NotHardUp1
What? Me? Really?
We often hear comments about how the broadcast media represent minorities in crime and how it differs with white collar crime depiction, but we don't often hear about the bias in how day-to-day programming presumes an upper middle class bias in the audience.
I consistently hear comments from television and radio hosts implying that the audience is of their income bracket, with frequent references to ski trips, tropical vacations, various bourgeoisie prestige purchases, or pricing that is beyond the reach of perhaps half the listening audience.
The latest example came in a NPR interview of an author who was telling about how drop shippers online use something like Shopify to set up a shell company and merely act as a low-volume middle man to order your item from China or some other low-wage center. The story was great, but the bias was still present, as the host and the guest kept glibly referring to how unrealistic it was for the guest to have ordered a coat for under $100.
As I listened, I thought it instantly offensive. Leaving the 2nd-hand market out altogether, there are plenty of winter coats available in many styles for under $100 retail, plus the annual clearance of winter stock in February when coats are marked down to less than half, sometimes 75%.
The implication was plainly upscale, whether it be for chic and overpriced sport wear like North Face, or premium down or leather.
The best way to live intentionally and take the materialism and waste down on this planet is to teach our young, and remind ourselves, that America doesn't have to be on a consumerism treadmill that quickly progresses from need to greed.
I consistently hear comments from television and radio hosts implying that the audience is of their income bracket, with frequent references to ski trips, tropical vacations, various bourgeoisie prestige purchases, or pricing that is beyond the reach of perhaps half the listening audience.
The latest example came in a NPR interview of an author who was telling about how drop shippers online use something like Shopify to set up a shell company and merely act as a low-volume middle man to order your item from China or some other low-wage center. The story was great, but the bias was still present, as the host and the guest kept glibly referring to how unrealistic it was for the guest to have ordered a coat for under $100.
As I listened, I thought it instantly offensive. Leaving the 2nd-hand market out altogether, there are plenty of winter coats available in many styles for under $100 retail, plus the annual clearance of winter stock in February when coats are marked down to less than half, sometimes 75%.
The implication was plainly upscale, whether it be for chic and overpriced sport wear like North Face, or premium down or leather.
The best way to live intentionally and take the materialism and waste down on this planet is to teach our young, and remind ourselves, that America doesn't have to be on a consumerism treadmill that quickly progresses from need to greed.
