Why are working people so proud of their dead end jobs?

Question

How is it that blue collar employees can be proud of what they do? I have a neighbor that won't let her kids play with the children of laborers since she says that they will learn bad habits and , in her words, grow up to be "losers". She has been telling me that these people should hide their heads in shame, I'm not so sure?

@Rosie: My neighbor who puts down the working makes her living from alimony and selling on eBay

Answer 1

I think that is the most asinine thing I have ever heard! You know, my husband dropped out of high school when he was in the tenth grade. Success in life is not determined solely by the job you have, the material things you acquire, nor the education you gain from college.

When Hurricane Katrina razed the Mississippi Gulf Coast in August of 2005, every person (black, white, Hispanic, Vietnemese, rich, poor) lost everything they owned, but they have been SUCCESSful in rebuilding their lives. Honey, I lost my home, my clothes, my pictures...EVERYTHING, but our family is a SUCCESS story. My husband has worked hard as a LABORER, and I have worked hard as a teacher to regain our lives. That, to me, speaks SUCCESS.

Success, in my opinion, is attaining the knowledge that life is not fair and that life is a precious gift from God...it is about inner happiness, not by the number of material things that one owns.

When your neighbor says that blue collar workers are "losers," ask her if she understands that those "losers" are the ones who are making her life more comfortable, that these "losers" are the ones who possess the skills that many white collar workers do not...pride.

Answer 2

Some Blue collar jobs pay quite well The Plumber, the Electrician, and the Bricklayer can rake in the bucks. What "bad habits" could the neighbor be referring to? So not all people went to University to get a degree in order to get a good paying job? So what does this neighbor job for a living? The answer is they are proud of their work.

Answer 3

How would our society function without "blue collar" workers?

You just have to think about that to know.

I know there are lot of idiot blue collars (just as there are a lot of idiot white collars), but there are many who are decent people.


I suppose "dead end" can be defined as work that offers no significant "advancement" as far as pay or prestige goes.

But is that necessarily a bad thing?


If the worker knows that what he is doing is meaningful and is making a contribution to society, is using his talents well, and the pay is meeting his needs and legitimate wants, I can't say that there is anything wrong with that.

But for someone to look down on such workers as inferior people is plain and simple ignorance and bigotry, as such people value others merely by material externals and the phony witty conversations they can confect.



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Answer 4

These people are proud of their jobs because that is the American dream---to be able to work and support your family--have a life. So many people in other countries do not have this chance. THEY ARE AMERICA.
Your friend that is telling you this because she doesn't have a clue---these people are proud people and everyone should be as proud. Good people that raise children that can make a better living than their parents. My hat is off to them!!!!!!!!!!

Answer 5

Maybe if they work the "dead end" job long enough, they will be able to turn someone's head (like a customer's maybe) and get a much better job.... Some people don't have "connections" so they have to do what they have to do to survive.... It's better than just sitting at home all day waiting for the welfare check to come, though not that much better for some, considering the minimum wage and gas prices....

Answer 6

Wow, what a great question.

First, I'm one of the folks that has been "climbing" the ladder of success for sometime. It wasn't until recently that I determined that the ladder ends at some point and you fall all the way back to the bottom regardless of how high you climb. Therefore you should climb until you are comfortable with your position in life...be that financial, social, or othterwise.

Blue collar vs. white collar....bottom line is the blue collar person became content earlier and began to live life to the fulliest. The white collar person keeps climbing relentlessly until one day they realize they have no friends, no love, all the stress one ever wanted, and a big fat checkbook...it's the American way.

The American dream is in the eye of the beholder...some like Donald Trump will never be satisfied while others are content to live like hippies...one can call them lazy or the other relentless, but you have to respect both of them for living the way they want.

Bottom line; no one should be judged. Its not for us to say who is right and who is wrong. Whomever this person is should be told to stop judging others to "his or her" standards...as who died and made them "RIGHT"?

Answer 7

Well let's see. The laborers are in better physical shape and get payed more. Not too bad of a job if you ask me. But in the end you should really be learning how to make money for yourself, not for someone else. And a job is just making someone else money.

Answer 8

People should be proud to have a job that they are good at, and which they are able to pay their family's bills. Many people don't see their job as a dead end job.

There is a pride in making an honest living that you don't get by collecting welfare.

The question should be why do people insist on collecting welfare, instead of taking a job that they believe is below them?

Answer 9

Because they see the positive effects. The smile on a child's face when you hand them an ice cream cone, the compliment on how clean something is, etc. It's all in how you look at things.

Answer 10

sounds like ur neighbor is a b@tch and teaching her kids to only learn to be a snob and look down on others. i bet she uses laborers, just considers her self to be above them