How have you been bullied for economic differences?

2 comments

1. I studied with scholarships my whole life, first in a very good school in a small town, then in an even better college in a big city.

   Those experiences were wildly different, but both equally uncomfortable. In school the economic difference wasn’t as bad (being a small town, even rich folks aren’t *that* rich, or they would have left), but kids are cruel. I was laughed at for not having the latest trendy shoes or bag or whatever, for not participating in any extracurricular activities (they cost extra, and my scholarship only covered tuition), for my mom coming to pick me up in an old car, or for not having a computer at home to do homework (this was late 90s, early 00s).

   Then college was a whole different world. One girl in my class actually had a private chauffeur who’d drive her to class in a brand new Mercedes. Another asked a professor to move the date of our final because she’d be in Greece with her family (this was in Brazil). Meanwhile I was working my ass off to make ends meet and walking to class to save the bus money. We were all a little older so there was no intentional bullying that I can recall, but I felt so much more out of place, because those people didn’t even realize that others didn’t have as much as they did. They’d say stuff like “but if you’re struggling with classes and homework, why don’t you just take time off work to focus?” and other clueless shit like that, half hurtful and half infuriating.

2. I’ve never been outright poor, but I lived a modest lifestyle for many years and worked two jobs at some points. One time, one of my friends who I was reconnecting with from childhood came to visit at my house and the first thing she asked was “will my car get broken into if I park it on the street?” because I didn’t live in the posh neighbourhood she was used to.