it another time. It turns out that it's a pretty well-known nickname for Wilmette used to label Wilmette as the "ghetto" of the North Shore. I actually find it pretty hilarious now, that a town that is still incredibly wealthy in terms of anyone else in the world can be called a "ghetto". From both of my experiences of separation, I learned that it will never end. However sad this realization is, it is true all over the world. I'm sure everyone has had at least one encounter with this. What was yours?
Ellie, also being from Wilmette I completely understand what you mean by the elementary school stereotypes. It seems to me that regardless of who we are humans always tend to categorize and classify people. In a large school like New Trier this can make the community more managable and familiar, however I think this tendency leads to many generalizations and false truths that are hard to overcome.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with Carolyn. I believe it's human nature to stereotype and judge, although I do think most of the time it does get the best of us. A lot of this leads to hatred of certain types of people, although it might seem harmless at first. And I think that in order for our society to continue to progress, we need to be able to stop these kinds of things.
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